The National Water Trails System is a distinctive national network of exemplary water trails of local and regional significance that are cooperatively supported and sustained. The trails system has been established to protect and restore America's rivers, shorelines and waterways and to increase access to outdoor recreation on shorelines and waterways.

The Rock River Water Trail links 11 counties in both states along the 320-mile river course, from the headwaters above the Horicon Marsh in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties to the confluence with the Mississippi River at Rock Island, Illinois. The water trail is a delineated path on the river that connects access sites, resting places and attractions for users of water craft. Each of the 11 counties, 37 cities and villages and local organizations has stepped forward to affirm the Rock River as a vital natural resources and backbone for local recreational, cultural and historical interests, and economic and community development activities.