Biking Along the Mississippi River

The Great River Trail along the winding MississippiIn Wisconsin, one will arrive at the small city of
River was constructed in 1938 by the governorsPrescott. Further on are country roads, farming
of the 10 river states who thought of connectingfields on rolling hills and valleys. Occasionally, one
the then existing network of rural roads andcan find wooded areas.
highways to become the Great River Road, alsoIn Iowa, the first place to see is New Albin, a
called as the Mississippi River Trail. The result wassmall community deeply connected to the river.
a blending of cultures and varied very interestingMore rolling hills and wooded areas can be found.
sceneries in the river of each individual state likeThe trail passes the Effigy Mounds National
lush greeneries, big cities and rural rustic scenes asMonument, and the beautiful communities perched
well as wide spaces, charming communities andbetween the hills and the river. Iowa has some of
the Delta.the most spectacular scenic views in the northern
From its headwaters along Itasca, Minnesotaside of the trail. Dubuque City, an industrial center
towards the Delta at the Gulf of Mexico, inis fast becoming a tourist destination because of
Louisiana, the Mississippi River Trail is a world-classits beautiful location and historic streets. The
bicycling route connecting 10 states as well as thegovernment manages forests, state parks and
cities of St. Louis, Minneapolis, New Orleans,recreation areas along the Mississippi River.
Memphis and the numerous towns along the way.The Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, then the
The Mississippi River Trail Project answered theDavenport and Bettendorf of Iowa, and Rock
need for an alternate transportation and,Island and Moline in Illinois comes next. The trails
consequently, the conservation of naturalfollow a network called RiverWay, which connects
resources. This has also become an addednatural sites with urban streets and connects the
come-on for tourism opportunities.two states through a water taxi system. In some
Adventure-seekers have also found the trailspoint, the RiverWay can be seen as a type of
very appealing, particularly for bike enthusiasts.public art. At Horseshoe Lake, migrant Canada
The location is filled with interesting sites to see ingeese can be seen sometime within the year.
the river trails for bike enthusiasts. In Minnesota,On the Missouri border, one can find more farms
bikers will start at the Itasca Park, a 20-mileand small cities, which are quaintly beautiful in their
paved biking trail passing through pines and birchown right. The trail also passes through Mark
trees of Minnesota's North Woods. After theTwain's home. Hence, some areas still retain the
park, the road will traverse along the river andold charm and historic influence of the former
country roads and to the city of Bemidji. The PaulFrench colonizers.
Bunyan Trail will lead to the farming and lakeBikers will also pass by Kentucky. It is known to
country. There are also fishing spots and golfbe the former place of the Chickasaw Indians.
courses along the road.There are beautiful, rich and rolling farmlands with
South of St. Cloud is the twin river cities ofsome forested areas. Overlooking the river is the
Minneapolis and St. Paul, which have urbanColumbus Belmont State Park providing a
characters. The important St Anthony Falls isspectacular view of the Mississippi river and the
within passing distance and the cities connect toMissouri shore. One can put up camp here and
parks and natural areas before and rural areaswatch the amazing sunset over the Mississippi
and then going to the state of Wisconsin.River.