The Great River Road is a 3,000 mile network of federal, state, and local roads on both sides of the Mississippi River, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the nation's oldest and longest national scenic by-ways. Roads along or near both banks of the Mississippi River along its entire length have been designated as "The Great River Road" and are marked with a special road sign in the form of a ship's wheel. 

The idea for the Great River Road was first proposed in 1938 by the Department of the Interior, the Great River Road was to be the third major national parkway in the U.S., complementing the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Natchez Trace Parkway. Interestingly, the road was initially conceived as part of a grand linkage of North and South America. The Great River Road was to be part of a road system extending from Canada to Chile via the Pan-American Highway. 

Although the Great River Road was established in 1938, Congress did not approve funding for the first feasibility study until 1949. The study concluded that the Great River Road would benefit the entire nation. It also determined that rather than establishing a new parkway, the Great River Road should be designated as a scenic route on existing federal, state, and local roads. Beginning in the late 1950s, signs with the green and white pilot's wheel logo were placed along the route. The Federal Highway Act of 1973 authorized the first funds specifically for improvements of the Great River Road. The federal government, through this act, provided $250 million to enhance existing roads, build links to complete a continuous route, and develop roadside amenities for Great River Road travelers.

Sixty years ago, the ten states that border the Mississippi River formed the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. In the 1950s, the Commission was expanded to include two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Manitoba. The mission of the Parkway Commission today is the same as it was in 1938: to promote, preserve, and enhance the Mississippi River Valley and to encourage the development of the Great River Road and its amenities. Today, even though the original vision of a parkway has been modified and the connection to the Pan-American Highway was never made, the Great River Road extends nearly 3,000 miles from Canada to the Gulf. 

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