See lush rolling hills, small sleepy towns, winding roads, great golf, historic Galena–home of President Ulysses S. Grant, and slurp soft-serve ice cream.
If you live in the Chicagoland area, a famous day trip is to Illinois’ second largest city, Rockford. But if you want some truly picturesque roads and a unique and quaint destination town, head west from Rockford to Galena, near the Mississippi River. Take U.S. 20 west from Rockford through Freeport, where you can see the area of the popular second Lincoln-Douglas debate at Taylor Park. Proceed west on U.S. 20 to Rte. 73. Take Rte. 73 north 1 mile into the town of Lena, where you must rest at Lena’s Drive-In and enjoy the best soft-serve ice cream you’ve ever eaten. Read more . . .
Kick off this portion of the Great River Road (GRR) drive in the lovely town of Savanna, Illinois, on the Mississippi across from Iowa. Savanna offers much for the antique-hunter. There are also pretty Victorian mansions sitting on top of the bluffs. A must see is Mississippi Palisades State Park, accessed by driving north from Savanna on Route 84. A drive through this park offers wonderful eroded bluffs and beautiful river views. Cross the river from Savanna to Iowa and head south on U.S. 67 for the Quad Cities (Davenport, Rock Island, Moline, and Bettendorf) from Savanna where the terrain becomes flatter than might be expected for about 50 miles.