Illinois | TrailLink

The " Great American" Route Through Illinois

In Illinois, the preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail is poised to stretch across the northern part of the state from the Chicago metropolitan area to the Mississippi River.

Existing trails that host a majority of the route include the Hennepin Canal Parkway, which still contains many of the old locks and aqueducts from its namesake, the early-20th-century Hennepin Canal, and the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Park Trail, which traverses the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, designated in 1984 as the first National Heritage Area in the United States. Toward the end of the Great American route in Illinois, the Great River Trail features the river communities along the mighty Mississippi—including the Quad Cities of East Moline and Rock Island.

Short little trail , a couple of small ponds , lighted path along road. Trail was in good shape , a couple of little bumps here and there, but was a nice little trail coming off the Great River Trail.

October 2020 jedwards7961

Short little trail , a couple of small ponds , lighted path along road. Trail was in good shape , a couple of little bumps here and there, but was a nice little trail coming off the Great River Trail.

Great way to bike across the Mississippi

June 2022 hilbertdr

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

January 0001 Anonymous

Great River Disappoints

June 2024 kevin.gruneisen

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

Indiana Trail Reviews

Accordion

It was fine…

October 2024 ogre395

Rode from Colona to Bureau early October. The trail was dry and in good enough condition to average 9-10mph. There was lots of animal and bird life. I was surprised at how few people I saw. It was very peaceful. The only trail hazard of note were walnuts in the path. I did notice that there could be issues if it is wet. Drainage and mud could be a problem. I do ride a Surly Ogre with 29x2.35 tires and 45 lbs of gear on it. Navigation was not a problem.

Mostly Cow Paths

September 2024 ronbadger66

My wife & I rode two days from LaSalle toward Ottawa and from Ottawa to Marseilles on our recumbent etrikes. Had to turn around the first day before getting to Ottawa, as the trail became two narrow paths through the grass that were impassable for the trikes. The second day we had to lift our trikes over a fallen tree. There were no trail workers to be seen anywhere. That part of the trail rarely followed the canal, but instead wound through the woods on a cow path like trail. The 20 miles or so between LaSalle and Marseilles are not suitable for road bikes or recumbent trikes, but instead are only desirable for cross bikes or fat tire bikes preferably with electric assist.

From Haven to Lake Rd

August 2023 jacquelineannehogan

Not very smooth for inline skating, but great for walking, jogging and biking!

Nice Suburban Trail

July 2023 trob4cy

Some areas could use some resurfacing but overall good trail.

Great Trail! so far my favorite

August 2023 nicole.rymer

We went there on 8/12/23 Great ride love the round the lake part didnt go to far down the way to joliet but we will be back to do more of it! Need to find all the parking spots.