Explore the roots of one of Americas most popular presidents along the Ronald Reagan Trail. This is a special year along the trail because 2011 marks the Reagan Centennial. Communities throughout Illinois are planning special events to celebrate his 100th birthday.

Follow his early life through the self-guided driving tour through 13 Illinois cities. Begin in the quaint village of Tampico where Ronald Wilson Reagan was born. Explore his ancestral roots in Fulton where Reagan’s grandparents lived and are buried and his parents were married.

In Dixon, tour the Reagan Boyhood Home, the First Christian Church, the Dixon Public Library, the Loveland Museum, the Dixon Historic Center (tour via Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtXVizKMFpc), the Dixon Historic Theatre and Lowell Park where Reagan worked as a lifeguard for 7 summers and saved 77 lives. At Dixon’s new Heritage Crossing on the Rock River, see the life-size bronze sculpture “Begins the Trail”.

Visit our web site, www.ronaldreagantrail.net, to learn about the events and attractions offered by each community along the Trail. Visit www.illinoisreagancentennial.com and www.discoverdixon.org for a calendar of centennial events.

For a Ronald Reagan Trail brochure or information on things to see and do along the trail in Northwest Illinois please contact Blackhawk Waterways CVB at 800 678 2108 or visit www.ronaldreagantrail.net.