Fall Is The Perfect Time To Visit This Historic Riverside Town In Illinois
By Melissa Mahoney|Published October 25, 2021
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Melissa Mahoney
Author
I'm an east coast girl living in a west coast world. I grew up in New England before moving to SoCal for several years. I then lived in NYC or a year before moving to AZ in 2009. I worked in the entertainment industry for many years of my adult life and have a deep love for photography, writing, and traveling around the U.S. as well as to far-flung locations around the world. Travel is my life and writing about it is a dream!
What do you like to do in the fall? Do you enjoy visiting pumpkin patches, apple picking, or perhaps attending fall festivals around the state? Fall is also the ideal time to explore some of the smaller towns around Illinois — including the historic riverside town of Grafton. Located off of the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, Grafton is filled with history, natural beauty, and incredible views of the cliffs as well as the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
Grafton is located at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Founded in 1832, this community has a population of approximately 700 people today. While small, this town offers some incredible scenery, restaurants, wineries, shops, and more. It is also home to Pere Marquette State Park.
WIth over 8,000 acres, Pere Marquette State Park offers 12 miles of hiking trails and is a wonderful place for birdwatching, horseback riding, camping, fishing, boating, and more.
Aerie's Resort & Winery is one of the best places you can visit in Grafton, aside from Pere Marquette State Park of course! With multiple amenities such as a winery, restaurant, zip line, and sky tour plus lodging, not to mention splendid river views, this may become your new favorite place.
Soaring high above the bluffs, a ride along the Grafton SkyTour at Aerie's Resort will give you some of the best views in the area. With leaves changing colors, you can take in some of the most incredible scenery in the fall.
If you wish to spend the night, you can stay at Aerie's Resort, or perhaps the Reubel Hotel located on Main Street in town. Originally built in 1879, this hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places and is reportedly haunted.
Have you been to Grafton yet? If you have, tell us what you enjoyed most about the town in the comments. To learn more about this incredible historic riverside town that’s perfect to visit in the fall, visit the webpage.
To learn more about the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, be sure to check out this post.
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