This Missouri Scenic Byway Is The Road Trip Of A Lifetime

Mark Twain grew up on the banks of the Mississippi in Hannibal, and that same river runs along the eastern edge of Missouri for 215 miles beside the state's stretch of the Great River Road. The Federal Highway Administration recognizes this Missouri segment as a National Scenic Byway, one piece of a route that runs roughly 3,000 miles along the Mississippi through ten states. Between the Iowa line and the Arkansas border, drivers pass Wakonda State Park's rare sand prairie, the French colonial homes of Ste. Geneviève, and riverfront cities like Cape Girardeau with buildings dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Prairies, wetlands, and river-bluff towns fill the miles in between. One caution before setting out: northern Missouri sees seasonal tornadoes in warmer months and heavy snow and ice in winter, so timing matters.

Day 1: Wakonda State Park, Hannibal & Louisiana

The route crosses into Missouri from the Iowa border over the Des Moines River, then heads south into one of the ten states that make up the Great River Road. Blues Highway and the Avenue of the Saints carry drivers past the Wyaconda River and on to Wakonda State Park near La Grange, about 35 minutes south. Anglers fish the six lakes left behind by decades of gravel mining, pulling out crappie and catfish, and birders count the park's rare sand prairie among the best waterfowl-watching spots in northeast Missouri. From there, the drive continues through the small community of Palmyra and roughly half an hour east to Hannibal, where a young Samuel Clemens grew up before he became Mark Twain. The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum sits in the heart of downtown, and the staff at the Mark Twain Dinette next door serve Maid-Rite loose-meat sandwiches through a drive-through window, all a short walk from the Mississippi waterfront. Directly across from the boyhood home stands the Molly Brown Birthplace Museum, the restored cottage where Margaret Tobin Brown was born in 1867. She survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and earned the nickname the "Unsinkable Molly Brown."

South of Hannibal, the road runs along the riverbank past the Anderson Conservation Area and the Dupont Reservation Conservation Area, both thick with green forest, and reaches the town of Louisiana about 40 minutes on. The River's Edge Motel sits above the Mississippi with views of the Champ Clark Bridge, which carries traffic across to Illinois. Gambino's Eatery is a reliable stop for a plate of Italian food before turning in, with a fuller day ahead.

Day 2: St Peters, St Charles, Ste Geneviève & Cape Girardeau

A hot breakfast at It's So Good sets up the second morning before the drive through the Clarksville Refuge to the Mississippi River lock-and-dam viewing platform at Clarksville, about ten minutes on. The road passes through the rural stretches of Elsberry, Foley, and Old Monroe before reaching St Peters less than an hour later. City Centre Park spreads across 78 acres there, with a children's playground, the Rec-Plex recreation complex, and open green space for a break from the car. Fifteen minutes south sits St Charles, a larger city with a preserved historic district and the Lewis & Clark Boat House and Museum, with exhibits on the expedition's journey west between 1803 and 1806. About 40 minutes on, Imperial has Cactus Pete's Family Fun Center, packed with arcade games and laser tag. Just south in Barnhart, Holtie's Restaurant & Pub is an option for American plates at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Continuing south leads to Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park, site of the first permanent European settlement in Missouri, founded by French Canadian settlers around 1750. Several of their poteaux-en-terre homes still stand. About an hour beyond, Cape Girardeau rises on the west bank of the Mississippi, where Ivers Square, the Victorian-era Glenn House, and the Crisp Museum stand among the older parts of the city. From Cape Girardeau, the byway continues another hour and a half through prairie and marshy wetland to the Arkansas state line, where a welcome sign marks the crossing into the southern neighbor.

Venture Onward

The Great River Road continues south through Arkansas and on to its endpoint at Venice, Louisiana. Missouri offers other scenic byways as well, including stretches of Historic Route 66 that can be sampled in a segment or driven whole over a week or two. Crowley's Ridge Parkway is another option, at its best outside winter, when wildflowers color the roadsides and the route rolls over curved hilltops on its way into Arkansas.

A drive down the Missouri stretch of the Great River Road puts American history within reach at highway speed, from Mark Twain's Hannibal to the French colonial roots at Ste. Geneviève, all of it linked by the Mississippi and the Midwest landscape along its banks. The full route is long, but even this two-day section rewards the travelers who give it their time.