Illinois River Road
National Scenic Byway 280 mi in Illinois.
About the Illinois River Road
The Illinois River Valley imparts feelings of awe at the power of the river winding its way through a land form carved by glacial melt water. Experience the seasonal colors and rhythms of the forests, wetlands, bluffs, and prairies on your own or follow one of seven different nature activity guides.
Federal Highway Administration, America's Byways's own description, in its words. Byway page on America's Byways.
Camping along the byway
- on the roadWoodford State Fish and Wildlife Area · State park
- on the roadHavana Riverfront Park Campground · City, county or regional park · 12 sites · reservable
- on the roadCarl Spindler Campground · City, county or regional park · 82 sites · reservable
- 0.6 mi offMarshall State Fish & Wildlife Area · State park
- 0.9 mi offStarved Rock State Park · State park · reservable
- 1.6 mi offCamp Wokanda Group Campground · City, county or regional park · 7 sites · reservable
- 1.9 mi offMatthiessen State Park · State park
- 2.0 mi offLake Canton Campground · City, county or regional park · 75 sites
- 3.4 mi offFulton County Camping and Recreation Area · City, county or regional park · reservable
- 3.5 mi offSand Ridge State Forest · State park · reservable
- 3.5 mi offSpring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area · State park
- 3.9 mi offRice Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area · State park
Public campgrounds within 5 miles of the road as the crow flies, nearest the road first (this stretch is in several separate pieces); each one's page has its facts, season and weather by month.
About this page's facts
The line is the Federal Highway Administration's scenic byways layer (HEPGIS, a snapshot of 2022-06-24, a US government work), cut at the state line and simplified for the map; the length is the line's. The designation is the program's own: the national tiers from FHWA's America's Byways roster, the rest from the layer's designation field. Road conditions, closures and seasonal gates change: check the agency's own page and the state's road conditions before you go.