This week, Renee and I are really excited to talk about our newest route addition: The Great River Road.
The Mississippi divides the Continental United States and flows from Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The Great River Road National Scenic Byway follows the course of the Mississippi River for nearly 3,000 miles as it makes this incredible journey.
The Great River Road passes through 10 states and hundreds of river towns and cities and it is the longest Scenic Byway in the country. Some say that the Great River Road is the most scenic of all the designated scenic byways.
Renee and I grew up fairly near the Mississippi and have lived very close to the river for the past 30 years. We always enjoy riding along the river when we can and so we decided to create the Great River Road Routes so others can enjoy the river as much as we do.
The Mississippi played a significant role in the history and development of our country and it continues to play an important role today through transportation, commerce and recreation. Many towns have monuments or museums where you can learn about the history of that region.
The terrain along the entire Great River Road is greatly varied. The route begins among lakes and marshes in North Central Minnesota and gives way to steep bluffs and valleys in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Northern Illinois. The bluffs eventually give way to flatlands which are extensively farmed as you travel farther South. Eventually you reach the great delta where the scenery is coastal lowlands and marsh.
We have split out the Great River Road by state, so if you want to ride a particular section, you can purchase the state with that section. In addition to the Great River Road, we have added another short route in Minnesota that connects the Great River Road to the Canadian Border. This is for those riders that want to complete the entire "Canada to the Gulf" ride.
In each state we have also created a Northbound and a Southbound route so that there are no routing issues created by divided highways. We have also broken up each state into roughly a days riding. This is to help riders plan for stopping points. It also keeps the file sizes small so that they will work on more GPS devises and Phone Apps.
So if you are looking for a scenic ride, or an epic journey, check out the Great River Road Routes in the Driftless Store!
There are great discounts for purchasing the entire journey on SD Card, USB Stick or as a zip file!!
Driftless Challenge:
It's less than 2 weeks to the start of the Driftless Challenge!!
Remember, it's free to enter and there are monthly winners!!
For more information, or to get a copy of the list of Challenge Sites, go to our Driftless Challenge page.
We hope you have a great weekend!
Ride Safe!
Dale and Renee