Our Daily Show Interview! Mississippi River Water Trail: Awards and More!
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON - The Mississippi River Water Trail will host two fun events for paddlers who love the river.
On Aug. 9, 2025, community members can participate in the Firecracker Race, a 15-mile race from Grafton to Alton. There are 13 different classes and over 60 racers who will participate in the event. On Sept. 20, paddlers can also join the Great River Rendezvous as another way to engage with each other and the river.
“One of the things that is our biggest mission is to get people out on the Mississippi River and learn how to paddle it safely and see it from the view of the river,” said Melissa, president of the Mississippi River Water Trail. “It really is a different perspective. It’s fabulous to look up at the Alton Riverfront, to look up at the bluffs near Grafton, to see the wildlife. You feel like you’re transported into a whole different area of the country or the world, and it’s right here in our backyard, and we want people to know that.”
As an organization, MRWT maintains a 121-mile stretch of the river along the Illinois and Missouri border. They also host educational classes and clinics to teach people how to safely traverse the river. The group was recently nationally recognized for their partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Melissa and Craig, another MRWT member, look forward to the Firecracker Race on Aug. 9. They noted that while many of the racers are impressive paddlers, the event is “well-supported” by safety measures, making it a great race for beginners.
“There are very experienced racers in the Midwest,” Craig said. “There are folks that come from surrounding states and everything to race. These guys are really skilled and they have some really, really serious boats. Fifteen miles for them is no problem at all.”
On Sept. 20, the Great River Rendezvous invites paddlers to travel the Mississippi River together. The paddlers will be staggered at different locations and come together as they get closer to Alton. Melissa explained that it’s also a great chance to share the Alton community with paddlers, as the Mississippi Earthtones Festival is scheduled for that weekend at Riverfront Park and the rendezvous concludes at the Alton Marina.
“The whole point of this is it’s a rendezvous. A rendezvous, the definition is meeting up at different locations,” she explained. “We’ll end just in time to make your way out, and you can walk up from there to the Earthtones Festival and get a bite to eat, listen to some music, and check out the booths.”
Both events aim to engage paddlers and provide them with a sense of community. For more information about the Firecracker Race, click here. To learn more about the Great River Rendezvous, click here. For more information about the Mississippi River Water Trail organization, visit their official website at MississippiRiverWaterTrail.org.
“There’s a lot of folks out there who believe that our section of the river between Alton and Grafton is the most scenic on the entire Mississippi River. So why not have a race there?” Craig added. “We’re just proud of our volunteers, our board members, and the engagement that everybody has had, the passion that everybody has had to make this possible.”
