Things To Do

Experience some of Illinois’ greatest hits along the byway, from the birthplace of jazz legend Miles Davis to the largest prehistoric city in North America at Cahokia Mounds. If you’re looking for one of a kind, view the river from eight stories above at Melvin Price Locks and Dam, stroll Galena’s famed Main Street lined with more than 100 red brick 1800s storefronts, view an authentic Dutch windmill on the banks of the Mississippi, and stand beneath the world’s largest Catsup bottle. Immerse yourself in history with a stroll through Quincy’s historic districts packed full of 3,600 architectural wonders, celebrate 300+ years of the French outpost at Fort de Chartres, and experience how one invention went on to influence global farming practices at the John Deere Pavilion. If you like to camp, bike, hike, boat, bird watch, fish, or go horseback riding, there are more than 65 parks and natural areas to explore. Mississippi Palisades State Park offers six overlooks providing sweeping sunset views. Visit the only national forest in the state, Shawnee National Forest, and hike to blufftop panoramas of the river valley. Take a week or a weekend and explore what made your list.