The Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park is a 104.5 mile long linear State Park that spans the counties of Bureau, Henry, Lee, Rock Island, and Whiteside in northern Illinois. The Canal has a rich history and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Canal is an important resource for all the communities along its banks because of its history, beauty, and recreational opportunities.
The Hennepin Canal has played an important role in the history of Illinois in the ways it helped benefit the commerce and industry of the region. Construction on the Canal got under way in 1892 and the first boat went through in 1907, reducing the distance from Chicago to Rock Island by 419 miles. By the 1930s the Canal was primarily used for recreational traffic. With its sister canal, the I & M, the two canals tied the Illinois, Des Plaines and Mississippi river systems into a transportation network connecting Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico. The Hennepin Canal, known at the time as the Illinois and Mississippi Canal, was open to boat traffic until 1951. The Hennepin was the first American canal built of concrete without stone cut facings. Today, 32 of the original 33 locks on the Canal are still visible. Five of the locks have been restored to working condition.
The park provides a wide variety of recreational activities including bicycling, boating, canoeing, picnicking, hiking, horseback riding, snowmobiling, and fishing. The Visitor Center near Sheffield has several displays that help illustrate the history of the Canal. The displays demonstrate tools used to build and operate the Canal, including a model of a lock and an aqueduct. Just outside the center is a beautiful half-acre patch of wildflower prairie. The marsh observation area and duck blind located near the Visitor Center allows you to see a variety of marsh type plants and animals including ducks, geese, redwing blackbirds, muskrat and cattails. Picnicking is a popular activity at the park. With picnic tables spread throughout the day use areas and main complex. Hiking is popular in the fall when visitors can take advantage of changing foliage. An old tow path run 155 miles next to the canal and allows you a great view of its locks and aqueducts. The 4.5-mile trek in the main complex is moderately difficult and gives you a broad experience of landscape from tall timber to grasslands to marsh. The calm waters are perfect for a short canoeing trip. The locks are no longer operational and must be portaged. For a great 1-2 day trip, begin at Rock Falls and continue to the Visitor Center.
Facilities Three shelters in the park's main complex near Sheffield provide areas for group gatherings. Playground equipment is located at the largest shelter. Drinking water is available at Locks 21 and 22 from hand pumps, as well as the Visitor Center. Outdoor toilets are located at Locks 3, 6, 11, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 26; Bridges 14, 15, and 23, as well as the Visitor Center on the Main Canal. There are facilities at Bridges 50, 52 and 64 on the Feeder Canal. Location The Hennepin Canal is located about 130 miles east of Chicago near the town of Sheffield.
