Welcome to Illinois' Mississippi River Trail!

Download the Illinois' Mississippi River Trail User Guide.

The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) is a 10-state bicycling route in the process of development. It travels over 2000 continuous miles, on each side of the river, between the headwaters at Lake Itasca , Minnesota and the Gulf of Mexico . When complete, the route will consist of trails and bike-friendly roads, with "MRT" signs identifying the way.

In Illinois , the MRT route traverses some of the state's most diverse landscapes. Steep bluff lands in the "unglaciated" northwest region around Galena provide picturesque scenic beauty amidst small towns and wooded areas. Beyond the industrial communities of Moline and Rock Island , the topography flattens out, and the MRT traverses areas of rich farming country. South of the metropolitan St. Louis area, riders will enter the Delta, where flat river bottom lands provide miles of great cycling.

The MRT in Illinois is a historically-rich corridor as well as a trail offering broad natural diversity. To the north, Galena was the home of General and President Ulysses S. Grant. Nauvoo, settled by the Mormons in 1839, features many buildings from that era including a reconstruction of the impressive Momon temple, completed in 2002. Quincy was the site of one of the famed "Lincoln-Douglas" debates that captured the nation's attention just before the Civil War. Farther south, communities such as Cahokia and Kaskaskia speak to the importantance of French presence in the landscape. Perhaps most important, the site of the pre-Columbian settlement of Cahokia, east of St. Louis, is a World Heritage Site now managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Partners working on the Illinois MRT include government agencies such as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Bi-State Regional Commission, along with citizen groups such as the MRT, Inc., and the League of Illinois Bicyclists. Check MRT Inc.'s website - for information about other states' routes and activities.

LIB, the League of Illinois Bicyclists, has developed a list of recommendations for improvements to the MRT.

About The Guide

The Illinois' Mississippi River Trail User Guide was produced by the League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB) with the assistance of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is intended to promote bicycle touring along the Mississippi River on a 585-mile route suggested by LIB. Route selection was based on factors including proximity to the river, availability of off-road trails, roadway "bike-friendliness", accommodations, and points of interest. Over time, the route will change as more off-road trails are built and improvements made to other roads. Check this website (www.bikelib.org/mrt) for the latest.

The guide is divided into 11 segments of distances averaging 50-60 miles - possibly a day's ride. Segment endpoints are chosen based on mileage and accommodations.

• The guide is immediately available to you via download (see the next section)
• There is a printed copy available by calling the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at 217-782-3715 and asking for "Amy"

Downloading the Guide

Choose from one of three PDF files:

1. User Guide booklet - make a handy 8.5" X 5.5" booklet to bring with you to fit in your jersey pocket or mapholder. See the printing instructions below.
2. User Guide segments - print out one segment per sheet of paper.
3. Going "upstream"? The above User Guides include north-to-south cue sheets. This link provides south-to-north directions.

To print out the booklet version:

1. Print out pages 1-8.
2. Without rearranging the pages, put them back into your printer so that the top of the text of pages 9-16 will be opposite (directly on the other side of) the bottoms of pages 1-8.
3. Print pages 9-16.
4. Again, without arranging, fold the stack so that the cover is on the outside.
5. Staple the booklet - you're done.