9 Cute Small Town Drives In Illinois

Limestone river bluffs run through the northwest of Illinois. Amish farm roads cross the central plains. Wine country opens up in the south. Each of the nine small towns ahead anchors a day-trip worth taking on its own. Strung together, they sketch a route across the entire state, with Galena opening the run in the northwest and Metropolis closing it on the Ohio River.

Galena

Galena sits along the Galena River in Jo Daviess County with a population of about 3,308. The Driftless Zone here was never flattened by glaciers, which is why the drive in winds across rolling overlooks, switchback lanes, and wide river views. The Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site preserves the brick residence the people of Galena gave the Civil War general in 1865, still furnished with much of the family's original belongings. Main Street holds more than 100 nineteenth-century storefronts, including the Haunted Galena Tour Company, Earth's Treasures, and Big Bill's Sandwich Shop and Coffee. The Galena Trolley Tour loops past the steeples, mansions, and riverfront the town grew up around, which is the easiest way to take in the most of Galena in a single afternoon.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth sits 15 miles southeast of Galena with a population of 694. The drive between the two is half the appeal. The Apple River Fort State Historic Site reconstructs an 1832 frontier outpost where the Black Hawk War played out, set on the rise above the original stockade. The compact downtown holds shops and eateries strung along the main street. Three Sisters Sweet Shoppe is the local sugar stop for cupcakes, pies, and ice cream. The Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot, a small historical museum inside the old railroad depot, sits on the way out of town. Apple River Canyon State Park nearby holds limestone bluffs, spring-fed streams, and shaded trails.

North Utica

North Utica is in Utica Township, LaSalle County, with a population just under 1,300, about 113 miles from Elizabeth. The Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway runs through here on a 291-mile route between Ottawa and Havana, following the Illinois River through canyon country. Starved Rock State Park sits at the edge of town with 18 sandstone canyons, seasonal waterfalls, and bluff-top trails high above the river. The Illinois Waterway Visitor Center explains the lock-and-dam system and gives travelers a close-up view of barge traffic passing through, which suits anyone who wants the geography behind the scenery. Ginger Road Brewing Company on the short but busy Mill Street pours friendly local pints after a long day on the trails.

Pontiac

Pontiac sits about 60 miles from North Utica on the Historic Route 66 corridor with a population of roughly 11,000. The downtown has been turned into a living museum of the Mother Road, with attractions clustered tightly around the courthouse square. The Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum anchors the lineup with thousands of pieces of memorabilia and the restored Bob Waldmire travel bus. More than 20 outdoor murals cover the surrounding walls, which makes a downtown walk into an open-air gallery. The Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum displays vintage cars built by the namesake manufacturer. Three historic swinging pedestrian bridges cross the Vermilion River within walking distance of the square, an easy add for an afternoon on foot.

Arthur

Arthur sits at the heart of Illinois Amish Country, a compact 20- to 30-mile loop on quiet farm roads through Douglas and Moultrie Counties, about 90 miles from Pontiac. This town of around 2,300 holds the state's largest Amish settlement, where horse-drawn buggies still share the lanes and the pace of the drive slows to match. The Illinois Amish Heritage Center handles the local history side. The Woodloft showcases locally built Amish furniture in a large showroom. Yoder's Lamps and Antiques fills a building with collectibles, vintage lamps, and antiques. Yoder's Kitchen, a few doors away, serves Amish-tradition food with friendly service across breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Petersburg

Petersburg sits on the bluffs above the Sangamon River in west-central Illinois, about 20 miles northwest of Springfield on Route 97, and 89 miles from Arthur. The town of 2,278 has deep connections to Abraham Lincoln, who surveyed it as a young man, and pairs that history with Victorian streetscapes. Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, at 15588 History Lane, reconstructs the 1830s pioneer village where Lincoln lived and worked, with timber cabins, costumed interpreters, and shaded woodland trails. The Edgar Lee Masters Memorial Museum preserves the boyhood home of the poet who wrote Spoon River Anthology, just off the courthouse square. China Ocean, a local favorite, handles the post-sightseeing meal with dishes like Singapore Mei Fun and Crab Rangoon.

Grafton

Grafton sits at the southern end of the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, a 33-mile route on Illinois Routes 3, 143, and 100 where the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers converge. This riverside village of 804 residents is about 100 miles from Petersburg. The Grafton SkyTour carries riders up the bluff on an open-air chairlift to a hilltop overlook of the three-river confluence, the vantage that explains the route name in a single glance. Pere Marquette State Park, just west of town, spreads across more than 8,000 acres with hiking trails, a 1930s CCC stone lodge, and winter bald eagle viewing that draws visitors from across the region. The Bloody Bucket Saloon, originally named The River House, is the kind of bar with a story; outlaws and even Jesse James are said to have stopped in.

Makanda

Makanda is a tiny crossroads in the hills of Shawnee National Forest in Jackson County, population 540, about 143 miles from Grafton. Giant City State Park surrounds the town with sandstone bluffs, the namesake "streets" of towering rock formations, and a Civilian Conservation Corps stone lodge known for serious fried-chicken dinners. The Makanda Boardwalk lines the old railroad village with artist studios and craft shops, including the Rainmaker fountain sculpture that gives the boardwalk its character. The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, a roughly 40-mile loop through the forested hills and vineyards of southern Illinois, runs at a pace that suits a full day of short drives between wineries and natural areas, with Makanda serving as the artistic heart.

Metropolis

Metropolis carries the Ohio River Scenic Byway, a 188-mile route that traces the southern edge of Illinois along the Ohio River. The town sits 54.5 miles from Makanda at the end of the run. The 5,383 residents here lean fully into the comic-book namesake. The 15-foot bronze Superman statue stands proudly at the center of the town square, and the nearby Super Museum holds thousands of pieces of memorabilia spanning decades of the character's history. Shawnee National Forest, spreading across 289,000 acres of oak-hickory forest, wetlands, and canyons, sits on the way in. Fat Edd's Roadhouse delivers the post-sightseeing meal on classic American favorites like burgers, cheesesteaks, and chicken sandwiches. The bookending of this route, Galena at one end and the 15-foot Superman at the other, says about as much about Illinois small-town variety as a road trip can.

From the Driftless Hills to the Ohio River

These nine drives stand on their own. Linked together, they become something bigger. Driven in order, the route sweeps across the Driftless hills of the northwest, through canyon country and farm roads, and down to the rivers of the south, ending where the Ohio meets the tip of the state. Pick a single town for an afternoon or follow the thread across the state, and the slow roads of Illinois fill the time without ever requiring the highway.