[2] The term "Great River Road" refers both to a series of roadways and to a larger region inside the US and in each state, used for tourism and historic purposes.

The eponymous segment runs on both sides of the river from Louisiana through the state borders of Kentucky/Illinois and Missouri/Iowa, excepting the full length of the road in Arkansas.

A five-state section of the road has been designated a National Scenic Byway, running through Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

In 2021, eight of the 10 state routes were designated All-American Roads by the Federal Highway Administration,[4] highlighting their national significance and one-of-a-kind features.

The 2,340 miles (3,765 km) are designated with a green-and-white sign showing a river steamboat inside a pilotwheel with the name of the state or province.

The over-all logo reads "Canada to Gulf" where the local name would be, and most MRPC publications denote the route as beginning at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ending in Louisiana.

Until the early 1980s, a single Canada-to-Gulf alignment of the Great River Road, serving all ten states, was eligible for special federal funding.

[7] A state alternate route crosses the Des Moines River from Missouri into Keokuk, following US 136 into downtown.

[7] A second state alternate route continues on US 61 Business, turning east to follow Iowa 22 along the river to Davenport.

At the Airline Highway interchange on I-110, the National Route comes over the Huey P. Long Bridge (US 190) and turns north to follow I-110 and US 61 into Mississippi.

[9] In January 1811, there was a rebellion of several hundred enslaved and free black people referred to as the 1811 German Coast uprising, beginning in St. John the Baptist Parish and continuing on a 26-mile (42 km) route through lower Louisiana toward New Orleans.

A Louisiana militia countered the rebellion, the largest revolt of enslaved persons in United States history.

[7] After crossing the Hatchie River on its westernmost bridge, the Great River Road again leaves US 51 at Henning, looping west on SR 87, north on partly unpaved Crutcher Lake Road (past Fort Pillow State Park) and Four Mile Lane, and east on SR 19 to rejoin US 51 at Ripley.

[citation needed] The Great River Road's National Route enters Kentucky from Tennessee on KY 94 and runs northeast and east through Hickman.

Before entering Chester city limits, the route turns west onto a signed truck bypass that runs closer to the river.

No route is signed on the Illinois side of the Mississippi north of East Dubuque, although Wisconsin Highway 35 has Great River Road markers all the way to the state line (at IL 35).

[7] WIS 35, which hugs Wisconsin's western border, carries most of the Great River Road in that state from its entrance near East Dubuque, Illinois.

Shepard Road/Warner Road (mostly County 36 and 37) takes the route west along the St. Paul riverfront to I-35E, where it turns back south and recrosses the Mississippi on the Lexington Bridge.

After MN 55 enters Minneapolis, the Great River Road turns east on 46th Street (County 46), south on Minnehaha Avenue, and east on Godfrey Parkway to reach the south end of the West River Parkway, a segment of the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.

[18] However, the left turn from College Drive onto East River Road is no longer permitted due to a reconstruction project.

[19] The Great River Road leaves Brainerd to the north on County 3 (former MN 25), crossing the Mississippi again at the city limits.

Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes urged the governors of the 10 states along the Mississippi River to form the commission.

The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Public Lands held hearings in 1939 and 1940 to discuss a bill that would have authorized a feasibility study of the Mississippi River Parkway concept.

The study, "Parkway for the Mississippi River", was completed by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) (predecessor agency to the Federal Highway Administration) in 1951.

BPR recommended "that the selected route shall be improved in a superior manner and that it should be dedicated to recreational purposes as well as to moving traffic".

[22] With the completion of all the planning reports in early 1970, actual development of the Great River Road was ready to begin.

Legislation to fund the development of the Great River Road was included for the first time as part of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973.

In 1976, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued program guidelines setting criteria for the Great River Road.

Protection of the Mississippi River corridor was required by "appropriate route selection, effective control and development, and scenic easement acquisition".

The Mississippi River Parkway Commission makes no distinction between the federal and state routes in its promotional efforts.