Visitors Guide to the Middle Mississippi River Valley
The Great River Road
is one of America’s national treasures. greatriverroad.com's coverage extends
from Hannibal in the north to Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and Chester, Illinois
in the south and brings our
readers information on both the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river.
Our coverage is divided into regions and brings you information on what to
see and do, in-depth coverage of annual events, and where to shop, stay, and
eat. We cover the history of real river towns and interesting facts to
enhance your visit. greatriverroad.com invites you to explore our pages and then to
explore the Middle Mississippi River Valley.
greatriverroad.com covers the following
regions
of the Middle Mississippi River Valley
A-
Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway Illinois counties of Calhoun,
Jersey, and Madison
B- French Colonial Country Illinois counties of St. Clair,
Monroe, and Randolph
Missouri counties of Ste. Genevieve & Jefferson
C- Gateway to the West St. Louis & St. Louis
County, Missouri
D- Meeting the Missouri River St. Charles County, Missouri
E- Missouri's Lincoln Hills Missouri counties of Lincoln, Pike, Ralls,
and Marion
The Samuel Cupples House is a historic 42-room, castle-like mansion
located on the campus of Saint Louis University. The building is a rare
example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in St. Louis and is listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been restored to its
original splendor with many of its original opulent furnishings. The McNamee
Gallery is located on the lower level and houses educational and art
exhibits. Portions of the University's permanent collection of fine art are
displayed throughout the house.
The
original Piasa Bird was a petroglyph (a prehistoric carving, usually
pictorial, gouged into a rock surface). According to legend, in the years
long before the Europeans arrived in the Meeting of the Great Rivers area,
the Piasa Bird was a bird-like creature of such great size that it could
easily carry off a human and terrorized the tribes of the area. The modern
renditions of the Piasa began in the 1920s and the current Piasa Bird is a
48-by-22 foot painting situated on a rock face of the Mississippi bluffs
just north of Alton.
MEETING
OF THE GREAT RIVERS SCENIC BYWAY AREA The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway area
is where greatriverroad.com began. We started covering the region in early
2001, have been expanding our coverage ever since, and this area remains our
flagship. The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway area is where the
Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers meet. Here you'll find
magnificent limestone bluffs, forested parks and wildlife areas, real river
towns, ferries that ply the rivers, brilliant fall colors, wintering bald
eagles, and friendly and gracious people. Two
jewels anchor the byway: Pere Marquette State Park (photo right) in the north and the
Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in the south. The Vadalabene Bike Trail
parallels the Great River Road beneath towering limestone bluffs between
Alton and the Pere Marquette. These are just some of the treasures awaiting visitors
to this region. Click here to learn more
about our coverage that includes the Illinois counties of
Madison, Jersey and Calhoun.
FRENCH
COLONIAL COUNTRY The region along the Mississippi River south of
St. Louis is French Colonial Country having been claimed by France after an
expedition led by Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette. The area is the oldest
region settled by Europeans west of the Appalachian Mountains with the
founding of Cahokia in 1699, the same year as Williamsburg, the colonial
capitol of Virginia, and predating New Orleans by nearly 20 years. Although
English is the common language spoken in the region today, the French
heritage is not forgotten. Ste. Genevieve (photo right) has more than 150 pre-1825
structures and the region has the largest concentration of French Colonial
architecture in the North America. Fort de Chartres, a rebuilt 18th century
French Fort, is the Mississippi Valley’s premier site for French Colonial
reenactments. Click
here to learn more about our coverage that includes Randolph,
Monroe, and St. Clair counties
in Illinois and Ste. Genevieve and Jefferson Counties, Missouri.
GATEWAY
TO THE WEST
The St. Louis metropolitan area is one of the few truly cosmopolitan
destinations along the Great River Road and has a lot to offer its visitors.
The area's most prominent attraction is the Gateway Arch, the jewel of the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. St. Louis has a number of outstanding
public institutions that are free to visit: the Zoo, Art Museum, History
Museum, and the Science Center. St. Louis is home to a vibrant art scene
with new and revitalized institutions, along with world-class architecture
and public sculpture. The region has a number of green spaces for nature and
outdoor enthusiasts including Forest Park is, one of the largest urban parks
in the United States. greatriverroad.com lists over 80 attractions and
invites you to explore the St. Louis area.Click
here to learn more about our coverage that includes
St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri.
MEETING
THE MISSOURI RIVER The two longest rivers of the United States, the Missouri and the
Mississippi, meet at the eastern tip of St. Charles County, Missouri. The city of
St.
Charles is the county seat and is situated
a short drive northwest of St. Louis and traces
its history to the late 18th century. American settlers began settling the
area shortly before the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 and the city served as the first state Capitol in Missouri. The
beautifully preserved historic districts of downtown Main Street and nearby
Frenchtown are a shopper’s paradise with over 100 specialty shops, antique
stores, and restaurants. The keelboat (photo right) of the Lewis & Clark
Boat House is housed in a certified Lewis & Clark site that sits
on the banks of the Missouri River where the explorers left the last outpost
of European civilization in 1804. The Foundry Art Centre is a wonderful new
facility with four galleries for exhibits and studios where visitors can
talk with the artists as they work. The wide variety of special events that
occur throughout the year make St. Charles an interesting stop along the
Great River Road or as a destination in itself. A short drive down Highway 94 from
St. Charles is Augusta, situated in the wine country of the Missouri River
bluffs. Visitors will find a number of wineries, shops, and B&B's in
this area. Click
here to learn more about our coverage that includes St. Charles County, Missouri.
MISSOURI'S
LINCOLN HILLS Missouri's
Lincoln Hills is geological formation that spans four counties north of St.
Louis along the Mississippi River. The region is so similar to that of
southern Missouri that the region is often called the Northern Ozarks.
Located in the northern most county of the area is Hannibal, which conjures up images of the steamboat era of the mid-19th
century. The town has become virtually synonymous with Mark Twain, Tom
Sawyer, and Huck Finn. Hannibal is host to a large number of museums,
historic houses, river related attractions, shops, and events that make it a
top destination of visitors. South of Hannibal and stretching for 30 miles
along the Great River Road is one of America’s newest Scenic Byways: The
Little Dixie Scenic Byway. The Byway travels atop limestone bluffs and
offers stunning views of the mighty Mississippi River. The real river towns
of Clarksville and Louisiana are main attractions along the route as are the
bald eagles (photo right) that flock to Lock and Dam #24 in the winter. A
burgeoning community of talented artists is springing up in the region, many
who have shops in the downtown districts. At the foot of the Lincoln Hills
in Lincoln County is Cuivre River State Park, one of Missouri's largest and
most rugged. Click
here to learn more about our coverage that includes Lincoln, Pike, Ralls, and Marion counties in Missouri.
Specialty
Directories While researching the region we at
greatriverroad.com have found that some topics encompass more than one
region and that the amount of information we gathered warrants a special
section. The Middle Mississippi River Valley has a vibrant art community
with a number of museums, galleries, public spaces, and events. Lewis and
Clark made a number of stops as the journeyed up the Mississippi and
prepared for their voyage west. Bald eagles from the Great Lakes flock the
region during the winter with two towns making the claim "the eagle
viewing capitol of the United States." The region’s woodlands come
alive with color in the fall, ferries offer a unique way to cross the
Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and antique hunters will find treasures in
the many towns along the Great River Road.
greatriverroad.com
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Mississippi River Valley.
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greatriverroad.com - Elsah, Illinois
The Great River Road
is one of America’s national treasures. 
The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway area
is where 
The region along the Mississippi River south of
St. Louis is French Colonial Country having been claimed by France after an
expedition led by Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette. The area is the oldest
region settled by Europeans west of the Appalachian Mountains with the
founding of Cahokia in 1699, the same year as Williamsburg, the colonial
capitol of Virginia, and predating New Orleans by nearly 20 years. Although
English is the common language spoken in the region today, the French
heritage is not forgotten. Ste. Genevieve (photo right) has more than 150 pre-1825
structures and the region has the largest concentration of French Colonial
architecture in the North America. Fort de Chartres, a rebuilt 18th century
French Fort, is the Mississippi Valley’s premier site for French Colonial
reenactments. 
The St. Louis metropolitan area is one of the few truly cosmopolitan
destinations along the Great River Road and has a lot to offer its visitors.
The area's most prominent attraction is the Gateway Arch, the jewel of the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. St. Louis has a number of outstanding
public institutions that are free to visit: the Zoo, Art Museum, History
Museum, and the Science Center. St. Louis is home to a vibrant art scene
with new and revitalized institutions, along with world-class architecture
and public sculpture. The region has a number of green spaces for nature and
outdoor enthusiasts including Forest Park is, one of the largest urban parks
in the United States. greatriverroad.com lists over 80 attractions and
invites you to explore the St. Louis area
The two longest rivers of the United States, the Missouri and the
Mississippi, meet at the eastern tip of St. Charles County, Missouri. The city of
St.
Charles is the county seat and is situated
a short drive northwest of St. Louis and traces
its history to the late 18th century. American settlers began settling the
area shortly before the Louisiana Purchase in 1804 and the city served as the first state Capitol in Missouri. The
beautifully preserved historic districts of downtown Main Street and nearby
Frenchtown are a shopper’s paradise with over 100 specialty shops, antique
stores, and restaurants. The keelboat (photo right) of the Lewis & Clark
Boat House is housed in a certified Lewis & Clark site that sits
on the banks of the Missouri River where the explorers left the last outpost
of European civilization in 1804. The Foundry Art Centre is a wonderful new
facility with four galleries for exhibits and studios where visitors can
talk with the artists as they work. The wide variety of special events that
occur throughout the year make St. Charles an interesting stop along the
Great River Road or as a destination in itself. A short drive down Highway 94 from
St. Charles is Augusta, situated in the wine country of the Missouri River
bluffs. Visitors will find a number of wineries, shops, and B&B's in
this area. 
Missouri's
Lincoln Hills is geological formation that spans four counties north of St.
Louis along the Mississippi River. The region is so similar to that of
southern Missouri that the region is often called the Northern Ozarks.
Located in the northern most county of the area is Hannibal, which conjures up images of the steamboat era of the mid-19th
century. The town has become virtually synonymous with Mark Twain, Tom
Sawyer, and Huck Finn. Hannibal is host to a large number of museums,
historic houses, river related attractions, shops, and events that make it a
top destination of visitors. South of Hannibal and stretching for 30 miles
along the Great River Road is one of America’s newest Scenic Byways: The
Little Dixie Scenic Byway. The Byway travels atop limestone bluffs and
offers stunning views of the mighty Mississippi River. The real river towns
of Clarksville and Louisiana are main attractions along the route as are the
bald eagles (photo right) that flock to Lock and Dam #24 in the winter. A
burgeoning community of talented artists is springing up in the region, many
who have shops in the downtown districts. At the foot of the Lincoln Hills
in Lincoln County is Cuivre River State Park, one of Missouri's largest and
most rugged. 
