This is going to go a few different ways. Either I am onto something, imagining things, having memory problems, or perhaps was told some half-truths. Or maybe a little bit of all of that. But I hope someone can help with this, so I am putting it out there. I won't be surprised if the answer is either "nope, have no idea what you're talking about <or> "oh my gosh, EVERYONE knows about this. How did you not?!"

Several years ago, I was at Markin Glen Park in northern Kalamazoo County with a friend who I have lost contact with. For those who aren't familiar, the park has two areas. One is on the east side of N. Westnedge Ave. and includes a lake for swimming and fishing, tennis courts, camping spots and picnic areas. Just down the road to the north, and on the west side of N. Westnedge Ave., there is another area that has some steep terrain where people like to hike, ride bikes, and look for morel mushrooms in the Spring.

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It was on this west portion of the park where this friend and I ventured up a hill that they were familiar with to show me what they said was a spot where there used to be a toboggan run. I believe it was not connected to any part of the trail system there.

We arrived at the spot, and although well grown over, there was apparent abandoned tracks but it looked completely forgotten from what I can remember. I do not recall any signage or indication that it operated as a business like Echo Valley. And now that it has been so many years, probably 20 or so, what they told me that day is also fuzzy. Sometimes I wonder if they just told me that it was a spot where people used to sled that maybe their parents or grandparents had told them about. And as years went by, my memories of visiting there have blossomed my imagination about what I was told.

It definitely looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, so it likely existed long before the west side of Markin Glen Park came into existence as a Kalamazoo County Park in1994. I have no idea what was there before, besides this potential old toboggan run. Online searches have also been exhausted with no discernable results. In fact, I wouldn't even remember how to physically get to this spot at the park as I have tried a couple of times to find it.

So I am putting it out to all of you. Does any of this ring a bell? An abandoned toboggan run at what is now the west side at Markin Glen Park? If I am onto something, please tell me as many details as you can about what you know or remember about it, or especially photos if they exist, in the comments section on Facebook under this article.

An Abandoned Section of Route 66 Between Chicago and Joliet, Illinois

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