Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Muscatine, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Having the trail link map helped since there are many on and off paths that look like the trail. Stay in your lane when busy. Will do this trail again. Very nice ride, plenty of bathrooms, and a nice pavilion at the west end.
June 19, 2024 (11:30AM)
Rode the Great River Trail as day two of our Mississippi trip. I was not happy with the trip at all. Let me tell you why. The trail is 60+ miles long and stretches from Savanna, IL to the Rock Island, IL area. Having read the reviews we drove up Hwy 84 to just south of Savanna. We could see the trail along the way, asphalt but a lot of cracks/bumps, dips and yikes areas. We saw maybe 2 bikers. Our starting point ended up at Spring Lake, just south of Savanna. It was a good spot and there is a 4 mile trail around this lake, which we did not do, but wished we had. Going south, our plan was to get to Thomson and grab a lunch. The weather was hot with just enough wind, out of the south, to be annoying. At first the trail was a perfect rails to trails; asphalt path, a little cluttered but ok. We rounded a turn at a nice visitors center and then the niceness ended; as did the trail. We ended up on a country road; Riverview Road; which is a road but there were limited glimpses of the river. Traffic was light therefore we had no trouble with cars/trucks. We kept waiting for the trail to pick back up but it never did. This was our main disappointment. The saving grace was Dusty's, in Thomson, IL. The friendly staff took good care of us, cooling us down and getting us some lunch. We flipped back north, past the federal penitentiary, on the country road, this time with the wind at our backs. All in all we did 16 miles with 157 feet of elevation. This was a one time trail for us. I look back at the trail map and it does show Riverview Road, however I wanted to make sure, with this review, that other riders understood that they would be on a country road.
Kevin
We just returned from our week-end-a day early. Yes chilly weather was a factor but even more to the point, the trail was a Huge disappointment. We had decided to drive to south end and eye the conditions that rec'd mostly negative comments. We never even unloaded our bikes! The trail is basically not maintained, often runs right along OR on the highway for the majority of its 62 miles. The straight, unimaginative paths are not only boring but neglected to the pt of being dangerous - often far from the Mississippi River. Where did trail get it's name from?! Illinois once again leaves the user in the dust - or should I say weeds. We were left w/ a very negative impression, leading to our distrust of both the IL trail system as well as Rails to Trails reviews. It was obvious this trail was quickly laid out to meet some timeline set by a non-biking administrators. We counted two (!) people using trail in over the 60+ miles we covered from car. THAT should say it all!
We feel strongly that reviewers on Trail Link need to be more direct with readers. Polite and tolerant reviews are as much a disservice to the bikers as the abominable trail itself!
This was a fun trail to ride. Almost 100% concrete, flat and fast. It’s a nice mix of woods, town and suburbs and some industrial areas.
Pros: Excellent condition, smooth concrete; has a few key things to see; On north end you can travel safely 2 blocks off trail to Red’s Ale House for a nice bite in nice setting. Cons: entire north end from the Waterplant Prairie Park runs along Dubuque Street (very busy) and crosses several intersections. It is a one and done for me, but if you are local, it would be a good “go to” trail.
Road from Rock Island to Port Bryan and it was really nice and paved. Read reviews as this is a long trail with mixed surfaces. But we got 40 miles in our route an enjoyed. There’s a holiday inn in Rock Island 2 blocks form a trail head. Really good food wit Distance hin walking do
Sunset Park is lovely, great for picnic. The trail is pretty rough. It is mostly asphalt and has a lot of cracks that have not been maintained. A couple of short bridges with wood roadbed have been repaired with sheets of 3/4 inch plywood. Signage is pretty good. We would have gone on past Moline except for the condition of the surface.
I started at the Corps of Engineers park just outside of Thomson, il. Starts out beautiful riding among pine tree. Then transitions to a treeless sand prairie paved with smooth blacktop. Virtually no shade in this area. The trail dwindles away into a blacktop road that deteriorates more and more every 100 yards or so. Just before reaching the road to the lock and dam I decided I'm not enjoying this so I turned back to ward Thomson where my car was parked. I'm perfectly willing to pay the $5 fee to ride trails in Wisconsin or Iowa.
However I will say the Great River trail is outstanding from Savanna to the Fish & Wildlife facility 4 miles South of Savanna.
The description is incorrect. This trail is not fit for road bikes. It's a shame that the Great American Rail Rrail put this as a gateway trail as it is in such disrepair and neglect. What a mess.
First time walking this trail. It's a good trail with pretty views. Will be walking it again.
As several reviews note some sections are in poor repair and you will feel safest on a mtb or hybrid. But the text that 1.3 million people use it seems nuts as I have often ridden sections for 2 or 3 hours and seen only a couple of folks fishing and almost no one on the trail itself. Has very good birding (eagles, owls, waterfowl, whatever is migrating), decent waterfowl, easy to let your dog off leash as the trail is usually bounded by woods of a few dozen yards that screen you from the farmland that makes up almost all of the adjacent land. The locks are nice stopping/camping spots, it crosses over a couple of rivers which is an engineering marvel and the raspberries and mulberries are abundant in season. Not every bike trail has to be smooth pavement so be prepared and enjoy.
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