Explore the best rated trails in Kewanee, IL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail and Duck Creek Recreational Trail. With more than 19 trails covering 4103 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
This summer I'm going to ride my bike from Dixon to polo on the bike paths
Lots to view while riding. One of the best trails in Eastern Iowa. Stopped at the Village for lunch with lots of eating establishments.Ann
Started out from Utica and rode to trails end in LaSalle. Trail was in fairly good shape, but needed weeds cut down. Went back to Utica and headed towards Ottawa. The trail was like an old maintenance road that had been neglected. Very tall weeds that prevented me in many places from seeing where I could ride. After going about two miles I turned around because I didn't feel safe. It's a shame that there is so little maintenance on what is a beautiful area.
A nice ride. The hub is a good place to start.
We started out at the park on E 2nd Street in Rock Falls. Very nice park along the river....had bathrooms but they were locked (in July???). Hit the trail in Rock Falls and headed south on the trail. First 3 miles of the trail were on asphalt, very bumpy conditions. After that, it was what appeared to be packed dirt, maybe had limestone on it at one time. Had to be watchful of craters and debris on the path. Could have used some pruning as well. Some areas of the trail were very narrow. Was fairly quiet on the trail, ran across a few people fishing, some walking, and only one other set of people biking. Could only go 16.2 miles and then came upon a Trail Closed sign. If you like less traffic, this is a good trail...but could use some maintenance. We saw some snakes, rabbits, squirrels, and deer. There were a couple places along the way to stop to go to the bathroom...but no place to get water.
We rode the Great River Trail from our hotel outside of Thomson, IL and headed south past Fulton (little over 18 mile ride from our hotel). We turned around a little past Fulton because we hit rather large gravel and didn't want to wind up with a flat tire. This area of the trail is about 50-50 road and trail. One section of road that was asphalt was in pretty bad shape. Signage was poor, no place to potty, no place to get water, and not well shaded. While we didn't go on the middle of the trail, we did drive past it. It looks like a lot of that goes along IL84. We did spend another day going from Hampton, IL to Rock Island. Signage was much better, river view most of the way, and plenty of places to stop along the way.
We took electric scooters and did 16miles of this trail was so beautiful seen 6 deer 5 turkeys will glad go back and explore more
We rode the segment from the I-74 bridge to Credit Island. The trail is in good shape and there are great views of the river most of the way. The part from I-74 to the Centennial bridge was a little crowded on a beautiful Sunday but the rest of the ride there were very few people.
We rode a short segment from Sunset Park in Rock Island to the I-74 bridge. Great views of the Mississippi along with some of the industrial infrastructure we enjoy seeing along bike trails. The paving was in pretty good shape and it was easy riding.
We did a ride combining short sections of the Great River Trail (IL) and Mississippi River Trail (IA) and used the Arsenal Bridge for one of our two river crossings. It has a separated bike/walk trail and it was easy to ride and fun to get a close up view of the Lock and Dam
Trail biked - I started at the east end in Bureau. The parking lot there has bathrooms and trashcans, and plenty of parking. I biked east to Wyanet, and back.
Bike used - a Specialized Sirrus hybrid.
Bike accommodations - hybrid to mountain bike mostly. Road bikes will not survive many portions of this trail. I was leery to ride my hybrid in some sections near Tiskilwa because of the mid sized gravel in spots.
The trail composition from Bureau to Wyanet varies. From Bureau to the Tiskilwa area the trail was a mix of dirt, small gravel and portions of asphalt..although those overed by cindery rocks. Some areas are nicer than others and I didn't see any areas that were unmanageable for my hybrid tires.
The trail composition greatly improved heading west of the Tiskilwa area. The trail becomes a powdery earth and can even accommodate road bikes. Until you get to this point, however, you'll need to keep both hands on the grips.
The trail follows a series of disconnected water canals that serve as nice scenery. Every so often you'll come across a lock, which are numbered, giving you an idea of how many away you are from your starting point. A river also carves the trail in many areas, offering some nice views. As for wildlife..I spotted several turtles in canals and one trailside (almost accidentally biked over him). I also saw a pair of deer and a ton of colorful birds (red, yellow, blue, orange, black, white, gray, brown). The Orioles were a rare treat.
In the stretch I took there were only a couple of places where I spotted benches. One is in the Tiskilwa area. Bridges span the lock areas which offer nice water drains to view and areas to sit on the edge for a break. During my two hour ride I saw a dozen other bikers, and this was on a 75 degree, cloudless Saturday in mid-June. Suffice it to say, there aren't many folks out here unless you count the occasional fisherman.
Other nuances, the trail offers a nice split of shade and sun, but more on the sunny side. I saw one parking lot with trail signs in my stretch.
Seeing as the trail quality greatly improved on the eastern outskirts of Wyanet, I would love to come back and continue biking west on this trail some day.
Cheers.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone
