Missouri · Arkansas
Ozarks
5 days · Round trip from Des Moines, Iowa · 3–6 bikes
5 daysRide from Des Moines
$5,050
per rider · +$400 passenger
Iowa · Illinois · Wisconsin
Mississippi River
Four days on the Great River Road, and it starts close to home. We leave from Des Moines, ride the old river towns of Iowa and Illinois, climb the bluffs at Dubuque, and wind through the hills and hollows of the Driftless before heading home.
- 4 days · 3 nights
- ~850 miles
- No flight, no haul. You ride from Des Moines
- Best: late September–mid October
Along the route
What you'll see
The stops and roads on the Mississippi River ride.
The Great River Road under the bluffs at Maiden Rock, Wisconsin 
The river from the bluffs at Lansing, Iowa (Day 3) 
Pikes Peak overlook, McGregor, Iowa (Day 3) 
Fall color on a Driftless back road 
Evening on the bluffs at Stockholm, Wisconsin 
Sunset over the river at Alma, Wisconsin
The route
Day by day
4 riding days, 3 nights. Best time: Late September to mid-October.
- Day 1~235 mi
Des Moines to Nauvoo, Illinois
- Roads
- IA-163 to Pella, the Historic Hills Scenic Byway along the Des Moines River, then IL-96 along the Illinois bluffs.
- Stops
- Pella's Dutch downtown and windmill · Bentonsport, an 1840s river town · Lock & Dam 19 at Keokuk · Historic Nauvoo, a restored 1840s city.
- Paid tours
- Vermeer Windmill & Pella Historical Village
- Historic Nauvoo guided tours
- Overnight
- Nauvoo Temple House Hotel
- Day 2~215 mi
Nauvoo to Dubuque
- Roads
- Snake Alley in Burlington, one of the crookedest streets in America · US-67 along the river through LeClaire, Clinton, and Sabula · US-52 bluffs into Dubuque.
- Stops
- Old Fort Madison · John Deere Pavilion in Moline · Antique Archaeology in LeClaire, the American Pickers shop · Bellevue State Park overlook.
- Paid tours
- Buffalo Bill Museum, LeClaire
- Overnight
- Hotel Julien Dubuque (1915). A hotel has stood on this corner since 1839.
- Day 3~160 mi
Dubuque to Decorah
- Roads
- US-52 north through Balltown and Guttenberg · the climb to Pikes Peak State Park · IA-76 and IA-9 along the Driftless ridges.
- Stops
- Breitbach's in Balltown, Iowa's oldest bar and restaurant (1852) · Pikes Peak overlook in McGregor · Effigy Mounds National Monument · Mount Hosmer in Lansing.
- Paid tours
- National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium
- Fenelon Place Elevator
- Villa Louis, Prairie du Chien
- Overnight
- Hotel Winneshiek (1905), with the Steyer Opera House upstairs
- Day 4~260 mi
Decorah to Des Moines
- Roads
- US-52 to Burr Oak · county roads to Spillville · IA-150 south, then home.
- Stops
- Burr Oak, where the Ingalls family ran the Masters Hotel · Fort Atkinson, an 1840s frontier fort.
- Paid tours
- Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
- Bily Clocks Museum
- Overnight
- Home
$3,850 per rider
One Price. The Whole Trip.
Included
- Historic hotels every night
- A planned route on the best roads in the Midwest
- A lead guide
- A support vehicle for luggage and tools
- Every museum and site admission on the itinerary
Not included
- Food and drinks
- Fuel
- Bike repairs and parts
- Your riding gear
- The spare emergency bike, if you need it ($50/day)
Good to know
- Meeting point: Des Moines, Iowa. We send the exact address when you book. No bike transport or flight. You ride from there and back.
Group: 3 to 6 bikes
How It Works
No two rides are the same. Every tour is built around the group that books it: the pace, the stops, how early you roll out, and whether the afternoon is one more pass or a hot spring. And we pay attention to who rides with whom. We've spent a lot of years around riders and have a good sense of who will mesh, so we match up groups that get along. Most people go home with new friends.
Every tour needs three bikes to run. Got your own crew of three to six? Book the whole tour for your group and we'll set dates that work for you.
Step 1
Reserve your spot for $200
Pick a tour and put down a $200 deposit. It holds your place, counts toward your tour price, and is refundable any time you ask. Change your mind about which tour? Move it to another one.
Step 2
We set the date
Once enough riders have signed up for a tour, we set the dates with the group. Every tour runs with three to six bikes. The balance is due 30 days before the tour starts.
6 more rides
Other rides
- $200 deposit
Kentucky
Kentucky Bourbon Trail
4 days · Bourbon country · 3–6 bikes
4 daysFly to Louisville$200 deposit$6,300
per rider · +$1,100 passenger
North Carolina · Tennessee · Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains
5 days · The Parkway, the Smokies, and the Dragon · 3–6 bikes
5 daysFly to Asheville$200 deposit$8,250
per rider · +$1,050 passenger
South Dakota · Wyoming
Black Hills
4 days · South Dakota & Wyoming · 3–6 bikes
4 daysFly to Rapid City$200 deposit$6,050
per rider · +$1,100 passenger
Front Range · San Juan Mountains
Colorado
4 days · The Rockies and the San Juans · 3–6 bikes
4 daysFly to Denver$200 deposit$6,850
per rider · +$1,100 passenger
Montana · Yellowstone · Wyoming
Montana Backcountry
6 days · Montana & Yellowstone · 3–6 bikes
6 daysFly to Bozeman$200 deposit$9,650
per rider · +$1,200 passenger
Questions
Questions? Ask Away.
Questions about a tour, your bike, or bringing your own group? Send us a note or give us a call. We'll get back to you within 36 hours.