Hennepin Canal State Trail

The Hennepin Canal State Trail is an ideal destination for a relaxing day of picnicking, hiking, biking, fishing and old fashioned family fun. There are plenty of picnic tables along the 104.5-mile linear park spanning five Illinois counties (Rock Island, Bureau, Henry, Lee and Whiteside). Browse our interactive map to help plan your trip.

Constructed from 1892 to 1907, the Hennepin Canal played an important role in U.S. history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hennepin was the first American canal built of concrete without stone cut facings. Although the Hennepin enjoyed limited success as a commercial and industrial waterway, its construction involved a number of engineering innovations, and its waterway, locks, aqueducts and adjoining towpath continue to provide a beautiful recreational resource.

The towpath provides 155 miles of hiking/biking fun from the Illinois River to the Rock River, with the feeder canal path to Rock Falls. Segments of the trails are open to horseback riding and snowmobiling in season. Fishing along the Hennepin is outstanding, and the canal is open to boating and canoeing (locks are no longer operational and must be portaged). Campgrounds and day use areas are located all along the canal.

Before exploring the wonders of the Hennepin Canal, stop in at the Visitor Center near Sheffield. Several displays help illustrate the canal’s past, including tools used to build and operate it, as well as the natural features of the canal corridor.

Activities at Hennepin Canal State Trail

Bicycling

East to west the trail is surfaced from Bureau Junction, near the Illinois River, to Colona on the Rock River. A feeder canal to Rock Falls, 29.2 miles long, also is surfaced. Bring your own refreshments as only the Visitor Center has drinking water available. Be sure to yield the right-of-way to horses.

Snowmobiling

The Hennepin Canal boasts the longest snowmobile trail in the state — 91 miles on the tow path.Snowmobiling on the Hennepin Canal trail is allowed when the trails are declared open by site staff. To check if the trails are open, call the visitor center at 815-454-2328. A pre-recorded message is left during winter hours to indicate daily trail status. Or visit us on Facebook for trail status.

The trail is either open or closed; there are NO partial openings/closings. To declare the trail open requires 4 inches of snow on the ground & 6 inches of frost in the ground. When the trail is closed, the entire park is closed to snowmobile use.

Our trails are NOT groomed. Riding the ice is at your own risk, as the snowmobile trails are the only DESIGNATED place to ride snowmobiles. The ice is often thinner at the locks, bridges, and culverts, and does not always solidly freeze inside the tubes. The snowmobile trail side on the towpath is designated with signs and is also listed in the table below.

Mainline canal snowmobile routes	Towpath	Miles
Lock 2-Bridge 15	South towpath	21.7
Bridge 15-Bridge 17A	North towpath	4.8
Bridge 17A-Bridge 18A	South towpath	0.5
Bridge 18A-Bridge 39	North towpath	23.7
Bridge 39-Bridge 40	South towpath	2.7
Bridge 42A-Lock 29	South towpath	1.5

Feeder canal snowmobile route	Towpath	Miles
Bridge 45	West towpath	27.5

**Please be aware of and respect other people who may be using the Canal for other recreational purposes. Use extreme caution when crossing roads as there are automobile vs snowmobile accidents each year.

We enforce all regulations and laws concerning the use and operation of a snowmobile at the Hennepin Canal Parkway.

Visitor Center:

Before exploring the wonders of the Hennepin Canal trail, stop in at the Visitor Center near Sheffield. The visitor center has a small museum to highlight the wildlife on the canal as well as the great history behind the building of the waterway. Several displays help illustrate the canal’s past, including tools used during its initial construction. At the time the canal was built, workers often made their own tools by hand. There’s also a model of a lock with a boat going through it, and a model of an aqueduct.

You can also get a peek of the plant and animal life at the park from the numerous specimens on display at the visitor center. From red-tailed hawks, osprey, beaver, otter, badgers, squirrels, and even fish – meet nature indoors before heading outside. Hop on the trail right outside the center and take a 5-minute walk to the west where you can find Bridge 15, an original iron truss, wooden timber bridge that crosses the canal.

The Visitor Center is located right along the towpath and you can see the canal from inside the center. Just outside the center is a dock and a small lagoon that bypasses the canal and is used for Illinois’ Catachable Trout Program. In the main complex area, as you walk up to the visitor center, there is a large covered shelter with picnic tables where you can stop for lunch. A playground and outdoor privies are adjacent to the shelter.

Find more racetracks here: https://www.illinipowersports.com/category/racetracks/

Find more info about Hennepin Canal State Trail here: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.hennepincanal.html

Address

16006 E. Street, Sheffield,
IL 61361, USA

Phone

815-915-1354

Email

Website

https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.hennepincanal.html

Social Info

16006 E. Street, Sheffield, IL 61361

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Hennepin Canal State Trail