Find the top rated birding trails in Galesburg, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Road 60 miles (30 out and back) from trailhead at Rock River in Colona. We brought our road bikes (23mm tires), expecting paved trails. It was slow going, but certainly doable. The trail is definitely in need of repair and maintenance. It is flat, peaceful and quite beautiful. The canal history and artifacts (locks, etc) are a very interesting perk.
Fortunately we packed extra water. We had trouble finding water stops along the way. There was a fountain at the lock (14 miles from the trailhead) but it was not working in late September even though it was almost 90 degrees.
We rode from Toulon to Dunlap and back. It was a beautiful day and the trail setting is very nice with a mix of woods and fields. The trail was in pretty good shape but you need to be alert for ground squirrel burrows. In the wooded sections there is a fair amount of debris so you need to watch out for the larger branches. It's fun riding but if you get too relaxed you may be jolted back to alertness by a branch or a hole.
The DNR web site lists several closures but there is really only one north of Princeville. Like the previous reviewer we rode around it on county roads to the east and it was no problem. The Toulon to Wyoming section has the worst trail conditions (but is perfectly rideable in spite of the trail closed signs) and we will probably start in Wyoming if we do it again.
We ride hybrids with reasonably wide tires and I'm not sure how much fun it would be on a road bike.
Nice easygoing trail for a newbie like me. Stayed at Hickory Grove Campground (great new owners) then early morning ride. Crushed stone & asphalt a little overgrown on the edges but a great trail
I rode from Wyoming to Toulon and back, then continued south to what used to be Stark, now a small group of homes, returning to Wyoming. The next day I rode from Wyoming to Peoria.
The trail was wet from rains both days, softening the low spots and leaving a few puddles. The rides were enjoyable, with a mix of farm and woods. Signage through the towns was adequate to find my way. Each town has stores that provide a snack or a restroom.
Wyoming has a great coffee shop that makes great baked goods and lunches in addition to their coffee. Next door is a gift shop worth a peek.
I detoured around the washout in the Rock Island Trail Nature Preserve by riding the paved township roads east of the preserve.
I was on a two day ride from Kewanee, IL to Morris, IL yesterday and today (about 90 miles). I had hoped to ride as much of the Hennepin and Illinois and Michigan Canal trails as possible (I had expected to ride about 50-60 miles on trails split between those two trails). I attempted to ride both trails and have submitted a separate review of the I&M Canal trail.
I only rode about 6 miles of the Hennepin Trail from Tiskilwa towards Bureau Junction (West to east). It was a disappointment. As others have written, it was rough, with some sections of old, failing asphalt. I was not in a hurry, so stuck it out for as long as I felt comfortable. It's just not conducive to a fun ride. Too rough, changing paths from side to side, and just not a fun trail to be on. If you're going in this direction, I would advise taking the adjacent road. I was on it for a considerable time one I got off of the trail and never felt unsafe with cars or trucks.
The trail was disappointing.
Ride the Iowa trail to Lindsey Park in Davenport,and take water taxi to Illinois. There ride the Mississippi trail west to Sunset park or east to Savanna Illinois, about 70 miles. There are 3 campgrounds on the Illinois side.
The water taxi is seasonal and daily pass ($) available.
An alternate crossing is the bridge at the Rock Island Arsenal. (HELMETS ARE REQUIRED at Arsenal)
ENJOY !
We just rode the trail from Princeville to Alta. Beware of the hog manure smell the first mile. My wife was overwhelmed by the smell. We would suggest that you find the trail the next road south of Princeville. We ended up parking in the park the 1st right after Casey's on route 90. The trail head can be accessed after the railroad tracks on the left.
I'm from Morris and have frequented the I&M for a few years now. Yesterday I went to the Hennepin for the first time ever. I started in Bureau Junction and took the canal to Tiskilwa, then transferred over to the road that follows that little river back to Bureau.
The canal was great. I have a cross bike and it handled well. I wouldn't recommend a road bike with anything less that 28c tires (and this is pushing it, better bring tubes!) There were a few holes I hit. Debris was at a minimum but there was some overgrowth on the path. Nothing I would complain about. No major trees over the path. After knowing how parts of the I&M canal are I would say the conditions in this small 10 mile section of the Hennepin are a good. Especially considering how remote it is. Large hills in the background, and there are more larger oak and sycamore trees around than the I&M.
The road surface conditions on the way back to Bureau were fair-good, but the places that the road takes you through are great. Not too sure if locals care for bike-riders, there were only 3 that passed me going the way I was going but I wasn't given much room any time.
In either case, if you want to do a quick 20 miles this was a fun easy loop. It was a hot day and 35 ounces of water worked fine as the canal is pretty cool in the shaded areas.
Recommended!
Just east of town, there is dedicated parking by the town garage. Some railroad structures remain. You can ride a couple miles north on partly shaded trail. The path also goes a half mile south on grass covered gravel to the highway. The three mile segment running south from Columbus Junction not far from this section is very grassy and had some trees down. The Iowa State bike map shows it open.
Large put holes, weeds in middle of the trail not cut. This trail is not being maintained probably because of Illinois budget problems. Not fit for riding at any speed. Very rough and dangerous on eastern end of trail. Went 12 miles till I hit a huge pothole covered by weeds and went over the handlebars. Ouch! Unless the state or some other group addresses the issues, I won't ride it again
Planned to do 60 miles roundtrip, from Rapids City to Thomson and back. Beautiful day for riding in July - temps not high, not humid, slight breeze. The small towns of Rapids City and Port Byron were quite nice to ride through; a lot of direct river access/views. Primarily flat with a few small slopes or hills here and there. Cordova also has a couple nice riverfront parks with working water fountains. However, we ended up only doing half, and turning around just before Albany. My biggest gripe - which almost had me turning around sooner - was how closely the trail follows highway 84. It's better than nothing or riding on the road, don't get me wrong, but as someone who prefers more remote trails the segments along the road just killed it for me. A lot of ugly spots, auto noise and fumes. A lot of trash and bottles tossed onto the median between the road and the trail or onto the trail itself. 84 isn't exactly high traffic but it also isn't low. The trail also soon started to angle away from the river and once north of Cordova, you barely see it again, at least through the point where we turned. There are stretches where vegetation is growing out into the trail and you frequently have to ride on the outer edge of the trail - generally not a problem as the trail was not busy, and a stretch where someone has clearly gone in to try and cut things back but ended up leaving a lot of wood debris which isn't great for bike tires. There were also some spots where a couple holes are in the trail; one marked by some orange cones that hopefully no one moves as it could cause serious damage or even injury if someone rode into it. Some nice little wooden bridges at various points but with a little too much rise, which caused some bumps for my 700x38c tires and I can't image what they do for road bike tires if you hit them wrong, so keep an eye out when approaching bridges. The 3M factory also doesn't make for a great view (sorry 3M, I buy your products, I just don't enjoy biking past you) although things did start to look a little nicer just north of the plant for a while, detouring through a nice little woods before going back to following 84. The trail comes to an abrupt end where one has to ride for about half a mile on Meredosia Road, which has no shoulder or bike lane but does seem to be low traffic. You then catch the Albany Mounds Trail (if you are riding north, there is no sign to tell you to turn left and the trail/sign is hidden; just turn left at the first road you come to and the trail head is right there). The trail does have a couple small hills, max 8% grade, and rides through a lovely field of Bluestem grass and then a short wooded section, with views of the tops of a few mounds over the grasses. At the far end of the trail is a nice rest area with a shelter, working water fountain, and pit toilets. The mounds were one of the highlights of the trip, natural and peaceful even with the nearby houses encroaching, and I highly recommend it. Unfortunately we decided not to go on so never made it into the town of Albany or beyond as the thought of more roadside trail riding was so unpalatable by this point. It may have gotten better, I don't know, and we'd really wanted to visit the sand prairie area by Thomson, the Heirloom cafe, as well as the lock and dam, but not this day. The second highlight of the day did occur after retracing our route, on one of the ugly stretches of roadside trail - I happened to look down and found wild cactus growing! So that made up for things a bit. All told, just shy of 40 miles roundtrip, with a really nice meal at Brothers restaurant in Rapids City, just a block or two away from the parking area. There were definitely several good points as mentioned above, and plenty of people would likely not mind the close proximity of the trail to the road, it just isn't my cup of tea. We may go back another day and ride Savanna south to Albany to see what we missed.
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