Great River Road south: Dubuque to Hannibal

Route description

From Dubuque take US-61 south toward Maquoketa; Maquoketa Caves State Park lies just north-west of that town, about an hour away. Bring a flashlight and old clothes if you want to crawl into the smaller caves. Return to the river at Bellevue or Sabula and follow the Great River Road south past bluff towns and the lock and dam at Clinton to Davenport.

Davenport is one of the Quad Cities, which also include Bettendorf in Iowa and Moline and Rock Island in Illinois. Watch barges pass Lock and Dam 15 from the visitor center on Arsenal Island; bring ID to enter the island. From Davenport, US-61 runs south-west through Muscatine to Burlington, about 130 km, a river town of brick buildings with the switchbacks of Snake Alley.

Cross the Mississippi at Fort Madison and follow IL-96 south along the river to Nauvoo, founded in 1839 by Latter-day Saints. The restored historic district has free tours, crafts and wagon rides from spring to autumn, and the Nauvoo State Park has a campground. IL-96 continues along the river past Hamilton and Quincy, with levees and farmland.

From Quincy, take I-172 south and I-72 west across the Mississippi to Hannibal, about 40 minutes. Mark Twain’s boyhood home and museum sit on the historic main street, and Riverview Park on the bluff north of downtown looks over the river. Summer is busy with river cruises and Tom Sawyer Days in July. Flooding sometimes closes river roads in spring, so check before you go.