Anyone does this trip? Need to go to Fargo in August, and was thinking of making this my route.




The Great River Road National Scenic Byway follows the course of the Mississippi River for 3,000 miles from northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. The scenic route passes through 10 states and hundreds of river towns. The Great River Road is arguably the longest and most important scenic byway in America.

 

We rode from New Orleans to St. Louis and it didn't show me much. Its mostly flood walls. You ride near the river but rarely see it. I haven't ridden the entire thing north of St. Louis but I do know the further north you go the prettier the ride gets. Its really pretty Northern Illinois to Minnesota. Western Wisconsin has some great riding as well.

 

We tried to do the river road 2019 fall with the fall colors. There is an app that can help but I found it it challenging to use because of cell service and it didn’t follow me. We did the Iowa and Minnesota side. Parts were great but at times we were in the middle of town.

 

It gets much better North of Alton Ill. Many places to stop along the way. Don't know once you get north on Ill.

 

Although a bit further to the East, you might want one consider the Natchez Trace trail into Nashville. There are several points you can get on it. It’s a great ride, albeit a bit slow.

 

I forgot when you get to the Wisconsin side that is the best

 

ride the Wisconsin side.

 

Rode part of it in WI and MN earlier this year. Nice ride and scenic. Here's the trip route. Look at flags 6,7,8. Got on the River Road at Prairie du Chen, WI (WI35) then crossed in to MN at La Crosse, WI onto US61.

https://maps.harley-davidson.com/share/rides/cTxGw2rqc

Some of the more southern parts won't have much if any river views but it could be a nice relaxed ride.

 

I rode it from Western Ky north up into Minn. I turned east about 100 miles from the end. Its a pretty nice ride, the farther north the better as others have said, I swapped side of the river several times using some recommendations from some maps and trip info I had. Some of the ride you be close to the river with some views, other times you can be a few miles away. The road is more of a tour of the lands and towns bordering the river. I thought Hannibal Mo, Galena Il, and Lacrosse Wi were the best areas.

 

I've done portions of the northern leg between MN and IL twice. Ulysses S. Grant's former home is in Galena - it's worth going on the tour and the town is scenic too. Definitely stop there. North of Dubuque is road C9Y - definitely take that even if it is a bit out of your way. Effigy Mounds NM is worth a stop but be aware the hiking is steep albeit short. Otherwise, it is just river towns. The road tends to be windy and hilly at times as it climbs and descends river bluffs.

Whatever you do - don't take I-94 to Fargo. It's a boring stretch of interstate with nothing redeeming about it. Find a unique route to and from Fargo. Be aware, the prairie begins two hours east of Fargo and you can encounter very strong headwinds. Expect your fuel mileage to drop several mpg if you run due west into the wind.