Great River Trail:
Illinois
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Description:
The Great River Trail is a breathtaking journey along 60 miles of the Mississippi River. The route is a mixture of paved rail-trail, small-town sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes on the street, and a stretch of road shoulder along the Great River Rd. The Great River Trail begins in Savanna and travels south through many small river towns with traditions still steeped in the quintessential culture of the Mississippi River. There are many opportunities for antiques, sumptuous catfish dinners, and viewing the boats and barges. If you stop for a spell, the friendly locals will chat to you about the river and how it has...and hasn't...changed.
Starting in Savanna, in the north, the Great River Trail is a nicely paved, secluded trail, but soon after the two bridges south of town the trail ends and a 1.1-mile section of road begins. The road section is on State Route 84 and prone to heavy rush-hour traffic. Back on the trail you travel through a beautiful section that is sometimes secluded and quiet and other times parallels Route 84. North of Albany, at mile 25, there is a second, short road section, again Route 84. The trail picks back up just south of town.
Through Cordova, near mile 35, the route follows quiet streets. Be sure to watch for the green bike signs that mark this section. After less than 2 miles, the rail-trail picks up again and closely follows Great River Road for 4 miles into Port Byron, a charming river town visible from the trail's riverbank course. Most of the corridor here is shared with an active rail line, offering a fine example of a safe rail-with-trail relationship.
Three miles downriver is Rapids City. You will see numerous blue herons, gulls, and waterfowl in and over the water here. In town, adjacent to the trail is a stone monument offering a prayer from Native Americans for both the trail and its users.
After another 3 miles, the trail quickly cuts underneath Interstate 80, then through the town of Hampton, past lovely riverfront homes. A large public park on the south side of town has a great wooden playground and makes a wonderful rest stop. Shortly after leaving the park, the trail climbs to the top of a levee wall, where it stays for quite a while. Just ahead on the left, the John Deere manufacturing plant, with row after row of shining new farm equipment, marks the beginning of the trail's urban section. Traveling on top of the levee affords great views of the bridges over the river connecting the Quad Cities.
From Hampton, it is only 5.5 miles to the city of Moline. Follow the bike route signs to navigate through the city and return to the trail on the other side. The Quad City Convention and Visitors Bureau, right off the trail, is a pleasant place to stop. This stretch follows a slough of the river, across which you can see historic Rock Island. The Rock Island Arsenal (operated here by the U.S. Army) was a Union army prison camp during the Civil War.
Leaving downtown Moline, the trail stays up on the riverbank and crosses under the Centennial Bridge as you enter the city of Rock Island, whose industrial area dominates the landscape for most of the final 7.5 miles from Moline. This breaks open when you ride into Sunset Park whose large marina and extensive river views provide a fitting end to this scenic trail.

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Parking & Trail Access:
To reach the Savanna trailhead from State Route 84 (Great River Road), take US Route 50 (Chicago Street) west and turn left on Broderick Drive. The trailhead is on the left.
The Cordova trailhead is on Main Avenue. From State Route 84 (Great River Road) turn west on Main Avenue and the take a left on 11th Street. The parking lot is in the park on the right. You will not see the trail; from the parking lot, head left (north) on 11th Street, turn left again on 2nd Avenue and then look for the green bike route signs.
To reach the Rock Island trailhead from Interstate 280, take State Route 93 (Centennial Expressway) to the Sunset Lane exit. Turn left on Sunset Lane and look for the trailhead on the right at Sunset Park.

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Reviews: [0 trail ratings]
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nice trail well partly
By asinca on June 01, 2010
I rode this trail from Moline to East Moline and back. That part of the trail is very nice. It follows long the river and is scenic and has only a little industry along the way. North of Cordova to Fulton the trail is only a few feet away from the road with very fast traffic and trucks. Lots of noise,dirt etc. The part I rode was mainly through a town park and was paved well. There are restaurants etc. I would ride this trail again starting in Cordova and riding to Rock Island. In Moline it passes right next to a Radisson hotel it is a real nice hotel in the $140 per night range we stayed there.
Not so fun
By PAhikerbiker on August 08, 2009
We started the trail at Savanna, IL, and were very impressed for the first 2 miles. At that point a sign told us "Trail Ends Temporarily"--and nothing more. We moved out onto Hwy 84 for a few miles--lots of traffic and not much shoulder. No more signs to tell us where to go. We encountered another biker who had come up from Port Byron. We told him how to find the next leg of the trail north; he told us to follow the country (but paved) roads toward Port Byron. Roads were nice and paved with very little traffic. Lots of cornfields and houses for scenery--plenty of green. We turned around at the State Prison, because, again, there were no signs telling us which way to go and, being from out of state, were weren't sure what we might be getting in to and it was getting late.

All in all, this could have been a very enjoyable ride if we'd really had a good feeling that we knew where we were going or were on the 'trail'.
Great River Trail – Quad City area
By R Colvert on October 17, 2006
"A group of Wisconsin retirees came south in mid September to ride the Hennepin Canal Trail. On our way home we decided to ride a section of the Great River Trail. We rode from Sunset Park in Rock Island to beyond East Moline. We thought the river scenery was excellent and also enjoyed observing the “working sections” of the river towns of Rock Island and Moline. We took a detour over to the Rock Island Arsenal to see the Arsenal Museum, the Corp of Engineers Visitor Center, and the Confederate Cemetery. You must remember that the Arsenal is an active Military Base and you must check in and out. To enter you must have picture ID and if biking wear helmets. We also took another detour to the John Deere Pavilion. This was well worth the couple of blocks of city streets and was very informative. It was great fun to see all the old equipment and sit in the new equipment while learning a bit about the rich Deere heritage."
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