Video documentary of our bikepacking trip through the upper Midwest, mostly along the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful one-way ride from St. Louis Missouri to Duluth Minnesota. Much of the route followed Mississippi River Road in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota but we also used part of the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) Great Rivers South (section 1) maps and route, and the Northern Tier (section 7). See links for ACA route information and maps...
www.adventurec...
More details about the route (but still somewhat general)...
Missouri:
- Depart metro St Louis through Creve Coeur County Park
- Cross Missouri River on the Page Ave (Hwy 364) bicycle bridge
- Katy Trail (crushed/packed lime surface) to St. Charles, MO
Illinois:
- Cross Mississippi River via Golden Eagle Ferry into Calhoun County, IL
- Camp at McCully Heritage Project north of Brussels IL
- Mississippi River Road in Illinois north to Quincy IL
- Camp at Driftwood Campground & RV Park (northern edge of Quincy)
- Miscellaneous roads along Mississippi and away from the river, through Warsaw, Nauvoo, and Dallas City
Iowa:
- Cross Mississippi River on bridge into Burlington, IA (hotel overnight due to storms)
- North on Mississippi River Road and other rural roads to Muscatine, IA (B&B overnight due to storms)
- Straight north from Muscatine to Monticello IA for hotel overnight (away from river, trying to shortcut the eastern bend in the river to shorten the route and avoid more storms)
- Rural roads to Guttenberg (note this is not on the ACA route but was suggested by a local as a better route than the ACA route... it was a good choice!)
- North along river to Pikes Peak State Park, where we were going to camp but the campground was closed for reconstruction. Instead, we continued a few more miles north to McGregor to stay in a B&B.
- Continued north along west side of Mississippi River into Minnesota
Minnesota:
- North through La Crescent, MN to Great River Bluffs State Park - bicycle campground is right along the roadway (hwy 14) and does not require entry in to main park (very primitive self-serve camping, but we had the whole place to ourselves). This was very fortunate to find, as all campgrounds were filled (it was Memorial Day weekend).
- Continued along the river (northwest-ish) to Winona MN, crossed river bridge into Wisconsin
Wisconsin:
- Followed river road north to Bay City, camped in city park (main campground was full but walk-in tent sites were available)
- North to eventually abandon following the Mississippi River and start following the St. Croix river (which continues as the boarder between Wisconsin and Minnesota)
- Stop to visit friends in Hudson WI, before crossing river bridge in Hudson to re-enter Minnesota (separated bike lane on Interstate 94 bridge)
Minnesota (again):
- North in Minnesota to Stillwater
- Northwest (leaving river) on Brown's Creek State Trail (bike path)
- Miscellaneous roads, past White Bear Lake, to Rice Creek Park Campground (near Centerville MN)
- North on mix of dedicated bike path (Hardwood Trail, Sunrise Prairie Trail) and roads, through Wyoming, Rush City, etc. to Hinckley (road portions were flat, boring, and somewhat heavy traffic but not unsafe)
- Hinckley trailhead for William Munger State Trail (bike path)
- Munger trail to Duluth, with stop partway for overnight camping in General Andrews State Forest (short ride from Munger Trail)
- Miscellaneous roads/streets through town to get to Lake Superior
Music in Video:
"Outro" by Tash Sultana
"For Another" by Harry Keyworth
"Little Rays" by Echasketch
"Rocks and Water" by Deb Talan
"Aura" by Avoure
"Trouble" by Battleme'
"Big Smoke" by Tash Sultana
25 авг 2024
