View Full Version : Thru-Hiking the River to River Trail
fireneck
09-16-2011, 14:14
Anyone thru-hiked the River to River trail?
The Solemates
09-16-2011, 15:03
i'm interested to hear this as well. i've been wanting to do this trail. i may just section hike it though....depends on life as usual
just where is this trail and how long is it? I've never heard of it!
Hikes in Rain
09-17-2011, 13:28
It's in southern Illinois, a little south of where I grew up. Only interesting spot in Illinois, in my never to be humble opinion. (Just kidding)
fireneck
09-18-2011, 06:44
It's in southern Illinois, a little south of where I grew up. Only interesting spot in Illinois, in my never to be humble opinion. (Just kidding)
WHAT?! You have never been to Mississippi Scenic Palisades State Park then, Hikes in Rain!
It's about 250 miles from the Ohio River (Eastern most point of IL) to the Mississippi River (Western most Point). It runs through the Garden of the Gods State Park. There is limited info about it on the internet. I plan on hiking it in the next few years...
Hikes in Rain
09-18-2011, 08:03
You're right, I haven't. I moved out of Illinois back in '74, and haven't been back except for funerals and visits to family, which are geographically limited to the corn, wheat and soybean fields of the prairie section. Ran so far from that state I ended up in Alaska!
Go to http://www.rivertorivertrail.com/ and order the latest trail guide. You will defintely need it. There is some road walking involved. I did a three night/four day trip on it back in early April 2006 or 2007. I started at Garden of the Gods and ended up at Giant City State Park. I highly recommend getting the fried Chicken at the Giant City Lodge! Plan on some road walking. A good time to go would be the fall; however, plan your trip around the Illinois Shotgun Deer hunting seasons. Early Spring is another good time. Winter would not be too bad either. I would avoid the summer months. It can be very hot there because there is no high elevation to escape the heat.
Hiked the Red Cedar trail in July this year. This is only a 12 mile trail in Giant City state park. The River to River trail runs jointly on part of it. This trail was very overgrown and I have never seen so many spider webs. Also there was no available water. We cached several gallons for our one night camping. I'm sure the entire river to river trail can't be like this. Don't know if this helps any.
I'm thinking about a thru-hike between Christmas and New Years. I grew up camping and backpacking this area as a kid. There are two routes on the eastern side, not sure of the mileage difference.
Sorry to bump this old thread, but the R2R trail was my first long distance hike. I was brand new to backpacking and lugged a 40# external the whole trail. I loved every minute of it - It's what got me hooked on long distance hiking.
I found the trail to be quite nice when I was down there in 2009...Very well marked, easy to follow.
I returned this past year to try some new gear out for my Colorado Trail thru...A lot had changed. The guidebook a carried (third edition) was almost useless. A lot of the blazes were gone, much of the trail had been rerouted.
Here's some pics and a little write up I did. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I'm going to try and yo-yo it once I can afford to take a little time off.
http://tylerhikesthect.tumblr.com/r2r