A Great River Road day trip from St. Louis: Alton, Grafton and Elsah

This Great River Road day trip from St. Louis covers the stretch of Illinois Route 100 that runs from Alton to Grafton under the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi. You drive between three river towns and walk inside each one: a morning of Lincoln and abolition history in Alton, the Piasa Bird on the cliff, an hour in the village of Elsah, then Grafton and Pere Marquette State Park, with dinner at the park's lodge. Leave downtown St. Louis around 9:20 and you're back around 19:00.

I built the day in Passage AI for a Saturday in late October, then checked every opening hour against the official pages: Great Rivers & Routes, the regional tourism bureau, for the Alton, Elsah and Grafton stops, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for Pere Marquette, and each restaurant's own site. Saturday is the day that works best. The Elsah museum opens on weekends only, and the Alton Visitor Center is closed Monday and Tuesday.

Last checked: Oct 2026. The Elsah museum's season ends on 31 October, and the state park's visitor center moves to winter hours on 1 November. Open the linked official page before you go.

This part of the road has its own name, the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers describes it as 33 miles from Hartford to Pere Marquette, with about 25 of those miles on Route 100 along the bluffs between Alton and Grafton. (USACE) Grafton sits near the point where the Illinois River joins the Mississippi.

The Great River Road day trip from St. Louis at a glance

Drive distances are my estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, and they add up to about 100 miles for the whole loop. Plan on 30 to 40 minutes from downtown St. Louis to Alton and a bit over an hour from Pere Marquette back to the city, more with traffic. In Passage AI each leg shows walk, bike and drive times between stops; walk times are straight-line estimates, and Directions opens your phone's maps app for the street route.

Morning: Alton

Alton is the biggest of the three towns and the most spread out. Park once near the riverfront for the first two stops, then drive the short hops up the hill.

1. Alton Visitor Center, 10:00

The visitor center at 200 Piasa Street is run by Great Rivers & Routes. It's open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00. (Great Rivers & Routes) Pick up a map, use the restrooms, and if you collect National Park Service Passport stamps, this is a stamp location. (Looking for Lincoln)

2. Lincoln-Douglas Square, 10:30

Two minutes on foot from the visitor center. On 15 October 1858 Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held the seventh and last of their debates here. The National Park Service puts the crowd at about 5,000, and says a round-trip steamboat ticket from St. Louis cost a dollar. (NPS, Lincoln Home)

The square is the first stop on Alton's Lincoln & Civil War Legacy Trail, which links it to the Lovejoy Monument, the national cemetery, the Confederate cemetery and the site of the Alton prison, with interpretive panels at each one. (Looking for Lincoln) This plan takes in the monument; add the others if history is your main reason for coming.

3. Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument, 11:00

A short drive east and uphill to Alton Cemetery on East 5th Street. Elijah Lovejoy, a Presbyterian minister and newspaper editor, was killed by a pro-slavery mob in Alton on 7 November 1837 while defending the press of his anti-slavery paper. The monument to him there went up in 1897. (Wikipedia)

4. Robert Wadlow statue, 11:30

On College Avenue, across from the Alton Museum of History and Art. Robert Wadlow was born in Alton in 1918 and grew to 8 feet 11.1 inches, the tallest person in recorded history whose height can be verified. The life-size bronze went up in 1986. (Wikipedia) Stand next to it for a sense of scale.

The museum across the street is listed as temporarily closed on the tourism bureau's page, so it isn't on this plan. (Great Rivers & Routes) Check that page if you'd like to fit it in on a later trip.

5. Lunch at Old Bakery Beer Company, 12:00

Back down near the river at 400 Landmarks Boulevard, about a six-minute walk from Lincoln-Douglas Square if you'd rather leave the car there. The brewery's site lists it open from 11:30 Tuesday to Saturday (until 21:00 Wednesday to Saturday), Sunday brunch from 10:00, and closed on Monday. (Old Bakery Beer Company) The site shows two sets of hours, so check before you go.

The drive north: the Piasa Bird

6. Piasa Bird, 12:55

Leave Alton on Route 100 and the Piasa Bird is on the bluff at the edge of town. Native Americans painted the original high on the cliffs here, and the French explorers Marquette and Jolliet described it in 1673. The wall it was on was probably destroyed around the 1850s. The painting you see is a modern reproduction, finished in 1998 and 1999. (Wikipedia) From here to Elsah, the river is on your left and the bluffs on your right.

Early afternoon: Elsah

7. Village of Elsah Museum and a village walk, 13:15

Elsah is about 11 miles up Route 100, a short turn off the main road. James Semple founded it in 1853, and in 1973 it became the first village to be put on the National Register of Historic Places in its entirety. (Great Rivers & Routes)

The Village of Elsah Museum at 26 LaSalle Street fills the 1887 Village Hall. It covers the people who lived here, the building styles of the houses outside, and the tools residents used in the mid-1800s. It's open Saturday and Sunday, 13:00 to 16:00, from 1 April to 31 October only. (Great Rivers & Routes) This plan runs on a Saturday for that reason.

After the museum, walk. The village is a handful of short streets, Mill, Selma and LaSalle among them, and the whole place is the historic district. Park once and leave the car for the hour.

Mid-afternoon: Grafton

8. Edward Amburg History Museum and Main Street, 14:30

Grafton is about 4 miles further on, near where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi. It's the oldest city in Jersey County. (Wikipedia) The Edward Amburg History Museum, at 950 East Main Street, has Native American stone tools and arrowheads alongside displays on the town's own history. It's open Thursday to Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00, and on Monday holidays. (Great Rivers & Routes)

Then walk Main Street. If you want a glass of wine, Grafton Winery's tasting room at The Vineyards, on Eckert Orchard Road, is open 11:00 to 18:00 Friday to Sunday. (Grafton Winery) You'll need the car, so pick a driver.

Late afternoon: Pere Marquette State Park

9. Pere Marquette State Park Visitor Center, 15:45

About 7 miles west of Grafton on Route 100. Pere Marquette is a state park on the bluffs above the Illinois River, and its visitor center has a 3-D map of the park plus exhibits on the river, wildlife, local history and geology. (IDNR) The IDNR page lists winter hours, 8:00 to 15:30 Monday to Saturday and closed on Sunday from 1 November to 31 March. It doesn't post the October hours, so check before you go, or call the visitor center at 618-786-3323.

IDNR says the wooded ravines and riverside roads in and around the park are popular for fall color drives. The scenic drive through the park is open to traffic, and trail maps are at the visitor center if you have time for a short walk before dinner.

10. Early dinner at Pere Marquette Lodge, 16:30

The lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and IDNR points out the stone fireplace in the lobby, which rises 50 feet to the roof. (IDNR) The restaurant is open every day of the year: lunch 11:00 to 16:00, dinner 16:00 to 20:00. Some meal periods may be buffet only, depending on staffing. (Pere Marquette Lodge) After dinner it's a bit over an hour back to St. Louis.

How I built the day in Passage AI

I made one trip in Passage AI for a Saturday in Alton, added the ten stops with Add a stop, and gave each one a time around the fixed points in the day: the visitor center opening at 10:00, the Elsah museum at 13:00 and the Grafton museum closing at 16:00. On the day, the Guide opens each stop with a short story about the place, and Listen reads it aloud, which suits a day spent partly behind the wheel.

Optimize found an order with 52 minutes less walking, mostly by reshuffling the Alton stops. It shows the preview and changes nothing until you tap Apply. Both orders work. I kept mine to start at the visitor center when it opens at 10:00 and to eat lunch at noon; tap Apply if you'd rather take the shorter route.

What to book ahead

Nothing on this route needs a ticket bought in advance. From each official page:

The lodge asks groups of six or more to reserve. (Pere Marquette Lodge) Neither museum page lists an admission price, so bring some cash.

When to go

• Fall (late September to October): the best time for this exact plan. The bluffs turn, and the Elsah museum is still open on weekends.
• Winter (January and February): IDNR calls Pere Marquette a hotspot for bald eagle watching, and the Alton Visitor Center hosts a free eagle meet and greet every Saturday in January. (Looking for Lincoln) The Elsah museum is closed, so spend that hour walking the village instead.
• Weekdays: skip Monday and Tuesday (the Alton Visitor Center is closed) and Wednesday (the Grafton museum is closed). Thursday and Friday work if you skip the Elsah museum and walk the village.

If you'd rather stay in the city, my one day in St. Louis on foot plan covers the Gateway Arch, the Old Courthouse and City Museum.

FAQ

How long is the Great River Road drive from St. Louis to Grafton?

By my OpenStreetMap estimate, it's about 24 miles from the Gateway Arch to downtown Alton and another 15 miles along Route 100 from Alton to Grafton. Allow about an hour each way without stops, more with traffic, and check the route for your day.

Is one day enough for Alton, Elsah and Grafton?

Yes, for the main stops. This plan gives Alton the morning, Elsah an hour and Grafton the afternoon, with an early dinner at Pere Marquette. Wineries, the full Lincoln & Civil War Legacy Trail and longer hikes in the state park need a second day.

What day of the week is best for this trip?

Saturday or Sunday. The Village of Elsah Museum opens only on weekends (13:00 to 16:00, April to October), the Alton Visitor Center is open Wednesday to Sunday, and the Grafton museum opens Thursday to Sunday.

Do you need tickets for anything on this route?

No. The outdoor stops in Alton are free, the museums are walk-in, and the lodge restaurant takes walk-ins (reservations are recommended for parties of six or more). Neither museum lists an admission price online, so check on site.

Can you see bald eagles on this trip?

In January and February, yes. IDNR says Pere Marquette is a hotspot for eagle watching in those months, and the Alton Visitor Center runs a free eagle meet and greet on Saturdays in January.

How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 13 October 2026, facts checked against the official sites of Great Rivers & Routes, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service, Looking for Lincoln, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pere Marquette Lodge, Old Bakery Beer Company and Grafton Winery, written by Edward.

Cover photo: Burfalcy on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped)