I never knew that you could do this!
While visiting our friends near St. Louis over the weekend, we got the chance to head out for a free adventure! Though I had often drove across the bridge next to this one while crossing the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri, I never knew that this one was now solely used for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was at one time used by the historic Route 66, which lead from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA. Originally it was built in the late 1920s as a toll bridge. At the time of its construction, it costed about $3 Million. It remained in use as a toll bridge until 1966, which was the same year that the New Chain of Rocks Bridge was built just upstream. In 1970, vehicular use of this bridge was discontinued.
These days the bridge is owned by the city of Madison, IL and is leased to Trailnet, which is a local group that manages trails in the area. Apparently over $4 Million was spent renovating this bridge. From the time that it closed to vehicle traffic in 1970 until it was leased to Trailnet in 1998, no one knew what would happen to the bridge.
It was used as a filming site for the movie starring Kurt Russel Escape From New York and also gained a reputation for crime, including a couple murders. There were times when many thought that it would just be demolished. Now, it is free to use for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross back and forth across the Mississippi River.
The bridge is a peculiar one indeed. For one, it is just over a mile long. I hadn't really thought about how long it was when we walked all the way across it, and then back too. One big difference between this bridge and other ones that I have been to is that there is a 22 degree turn in the middle of it. I took the photo above from the almost halfway point to show how sharp the turn in.
While it may be a mile long, you can see that the 
If you look just downstream to the south, you can see the city of St. Louis, including its famous Arch. In all of my years passing through the city of St. Louis, I never knew about this bridge, so I am very glad that our friends took us here.
Just downstream are two very interesting buildings. These are actually water intakes for the St. Louis Waterworks. Standing there on the bridge looking at them, it kind of made me wish that there were some ziplines here.
They almost look like interesting little light houses, or peculiar homes for people who do not like having neighbors. Checking out things like this makes me marvel at the building processes needed to build things like these.
The river, and the day, were stunning and beautiful. Walking around so much we were able to work up a sweat, but it was still a good temperature for an outside adventure. There is something peaceful about rivers like this, even if they are massive.
Some educational signs were posted, and on this one we were able to see many of our wild friends. We could see a lot of people fishing downstream. It would have been nice to try to catch something, but the walk was enjoyable enough.
On the Missouri side of the bridge we saw a few of my favorite animals, turtles. It really made me wish that I was down there by them, but I never made it that far.
With the help of my camera zoom, I was able to get a closer look at them without having to go all the way down there. Among others, there were some Red-Eared Sliders and Map Turtles too! I saw just over ten total.
The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is an interesting piece of American History, and I am glad that it was not demolished and that it still exists for us to enjoy today. Though it may have outlived its original purpose as a bridge for cars and trucks, a lot of people are still enjoying it every day.
A few "Route 66" benches are located on the bridge if any walkers need a break. They may have a bit of graffiti scratched in them, but they still look pretty cool in my opinion.
This added to the nostalgia of the bridge too. I've seen a lot of Route 66 stuff across the US on my travels, and I guess I'll have to check some more out next time I get the chance.
If you are ever in the St. Louis, MO area and are looking for something interesting to do for fun, I'd highly recommend checking out the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and the trails nearby. I know that we really enjoyed our time!
This post is based upon my personal experience and contains original photos, but I did do some background research at this source.
As always, I'm 
and here's the proof:
proof-of-old-chain-of-rocks-bridge
Until next time…
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