Drive The Great River Road
Meander Through Easter Illinois On the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers Any Time Of Year
Consider a drive north on the Great River Road along the Mississippi River near Paducah, Kentucky. This byway stretches luxuriously over 500 miles through the smooth and bicycle-friendly Illinois’ river road that offer rushes of white wall cliffs, high birds catching a drift, one eye on the road one on the river, hypnotic you relax into the moment. Driving further north, the road ends on the banks of the river in East Dubuque, Illinois.?
Rolling hills packed with deep rich earth host valleys along the river and cliffs, Illinois is a hidden gem of natural beauty and richness of the hollers no one knew tucked away in the hills that resemble the Smoky Mountain roads in Tennessee and North Carolina. This drive holds some magic any time of year. Fall colors crisp the white backdrop as you warm in the multitude of biking or hiking trails along the byway.
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Winter is the perfect time to visit eastern Illinois right in the middle of the route. Drive past Alton, Illinois and the Audubon Center at Riverlands just across the Alton bridge. From this vantage point of Illinois and Missouri where the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers meet, you’ll catch a few of the 325 migrating birds that travel through the Mississippi Flyway each winter.?
See cormorants, eagles, pelicans, gulls and more. Nestle in at Grafton, Illinois and enjoy a serene existence walking countless trails at Pere Marquet State Park that also hosts a lodge.
Summertime in the area of Grafton, Illinois north of Alton brings boaters, river enthusiasts and tourists to the famous wine slushies of Grafton Harbor. The harbor sits among some of the area’s most visited restaurants and bars that proudly host a variety of musicians, menus, and the harbor’s own boat tours of the area. Grafton also hosts a water park and ?Aeries Resort, a full service resort that offers activities like a gondola ride from the top of the hilly terrain and cliffs that offer breathtaking views of untapped trails scattered along the byway of the Mississippi.