FEATURED ATTRACTION Bald Eagle Watching The Middle Mississippi River Valley Every year approximately 2,000 bald eagles migrate to the Middle Mississippi Valley, making the region's overwintering population the second largest in the continental United States behind the Klamath Basin area of southern Oregon and northern California. There are a number of good viewing sites, programs, and events for eagle watchers to take advantage of.   Click here for more information ...
	HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHT General John A. Logan Museum Murphysboro, Illinois General John A. Logan (1826 - 1886) played an important role in the history of the United States.  Before the Civil War Logan entered politics as a Douglas Democrat, served as a prosecuting attorney, and was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.  When the Civil War started Logan resigned his seat and entered the Union Army as Colonel of the 31st Illinois Volunteers, a unit that he organized. Logan rose to the rank of General and was in command of the Army of the Tennessee at the battle of Atlanta. After the war Logan resumed his political career as a Republican, and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and was the unsuccessful Republican Vice Presidential candidate in 1884. Logan was also the leader of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Northern Civil War veterans and is credited with creating Memorial Day. The General John A. Logan Museum is located within the Christopher C. Bullar House. The neatly displayed exhibits on the first floor tell the story of General John A. Logan through the use of photographs, portraits, maps, political memorabilia, Logan family antiques, and Civil War weapons. Click here for more information ...

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.

THE TRI-STATE AREA
The northern most region that greatriverroad.com covers is a collection of six counties in the area where the borders of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri meet. The cities of Keokuk, Fort Madison, and Quincy have all made significant efforts to make a visit to their community an enjoyable experience. The town of Nauvoo, known for its place in the history of the Mormon’s Great Trek to Utah, is the most comprehensive restoration project in the Middle Mississippi River Valley. It’s entirely possible to spend a full day exploring Nauvoo. There are plenty of museums, cultural institutions, and events to keep a visitor to the region occupied. Nature lovers will find plenty of state parks and conservation areas. One of the most scenic sections of the Great River Road is IL-96 south of Nauvoo  where the tree-lined road is just yards from the river and is very beautiful in the fall and where bald eagles can be seen in the winter. Click here to learn more about our coverage that includes Lee County, Iowa, Lewis and Clark Counties in Missouri, and Hancock, Adams, and Pike Counties in Illinois.

MEETING THE OHIO RIVER
After the Mississippi River passes St. Louis it begins to change character. When the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois it is halfway on its journey to the sea. It is here that the brown muddy water of the Mississippi begins to mingle with the clearer water of the Ohio. Without the locks and dams the Mississippi begins to wind and curve so much so that the distance by water from Cape Girardeau to the Gulf of Mexico is twice the distance as a crow flies. The region where the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River is an area of transition in several respects both in terms of the flora and fauna but the culture begins to take on that of the Deep South. The Meeting the Ohio region of the Middle Mississippi River Valley offers it visitors a wide variety of options of activities to do and sites to see. Whether you’re looking for historical or cultural sites or a place to enjoy nature you’ll find it in this part of the country. Click here to learn more about our coverage that includes Perry, Cape Girardeau, Scott, and Mississippi Counties in Missouri, Jackson, Union, and Alexander Counties in Illinois, and Ballard, Carlisle, Hickman, and Fulton Counties in western Kentucky.

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.