Rock River Trail

06/02/2026

New Sculpture Celebrates Dean “Bareback” Mathias

The Rock River Trail Initiative is proud to celebrate longtime board member Dean “Bareback” Mathias, whose passion for cycling, trail advocacy, and helping others has inspired countless people throughout the Midwest.

On May 29, 2026 more than 100 supporters gathered at Schwiebert Riverfront Park in Rock Island, IL for the dedication of Come Ride With Us, a striking metal bicycle sculpture honoring Dean and his wife, Deb, for their decades of leadership and service to the cycling community. Commissioned through the efforts of Quad City Arts and the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, the sculpture was created by Moline artist Paul Lange and stands alongside the bike path that winds through the park—a fitting tribute to two people who have spent their lives encouraging others to get out and ride.

For more than 40 years, Dean has been a tireless ambassador for cycling. Whether organizing rides, promoting trail development, repairing bicycles along the route, or welcoming new riders, he has dedicated himself to making cycling accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Known affectionately as “Bareback” for riding a bicycle without a traditional seat, Dean has logged as many as 8,500 miles in a single year and become a beloved figure throughout the cycling world. In the photo below of the sculpture you’ll note the blue bike and rider which depicts “Bareback” Dean riding his custom bike that does not have a seat.

His generosity extends far beyond the Quad Cities. Dean has participated in more than 22 RAGBRAI rides—The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa—and is widely regarded as one of the event’s legendary figures. Each morning, he is among the first riders on the road, his panniers filled with snacks, tools, spare parts, and supplies to help fellow cyclists. More often than not, he is among the last to arrive at the overnight destination, having spent the day assisting riders in need. Whether fixing a flat tire, offering encouragement, or providing a helping hand, Dean has made it his mission to ensure that no cyclist is left behind.

His commitment to serving others has earned admiration from fellow riders, bicycle clubs, and organizations across the country. Yet those who know Dean best understand that his greatest accomplishment is not the miles he has ridden, but the community he has built through kindness, generosity, and a genuine love of people.

The dedication of Come Ride With Us recognizes more than a cyclist—it honors a friend, mentor, advocate, and trail champion whose legacy will continue to inspire generations of riders. We congratulate Dean and Deb on this well-deserved recognition and thank them for their extraordinary contributions to cycling, trails, and the people and communities they have touched along the way.
Photo credit to City of Rock Island
https://rockrivertrail.com/new-sculpture-celebrates-dean-bareback-mathias/

05/21/2026

Are you interested in helping beautify the Watertown community while improving water quality in the Rock River?

Many plants have been installed along the shoreline of Riverside Creek and now we need to help them survive and thrive! Please join us on any of our regularly scheduled volunteer days. The 2nd Saturday and the last Thursday of every month from May to October.

Starting on Thursday, May 28th they will be visiting the restoration sites along Riverside Park creek in Watertown throughout the growing season to maintain them and ensure that they survive and thrive.
Click here to get more info https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/Mm369466kq_6qLQ91ylnWA

05/12/2026

Rock River Heritage Trees are Living Witnesses
Do you have any remarkable trees in your Rock River community to share with us? Does your community have a Heritage Tree program?

Rock River Trail coordinator, Therese Oldenburg, who is based in Beloit, just launched the Beloit Heritage Trees Program to find and recognize the living landmarks that connect her community to its past. Learn more about Beloit's new program at https://beloitheritagedays.com/heritagetrees/

The 320-mile corridor of the Rock River is more than a waterway — it is a living landscape shaped by ancient forests, prairie savannas, Native cultures, and generations of communities that grew along its banks. Scattered throughout the river valley are heritage trees: towering Bur Oaks, White Oaks, Cottonwoods, Sycamores, and other giants that have survived for centuries as witnesses to the region’s natural and human history.
Many of these trees began growing long before European settlement, during the time when Native nations including the Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, Sauk, Meskwaki, and others lived along the Rock River and depended upon its rich ecosystem. Massive Bur Oaks once dotted the open oak savannas that stretched across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Maintained through intentional cultural burning, these landscapes featured widely spaced trees, tall prairie grasses, and thriving wildlife populations. Some of the surviving heritage oaks found today may date back 300 to 500 years, making them among the oldest living organisms in the region.

Along the Rock River, heritage trees often stand near places of historical significance — village sites, trading routes, river crossings, early farms, parks, and public gathering spaces. Their enormous trunks and sprawling limbs connect present-day communities to the landscapes first encountered by early settlers, who frequently described “oak openings” and park-like groves lining the river valley.

These trees also remain ecological powerhouses. Mature oaks support hundreds of species of butterflies and moths, provide nesting habitat for birds, shelter mammals, stabilize riverbanks, and produce acorns that sustain wildlife throughout the year. Large floodplain trees such as Cottonwoods and Sycamores help anchor soils and shade waterways, improving the health of the river ecosystem.

Today, heritage trees along the Rock River serve as living landmarks and reminders of long-term stewardship. Communities throughout Wisconsin and Illinois increasingly recognize the importance of identifying, protecting, and celebrating these giants — not only for their size and beauty, but for the stories they carry. Every ancient tree along the Rock River corridor represents a direct living connection to centuries of environmental change, Indigenous history, settlement, conservation, and community identity.

Protecting these trees ensures that future generations will continue to experience the same sense of wonder inspired by standing beneath a centuries-old oak whose roots reach deep into the shared history of the Rock River Valley.

05/01/2026

Rock Falls Tourism announces two Calls for Artists for the 2026 Art in the Park Sculpture Walk and Outdoor Art Gallery, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in the RB&W District in Rock Falls, IL. These opportunities invite artists to showcase their creativity through a juried outdoor gallery and a year-long public sculpture exhibit.

Cash awards and stipends will go to the artists selected and their works will be promoted.

For more information, contact: Melinda Jones, Director of Rock Falls Tourism, (815) 622-1106 [email protected]

All on the Rock River Trail Art Route. https://rockrivertrail.com/art-route-of-the-rock-river-trail/

04/27/2026

The board of directors of Friends of the Rock River dba Rock River Trail Initiative held its annual meeting April 22nd at the Rock River Trail Visitors Center located at Nature at the Confluence, 306 Dickop Street, South Beloit, Illinois. An important guest at the meeting was Woodrow Woodpecker, a recent donation to NATC from the Rockford Area Arts Council 2025 summer youth program. Travel the Rock River Trail and stop at the visitors center at NATC and say "Hi" to Woodrow!

03/21/2026

In 2026 we invite you to pick up and plant a free Rock River Trail Liberty Oak tree to celebrate 250 years of the founding of our country.
When you plant a Liberty Oak sapling in 2026, you are not just celebrating 250 years, you are investing in the next 250. Planting these saplings will mark three moments in time — the founding of our nation, the present generation, and the generations still to come.

For the 16th year in a row, the Rock River Trail will distribute oak and pecan saplings along the Rock River corridor in mid-April. Over these 16 years Chad Pregracke, president of Living Lands and Waters’ One Million Trees program, has graciously donated 167,000 trees to the Rock River Trail Initiative and our watershed

The goal of this project is to re-establish native, nut-bearing, hardwood trees along waterways to help reduce erosion, improve water & air quality, provide shelter and food for wildlife, and to improve biodiversity.

According to availability, each county will receive bur oak, red oak, and swamp white oak and pecan saplings. Each sapling is 1 to 2 feet long and bare-rooted. The trees will be distributed in Rock Island, Henry, Whiteside, Lee, Ogle and Winnebago counties in Illinois, and Rock, Dane, Jefferson and Fond du Lac counties in Wisconsin. Each county will have its own distribution method.

Trees should be planted near the Rock River or near the mouth of one of its tributaries. Trees are available for the public sector: city, county, state, parks, preserves and conservation areas, and for private individuals on farms, residences and businesses along the Rock River—all free of charge.

The Rock River Trail Initiative established a National Water Trail along the 320 miles of the Rock River, from its source above the Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin to its mouth at the Quad Cities in Illinois. This was achieved in March of 2013, when it was designated a National Water Trail by the National Park Service.

A BIG THANK YOU! Rock River Trail board member Steve Rypkema has coordinated this effort for the last several years. We are so appreciative of the work and miles he has put in delivering the trees to the eleven counties in Illinois and Wisconsin which border the Rock River. https://rockrivertrail.com/rock-river-trail-celebrating-americas-250th-with-liberty-oak-sapling-giveaway/

03/04/2026

Thank you to the crew from the City of Beloit for acting fast to prevent 500 gallons of milk whey from entering the Rock River after a truck overturned this week. According to their post a significant portion of the milk whey spilled at Fourth Street and Portland Avenue was diverted from the Rock River this morning.
The report of the overturned tanker truck was received shortly after 8:45am today. Water Resources staff was on scene within 10 minutes. Alyssa McKenney immediately inspected the outfall to the river while dispatching the collections division to help capture any spilled liquid as it traveled down the storm drain.
Of the estimated 300-500 gallons of spilled whey, staff reports that less than 50 gallons made it to the Rock River. The remaining was intercepted by the City of Beloit Collections. Staff remained on site for the duration of the accident for cleaning and containment and coordinated with the Beloit Fire Department to ensure isolation of more spillage as the tanker was turned upright.
Whey has a lower than neutral pH and is an easy food source for the biology of any river. While a food grade product, excessive amounts of an energy rich food source such as whey can deplete oxygen and cause fish kills and algal blooms.
Within four hours after the accident, the street and storm drains had been cleaned and the minor plume that had reached the river had been fully diluted and dispersed.
Water Resources staff did an exceptional job of responding to and cleaning up the accident site while preventing unhealthy levels of whey from flowing into the Rock River.

Thanks to the fast actions of this team, a significant portion of the milk whey spilled at Fourth Street and Portland Avenue was diverted from the Rock River this morning. Great job everyone! (left to right: Eric Hammes, Alyssa McKenney, Josh Shere, and Jay Mounts)

The report of the overturned tanker truck was received shortly after 8:45am today. Water Resources staff was on scene within 10 minutes. Alyssa McKenney immediately inspected the outfall to the river while dispatching the collections division to help capture any spilled liquid as it traveled down the storm drain.

Of the estimated 300-500 gallons of spilled whey, staff reports that less than 50 gallons made it to the Rock River. The remaining was intercepted by the City of Beloit Collections. Staff remained on site for the duration of the accident for cleaning and containment and coordinated with the Beloit Fire Department to ensure isolation of more spillage as the tanker was turned upright.

Whey has a lower than neutral pH and is an easy food source for the biology of any river. While a food grade product, excessive amounts of an energy rich food source such as whey can deplete oxygen and cause fish kills and algal blooms.

Within four hours after the accident, the street and storm drains had been cleaned and the minor plume that had reached the river had been fully diluted and dispersed.

Water Resources staff did an exceptional job of responding to and cleaning up the accident site while preventing unhealthy levels of whey from flowing into the Rock River. I would like to commend Beloit’s Alyssa McKenney and Josh Shere from the Environmental Division and Jay Mounts and Eric Hammes from the Collections Division for their outstanding response and amazing coordination with the fire department.

-Director of Water Resources Chanel Fitch-Kirkpatrick

01/13/2026

Flock to the Rock ’26, Saturday, February 7, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Rock Falls American Legion (712 4th Avenue, Rock Falls).
Eagle Viewing (Before the Event): Before the event begins, everyone is encouraged to visit the Lower Dam area (300 West 1st Street, Rock Falls) along the Rock River and watch eagles soaring and hunting along the river! Be sure to bring binoculars and/or a camera to catch them in action. Please follow proper Eagle Etiquette.
Event Schedule at the American Legion:
10:15 AM – Hoo Haven – Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center 11:00 AM – Native American Culture Presentation 12:00 PM – Incredible Bats
1:00 PM – Gierhart Photo-Graphics
Special Attractions: Robert Storm, ice carver, returns with live ice carvings outside in the American Legion parking lot from 10 AM – 2 PM. NEW for 2026!
More to Explore Nature and educational vendors from 10 AM – 2 PM. Food available for purchase. This event is FREE and welcomes all ages! Bring the whole family and enjoy a day of wildlife, education, and winter fun at Flock to the Rock ’26.

10/02/2025

As the Rock River winds it way through Wisconsin and Illinois there are over 35 beautiful locations that you can enjoy a hike of various lengths. This Autumn we invite you to experience 4 of our beautiful river towns that straddle the Stateline: Beloit, WI, South Beloit, IL, Rockton, IL and Loves Park, IL. This Autumn hiking adventure article is written by Rock River Trail board member and coordinator Therese Oldenburg. Happy trails to you!

"8 Great Autumn Hiking Adventures In The Stateline Area"
As the leaves begin to change color and the air crisps up challenge yourself to take 8 Autumn Walking Adventures in 8 stunning locations, traveling from north to south through the Stateline area. Begin your journey at the northernmost trails, where crisp air and fiery colors set the tone for adventure. As you make your way south, each stop offers something new to discover—prairies glowing with golden grasses, woodlands alive with brilliant reds and oranges, peaceful river walks, and overlooks that showcase the beauty of autumn from every angle. From short, leisurely loops to longer treks under a glowing canopy, each hike invites you to pause, breathe, and soak in the changing season. By the time you’ve completed all eight, you’ll have experienced the full sweep of fall’s beauty across the landscape—step by step, trail by trail. https://rockrivertrail.com/8-great-autumn-walking-adventures-in-stateline-area/

09/10/2025

Thank you to the community of Oregon! After a five-year absence, volunteers scoured the water and banks of the Rock River to “sweep” the river of trash during the Oregon Area Rock River Sweep on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Volunteers combed the river in boats near Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.