This trail travels through prairies and backwaters of the upper Mississippi River valley. Built on an abandoned Chicago-Northwestern railroad line, the trail has a finely crushed limestone surface, is wide, and is dead-flat. The Great River trail is within a larger area called the Mississippi Flyway and passes through two National Wildlife Refuges, the Great River Trail Prairie and the Midway Railroad Prairie, both of which can be accessed from the trail. On this ride, you will enjoy the changing wetlands of the Mississippi River backwaters, 500-foot bluffs, hardwood forests, unique sand prairies and oak savannahs.