We are traveling from Minnesota to Kansas City to St. Louis to Chicago to Milwaukee. I keep hearing about how beautiful the Great River Road is. Is it possible to travel this road with the above itinerary and will it be adding time to the trip. If that is not possible, what would the best roads be to take.
Great River Road
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Most times when you get off the interstate roads you will be adding time. Looking at my map, the Great River Road is mark from St. Louis to Hannibal MO. Then you could pick up I 72 to I 55 to Chicago. From Milwaukee, if you take I 90 weat to La Crosse, you could take the Great River Road north to St. Paul.
Gordon
It takes a lot effort and a lot of time to follow. A good part of the time you cannot see the river. We have followed part of it over the years of our travles. This site may help. When you get to the STL area you may want to stop here.
http://www.greatriverroad.com/lewclark/campriverdubois.htm
The area along the river at Navoo is also nice, http://www.beautifulnauvoo.com/
I agree with the above. I think the prettiest part of the Great River Road is the section from Alton to about Pere Marquette State Park. After that the road kind of veers away from the river, at least for awhile. But that short drive is gorgeous, definitely not like much of the rest of Illinois, and is definitely worth a visit. Alton is a very interesting historic town and the riverfront area has some neat restaurants and shops. Grafton is also a quaint little town along the river, and very much worth a stop. And if you are there in the warmer months, the Grafton ice cream shop has wonderful milkshakes!
I live in Illinois, about 20 minutes from where the River Road starts, and drive it often so if I can be of any help please just let me know.
Tracy