Trail Hiker/Rider Stories
River to River Trail Thru-Hiker/Rider Experiences
When it comes to thru-hiking or horse back riding the 157 miles of the River to River Trail in southern Illinois, its an adventure that you must be committed to.
No one finishes anything they don’t begin. A good place to start is to get advice from folks who have hiked or rode the Trail ahead of you.
That’s why we offer these Tales from those that have Thru/Section Hiked or Thru/Section Ridden the entire trail, along with a few helpful tricks of the Trail.
Hike or ride your own trip. Learn your own lessons. Then, send us your story. No doubt, it will benefit someone as they make their way through life on one path or another.
Hiker/Rider-Stories
| Year / Mo | Type of Trip | Who did R2R Trail | Link to their Story |
| 2024 | Thru Hike | Carmen Williams | Carmen Williams 2024 Thru Hike Trail Story |
| 2024 | Thru Hike | Darral Ward | 2024_Darral_Ward_River_to River_Through_Hike01 |
| 2023-2024 | Segmented Hike | David Hilt | 20240308_David_Hilt_Section_Hike_Trail_Story |
| 2019-2023 | Segmented Hike | James Schroeder & Kids | James_Schroeder_Family_Section_Hike Here is a link to Jim's book published in November 2024: New Book on Hiking the R2R with Kids |
| 2023 / 04 | Thru Hike | Glenn Lawrentz Jr. | 2023_Glenn_Lawrentz_from-west-to-east-STANDARD |
| 2022 / 08 | Thru Hike | Mike Gunderloy | Gunderloy_R2R_August_2022 |
| 2022 /03 | Thru Hike | Lindsey Roberts | Lindsey_Roberts_202203 |
| 2022 / 03 | Thru Hike | Michelle Samson | Michelle_Samson_Trail_Story |
| 2021 Summer/Fall | Thru Hike Attempt | Timothy E. Bickel Jennings | Timothy E Bickle Jennings |
| 2021 / Spring | Thru Hike | Scott Oldham | Scott Oldham Story |
| 2021 / 05 | Thru / Section Hike | Jacinda Shields | 202105_Jacinda_River to River Trail Journal May 2021 |
| 2021 / 04 | Thru Hike | Lindsey Roberts | Lindsey_Roberts |
| 2021 / 04 | Thru Hike | Vince Baker | Vince_Baker_R2R_Trail Log April 2021 |
| 2021 / 03 | Thru Hike | Raymond D. Bonnell | 202103_My R2R Trail Thru-Hike Experience |
| 2021 / 04 | Thru Hike | Kevin Gottlieb | Kevin_Gottlieb_Trail_Story |
| 2020 / 11 | Thru Hike | Reese Borlin | 202011_Reese_Borlin_R2R_Trip_Report |
| 2020 / 10 | Thru Hike | Caleb Bess | 20201102_Caleb_Bess_My Time on the River To River Trail - The Trek |
| 2019-2020 | Segmented | Clint Stevens | Clint Stevens |
| 2018-2019 | Segmented | Joe McCamish and Danielle Rose Hartline | Joseph-McCamish-R2R-2018_2019 |
| 2018 / 12 | Segmented | Chris Benda | illinoisbotanizer.com/ Direct Blog Link https://illinoisbotanizer.blogspot.com/2018/12/ |
| 2018 / 05 | Thru Hike | Two Bob's Adventures 9 day trip around Memorial Day. The story talks about the challenges and conditions they encountered. | 201805_TwoBobs-River to River Thru Hike |
| 2017 / 03 | Thru Hike | Scott Graham | Scott_Graham_My first thru Hike March 2017 |
| 2016 | |||
| 2002 | Thru Hike | Tim Worth | https://www.summitsteepness.com/RTR.html |