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Pages on this topic: Overview, Tour of the KATY Trail -- End to End, Tour of Tunnel Hill State Park, Tour of the Natchez Trace Parkway, Tour of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, Grand Tour of St. Genevieve, Tour of Lake Michigan Coastline, Tour of New Orleans, Fall Tour of the KATY Trail.
Extended Vacation Tours, 2010
Tour of the Illinois and Michigan Canal
May 7 through 9, 2010
A piece of history
The Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal was opened in 1848 and operated for almost 100 years. The canal connected Lake Michigan to the Illinois River, and was the final link in a vast water transportation system that connected much of the midwestern United States (through the Mississippi River) to the country’s Atlantic coast (through the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal). The canal’s peak use lasted only 20 years, as competition from new railroads drew away first passenger, then freight traffic. But even in that short period, the I&M was instrumental in establishing the city of Chicago (the canal’s eastern terminus) as one of the preeminent shipping centers in the entire country.
The canal finally closed in 1933. Its right of way was almost immediately set aside by the state for recreational use, and has been developed into state parks and recreational areas since then. The crown jewel of the collection is the Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail, a 96 mile crushed limestone biking and walking trail laid on the towpath that accompanies the canal. The trail passes through diverse landscapes ranging from river bluffs to rolling hills, and is a great place to see abundant wildlife, restored historical sites in the towns and villages that once serviced the canal traffic, and the locks, aqueducts and other structures that made the canal work in its heyday.
On this tour we will spend two days exploring the canal and its surroundings by bicycle. Our base of operations will be Morris, a small town at the middle of the trail, in the heart of the canal’s most scenic section.
Sites along the canal
Channahon State Park is the site of two of the original I&M Canal locks and a restored locktender’s house. Aux Sable Access Area is eight miles from Channahon and has an aqueduct, lock, and locktender’s house. William G Stratton State Park and Gebhard Woods State Park are both near Morris. The M. J. Hogan grain elevator in Seneca is an example of the businesses that thrived during the early days of the canal’s operation. Interpretive programs and information centers are located at various points along the trail.
Itinerary
We will be traveling to Morris from St. Louis on May 7 in a 14 passenger van, with a trailer behind to carry the bicycles. Everyone should bring their bikes to the Touring Cyclist warehouse either Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, so they can be loaded onto the trailer for the trip. We will leave St. Louis on Friday afternoon at 1 PM. We will arrive at our hotel in Morris around 8 PM (after a short dinner break on the way up), and settle in for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday starts with an early breakfast at the hotel, after which we head to the towpath that runs right through town. Today we do an out-and-back ride along the canal starting west. The end of the trail in this direction is at Peru, about 50 miles away. There is so much to see and do along the trail, don’t be reluctant to make frequent stops. Highlights of today’s route include Gebhard Woods State Park, William G Stratton State Park, Buffalo Rock State Park, the grain elevator at Seneca, the Fox River Aqueduct, the LaSalle County Historical Society Museum, and seven locks (if you ride all the way to Peru). Everyone rides at their own pace and turns around wherever they wish, to arrive back at the hotel by 4 to 5 PM. We meet in the hotel lobby at 7 PM for a group dinner at a local restaurant.
Sunday morning after breakfast we head out on the bikes again, this time riding east toward Lockport. We will ride up to 23 miles each way today. This out-and-back route includes such sites as the Aux Sable aqueduct, the Dresden Island lock and dam, McKinley Woods State Park, and the Channahon Access point (with Lock #6, Locktender’s House and an interpretive center). Again riders can go whatever pace and distance they prefer. We will return to Morris by 3 PM, load up in the coach and return to St. Louis by 8 or 9 PM Sunday night.
What the tour provides
This tour costs $205.00 per person, double occupancy. Here is what the tour provides:
- Transportation by van and trailer for you, your bicycle and luggage to Morris and back.
- Two nights lodging (Friday and Saturday nights) at the Day’s Inn, Gore Rd W, Morris, IL 60450 (telephone 816-942-1433).
- Group dinner Saturday night at a nearby restaurant.
- Breakfast each morning at the hotel.
- Mechanical assistance for your bicycle if needed.
- Maps, brochures and guides.
Sign up
To register for this tour, contact Donald Humphries or Carol Boedeker at 314-739-4648.
