Hannibal, MO, develops bike trail system

According to a story in the Quincy Herald-Whig, Hannibal, MO, is developing an ambitious bike/ped trail system designed to link together all city parks and the riverfront area. One segment of the trail network is already in place, another is in development now, and officials are hoping to have much of the rest of the 6-mile network in place within five years or so.

“It will give the stream of visitors here for historic reasons other opportunities for recreation. And they’re certainly available for our own residents,” [City Manager Gary Shimun] said.

Hannibal draws about 600,000 visitors a year.

Hiking and biking vacations are becoming attractive draws around the state and across the country. . . .

“Trails and swimming pools are the number one and two things going on in the state of Missouri as far as recreation,” [Bill Lankford, head of Hannibal’s Parks and Recreation Department] said.

According to a story in the Hannibal Courier-Post, Hannibal won a national award Coalition for Recreational Trails from the for their work on the Riverview Park Trail:

Lankford speculates that one of the trail's lures is that it leads to the river.

"Being able to walk along the river is one of the biggest assets of the trail," he said. "You see all kinds of people taking pictures of the new bridge and the river from the trail. It's a big attention getter."