Since the Driftless area just touches the northwest corner of Illinois, we have only created one Illinois route; The Land of Lincoln Route. While most of Illinois is flat or contains gently rolling hills, this part of the state displays the same contours as the rest of the Driftless Area. Two of the areas more popular roads are Blackjack Road and Stagecoach Trail. Both are featured on this route. In addition to all of the great roads, this route is also home to many historical sites and museums. Galena, obviously, has great historical significance, but don’t overlook the Apple River Fort in Elizabeth, and the Blackhawk Battlefield Park near Stockton. This route also takes you past Charle’s Mound which is the highest natural point in Illinois. The Land of Lincoln Route also boasts 2 waterfalls; Apple Canyon Falls and Thunder Bay Falls. There are also many scenic parks such as Mississippi Palisades State Park and Point Rock Park in Mount Carroll. While this route is mainly in Illinois, it does take a brief excursion into Wisconsin to visit Hazel Green and New Diggings as well as to explore Wisconsin Rustic Road #66.
Approximate Distance: 230 Miles
Estimated Riding Time: 6.25 Hours
Road Surface: Paved
Attractions:
Galena: Horseshoe Mound Overlook, Chestnut Mountain Resort, Jo Davies County Courthouse, President Grant’s Home, Casper Bluff Reserve, Sculpture Park
Elizabeth: Long Hollow Scenic Overlook, Apple River Fort, Chicago Great Western Railroad Museum, Mini Stonehenge, Giant Shark
Savanna: Army Depot, Black Oak Dune Overlook, Mississippi Palisades Park, Havencrest Castle, Train Car Museum
Hazel Green: Dinosaur Sculptures
Stockton: Minions, Pizza Man Statue, Blackhawk Battlefield Park
Council Hill: Council Hill Station
Scales Mound: Charles Mound, One Formula Racing
Apple River: Apple River Canyon Falls, Apple River Canyon State Park
Sinsinawa: Sinsinawa Mound Center
Mount Caroll: Point Rock Park, Raven’s Grin Inn
Wisconsin Rustic Road #66
A Paper Map is available for this route.
Motorcycle Rides, Dubuque, Hazel Green, Dickeyville, Cuba City, New Diggings, Scales Mound, Council Hill Station, Stockton, Galena, Hanover, Savanna, Mt. Carroll, Elizabeth
Land of Lincoln Route
If you are riding with a group, we ask that every person using our route for navigation purchase their own copy.
In order to encourage this, we are happy to offer a discount for group purchases. Please contact us after purchasing 1 item at full price, and we will set up a coupon code that will give everyone in your group 50% off of the same item.
Our digital routes are designed to operate in most GPS devices. In addition to GPSs, our routes should work with several smartphone apps. They will NOT work on Google Maps or Apple Maps.
If you plan on using a smartphone app, we recommend the REVER app. REVER will work with both Android and iOS and in addition to navigation it has many other great features.
For best results in REVER, download the route to your computer first, then import into your smartphone. Turn by turn may not work, so we recommend that you utilize the "Follow the Line" option.
You can get 20% off your first year’s subscription to REVER by following THIS LINK.
AND using this coupon code at checkout: Driftlessforless.
By using this link and coupon code a portion of your subscription fee will go to support Driftless Roads USA.