trip down mississippi river

Protect Your Trip »

The 7 best mississippi river cruises for 2024.

Explore the history, culture and cuisine of the U.S. while cruising along the Mighty Mississippi.

The Best Mississippi River Cruises

Courtesy of American Cruise Lines

The more than 2,300-mile Mississippi River invites travelers to discover its multifaceted heritage, with a vast range of deeply rooted culture, music and history. A cruise is a fantastic way to discover many of the riverfront cities on a single trip, from the comfort of your modern riverboat or traditional paddle-wheeler.

The following Mississippi River cruise itineraries can help you choose from cruises of various lengths and options for the Lower and Upper Mississippi. Note that all fares are listed as double occupancy (based on two people per cabin), and that they might not reflect taxes, port fees or gratuities. The itinerary availability listed is also subject to change.

American Cruise Lines

Courtesy of American Cruise Lines | www.AmericanCruiseLines.com

American Cruise Lines operates small ships accommodating between 90 and 180 passengers that are built, flagged and crewed in the U.S. – and it's the only company in the world operating a 100% U.S.-flagged fleet of riverboats and cruise ships. ACL's itineraries traverse waterways across 35 states, with 11 itineraries dedicated to the Mississippi River. Cruisers can choose to sail on modern riverboats with a sleek interior design or while away their time aboard classic paddle-wheelers reminiscent of days gone by.

ACL offers variety as well as versatility: This line boasts both the longest and shortest sailings on this list with cruises ranging from eight to 60 days in length, including The Great United States. This inaugural 60-day voyage spans four major rivers and 20 states, making it the longest U.S. river cruise in history.

Complimentary hotel and transportation packages are available from every departure city before your cruise. You can book certain premium packages for added perks, such as two nights spent next door to Graceland in Memphis – with VIP tickets and a city tour included in the price.

Music Cities Cruise

Length: Eight days Price: Starts at $3,610 per person

Spend a week getting lost in the sounds of the Memphis blues, rock 'n' roll and country music legends on the seven-night Music Cities Cruise. A hotel stay the night before your sailing is included, but embarking in Memphis means you also have the chance to splurge on a two-night pre-cruise package near Elvis' former home Graceland .

Ports of call include Paducah, Kentucky; Dover, Tennessee; and Clarksville, Tennessee, with an overnight in Nashville and an included excursion to a show at the Grand Ole Opry. Two scenic sailing days feature picturesque views of America's Heartland along the Mississippi, Ohio and Cumberland rivers as well as Lake Barkley.

2024 dates: In 2024, there are two available itineraries in September and November.

Grand Heartland Cruise: St. Paul to New Orleans

Length: 15 days Price: Starts at $9,455 per person

This 15-day voyage allows you to explore America's rich history in towns along the Upper and Lower Mississippi River. The immersive voyage covers six states and 12 cities including St. Paul, Minnesota ; Dubuque, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri ; Memphis, Tennessee; Natchez, Mississippi; Baton Rouge, Louisiana ; and more.

Take a step back in time while visiting Mark Twain's boyhood home in Hannibal, exploring stately historic estates in Natchez and Civil War sites in Vicksburg. At the end of a busy day ashore, you'll have plenty to chat about with fellow passengers during the evening cocktail hour.

2024 dates: American Heritage – ACL's traditional paddle-wheeler – and three modern riverboats set off on this journey from August to October in 2024.

Complete Mississippi River Cruise: New Orleans to St. Paul

Length: 22 days Price: Starts at $14,935 per person

If you want to see the entire Mississippi in one shot, check out this multiweek sailing that begins in New Orleans and ends in St. Paul, Minnesota. Along the way, you'll sail 1,393 miles, visit 10 states and experience a staggering 20 ports of call as you tour Louisiana and then head northbound to Minnesota.

In the South, walk the battlefields of the Civil War and sample delicious Southern barbecue before listening to the rhythms of jazz, the blues and rock 'n' roll. Then, explore the small and larger cities along the upper parts of the river. Remember to take time to gaze out at the picturesque scenery and the rolling farmlands of America's Midwest before disembarking in St. Paul.

2024 dates: Three of ACL's modern riverboats sail this itinerary in May, June and August in 2024.

The Great United States

Length: 60 days Price: Starts at $51,000

This two-month long journey – the longest domestic itinerary ever created – will check all the boxes for U.S. history and Civil War buffs, music and nature lovers, culinary enthusiasts, and beer and distilled spirits aficionados alike as the ship traverses America's iconic waterways through 20 states and 50 ports of call.

This epic journey showcases the natural beauty and living history of the U.S. from sea to shining sea. The sailing embarks in Portland, Oregon , on the Pacific Coast before traveling east to the Atlantic shore along four major rivers that highlight some of the country's most stunning coastlines. Upon arrival in New York Harbor, guests will have an unforgettable view of one of the most iconic landmarks in the U.S.: the Statue of Liberty .

Passengers can follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark along the Snake and Columbia rivers; cruise along Ol' Man River in search of Mark Twain and Elvis; see the vibrant colors of fall during peak season on the Hudson River; and take in the coastal breezes (and fresh seafood) along New England's rocky coastline.

This curated adventure also includes two flights: Jackson, Wyoming , to New Orleans as well as St. Paul to Portland, Maine , plus a land package through Glacier , Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. All-inclusive pricing covers the pre-cruise hotel stay, all flights and hotels between cruise segments, an ACL jacket and gear pack, daily excursions, all meals and beverages, gratuities and port charges, entertainment, and Wi-Fi.

2024 dates: The inaugural cruise sets sail on August 16, 2024.

Tips on Trips and Expert Picks Newsletter

Travel tips, vacation ideas and more to make your next vacation stellar.

Sign up to receive the latest updates from U.S News & World Report and our trusted partners and sponsors. By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy .

Viking River Cruises

Courtesy of Viking

Viking is no stranger to sailing Europe's rivers; the brand is synonymous with river cruising worldwide aboard its dozens of ships. However, Viking River Cruises is a newcomer to U.S. rivers, with its purpose-built ship: the 386-passenger Viking Mississippi. Looking to carve out its own niche in the American river cruising category, Viking claims it has the region's "first truly modern cruise ship" with its distinct Scandinavian design and expansive top sun deck with an infinity plunge pool.

Viking's mostly all-inclusive fares include a complimentary excursion in each port, destination lectures and performances, beer and wine at meals, free Wi-Fi, specialty coffees and teas, and more. The line offers five itineraries ranging in length from eight to 22 days along the Mighty Mississippi. Pre- and post-cruise extensions can be added to all voyages for an additional expense.

New Orleans & Southern Charms: Round-trip from New Orleans

Length: Eight days Price: Starts at $3,999 per person

If you don't know which Viking Mississippi itinerary to choose, start here. A round-trip voyage from New Orleans is convenient for booking flights and offers an excellent opportunity to extend your stay in NOLA. Six guided tours are included across eight days, from the historic estates of Natchez to Vicksburg National Military Park. A stop in St. Francisville gives you the chance to marvel at some of the 140-plus buildings it has on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you extend your stay in New Orleans, plan to sample the local Creole cuisine and take in some of the city's nightly jazz entertainment. In the morning, grab a beignet and a steaming cup of chicory coffee au lait at the original Café du Monde in the French Market.

2024 dates: This itinerary is available on select dates in February, November and December.

Heart of the Delta: New Orleans to Memphis

Length: Nine days Price: Starts at $4,299 per person

Similar to its round-trip New Orleans Southern Charms itinerary, the Heart of the Delta cruise begins in New Orleans and calls on the same five ports, before sailing through the Lower Mississippi and disembarking in Memphis. Enjoy scenic views of the serpentine river route – perhaps with expert commentary or a local cooking demonstration – and then take time to explore the birthplace of the Memphis blues, which is also a center of civil rights history.

2024 dates: In 2024, this cruise is available in February, March, April, May, June and November.

America's Great River: St. Paul to New Orleans

Length: 15 days Price: Starts at $12,999 per person

This Viking voyage sails from St. Paul to New Orleans on a two-week trip that calls on 13 ports with one day of scenic sailing. This itinerary combines the best of Viking's other Mississippi sailings for an all-encompassing Midwestern and Southern experience with 12 guided tours.

Included in the fare is a tour of Graceland; a stroll through small-town Burlington, Iowa, to see Snake Alley, deemed the most crooked street in the world; and a visit to the National Eagle Center of Red Wing, among others. For an additional fee, hop on an airboat ride through the Atchafalaya Swamp in Baton Rouge or tour the Anheuser-Busch Brewery of St. Louis.

2024 dates: Viking has availability for this itinerary in July, September and October.

Want to cruise the Mississippi River? See the top cruises on GoToSea , a service of U.S. News.

You may have seen riverboat gambling ships or are at least familiar with riverboat gambling along U.S. waterways. However, while high rolling on the river sounds like an exciting way to spend a night (or two, or more) while on your riverboat cruise, you'll have to jump ship to play the slots, roll the dice, spin the wheel or play a hand of Texas Hold 'em. Gambling on cruise ships sailing on internal waters is prohibited by U.S. law.

Gambling on boats in the U.S. is a complicated matter. While you will find some ships sailing along American waterways that are only set up for gambling, they are not carrying passengers from port to port. Most vessels that feature riverboat gambling are now moored, offering sports betting, table games, entertainment, live music and dancing while tethered to shore.

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Gwen Pratesi has been an avid cruiser since her early 20s. She has sailed on nearly every type of cruise ship built, including the newest megaships, paddle-wheelers on America's waterways, and an 18-stateroom river ship on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Most recently, she traveled on a small luxury expedition vessel in Antarctica and crossed the notorious Drake Passage twice. She covers the travel and culinary industries, specializing in cruises, for major publications including U.S. News & World Report.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top River Cruise Lines
• The Top All-Inclusive Cruises
• Cruise Packing List Essentials
• The Top Cruise Insurance Plans

Vacation Ideas for Every Traveler

Tags: Travel , Cruises

World's Best Places To Visit

• # 1 South Island, New Zealand
• # 4 Bora Bora

If you make a purchase from our site, we may earn a commission. This does not affect the quality or independence of our editorial content.

You May Also Like

Top things to do in new hampshire.

Timothy J. Forster and Mariya Greeley June 14, 2024

The Best Scotland Tours

Marisa Méndez June 13, 2024

Flight Canceled or Delayed? What to Do

Amanda Norcross June 13, 2024

How to Renew a Passport Online

The Best Small Group Tours of Italy

John Rodwan and Ann Henson June 12, 2024

Crystal Symphony Review

Jill Schildhouse June 12, 2024

Fall in New England

Amanda Norcross June 11, 2024

Fun Things to Do in New Mexico

Alissa Grisler and Ashley M. Biggers June 11, 2024

Travel During Hurricane Season

Top Orlando Theme Parks

Lyn Mettler and Timothy J. Forster June 11, 2024

• Expeditions
• Complimentary Brochures

Mississippi River Cruises

Stretching for 2,350 miles down the United States, from Minnesota's Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico, our new cruises on the "Mighty Mississippi" offer a different type of cross-country journey for the curious explorer—one that allows you to be immersed in American history and culture.

Step on board the newest and most modern ship on the Mississippi with all outside staterooms, private verandas, spacious public areas and our signature, clean Scandinavian design, reimagined for the Mississippi River.

NEW! Mississippi Delta Explorer

• PRICE & BUILD

NEW! Heartland of America

America’s Heartland

New Orleans & Southern Charms

America’s Great River

NEW! Upper Mississippi Explorer

Grand Mississippi Voyage

The Big Easy to the Gateway City

NEW! Mississippi River Odyssey

Heart of the Delta

Highlights of mississippi river cruises.

A Mississippi River cruise offers the rare opportunity to sail through America's heartland on the world’s #1 river cruise line. Explore picturesque towns and boom cities; take in views of pastoral farms and towering bluffs; and immerse yourself in the region's rich history and culture with an included excursion in every port. Here are a few highlights Viking reveals to you:

• Festive French Quarter and Creole cuisine in New Orleans
• Cajun heritage in Baton Rouge
• Civil War history at Vicksburg National Military Park
• Memphis BBQ, Graceland and appreciation of the Delta Blues
• Steamboat sailings with diverse wildlife sightings
• Mark Twain's boyhood home and America’s literary history
• Up close look at America’s national symbol, the bald eagle
• Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the pioneering spirit of the Midwest
• Norwegian cultural experience at Vesterheim
• Intricate locks and dams of the Upper Mississippi

Sign up to receive updates from Viking

Stay current with special offers, news and destination-focused content.

Company Information

• Order a Brochure
• Special Offers
• Sweepstakes
• Travel Advisors
• Media Center
• Investor Relations
• Health & Safety Program
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Manage Cookies

Viking River Cruises

• Mississippi

Viking Ocean Cruises

• Scandinavia
• British Isles & Ireland
• North America
• Caribbean & Central America
• South America
• Mediterranean
• Quiet Season Mediterranean
• Australia & New Zealand
• World Cruises
• Grand Journeys

Viking Expeditions

• Great Lakes
• Longitudinal World Cruises

Are you ready for a Road Trip? Explore these eleven incredible cross-country road trip routes across the U.S.!

Pacific Coast

Border to Border

The Road to Nowhere

The Great River Road

Appalachian Trail

Atlantic Coast

The Great Northern

The Oregon Trail

The Loneliest Road

Southern Pacific

Home / The Great River Road

The Great River Road Trip

Old Man River, Father of Waters, “body of a nation,” Big Muddy: By any name, the mighty Mississippi River cuts a mythic figure across the American landscape. Who hasn’t read Mark Twain or listened to Showboat and not dreamed of a trip down the Mississippi? If you’re tired of waiting for somebody to buy you passage aboard the Delta Queen or to help you paddle among the 1,500-ton barges, then do what Huck Finn would have done if he’d had a driver’s license: Tag alongside the Mississippi on the Great River Road.

Created in 1938 from a network of federal, state, and local roads, the Great River Road—also known as the River Road, and commonly abbreviated to “GRR”—forms a single route along the Mississippi from head to toe. Designed to show off the 10 states bordering the Mississippi from its headwaters to its mouth, the GRR is nothing if not scenic, and anyone who equates the Midwest with the flat Kansas prairie will be pleasantly surprised. Sure, farms line the road, but so do upland meadows, cypress swamps, thick forests, limestone cliffs, and dozens of parks and wildlife refuges.

Of course it isn’t all pretty. There’s enough industry along the Mississippi for you to navigate the river by the flashing marker lights on smokestacks, and a half-dozen major cities compete with their bigger cousins on the coasts for widest suburban sprawl and ugliest roadside clutter. A pandemic of tacky strip malls has infected the region, too, but apart from the astounding growth in casinos (you’ll never be more than 100 mi (161 km) from a slot machine from one end of the Mississippi to the other), the GRR resists the developers’ bulldozers because its meanders were shunned by a century drawn to the straight, fast, and four-lane.

A full 50 percent longer than the comparable route along the interstates, the GRR changes direction often, crosses the river whenever it can, dallies in towns every other road has forgotten, and altogether offers a perfect analog to floating downstream. If the road itself isn’t your destination, don’t take it. For those who do travel it, the GRR spares you the fleets of hurtling 40-ton trucks and that interstate parade of franchised familiarity, and rewards you with twice the local color, flavor, and wildlife found along any alternative route. Lest these tangibles be taken too much for granted, every so often the GRR will skip over to a freeway for a stretch to help you sort your preferences. Savor, and enjoy.

Navigating the Great River Road

The Great River Road is identified on signs by a green pilot’s wheel with a steamboat pictured in the middle. The quality and quantity of route markers varies considerably from state to state; some states, like Minnesota and Illinois, are well marked, with advance warning of junctions and confirmation after turns, while other states, like Louisiana and Mississippi, seem committed to hiding GRR signs miles from where they would serve any conceivable good. Adding to the confusion are the many variations—signposted as “Alternate” or “State Route”—and spurs, denoted by a brown pilot’s wheel, which lead off the GRR to various points of interest.

Though most people will be able to find their way along the riverside without too many dead-ends, trying to travel the length of the GRR just by following the signs is not recommended for perfectionists; part of the fun is getting slightly lost and making your own way. To ease your journey, get a detailed map of the entire GRR, along with a guide to local happenings in each of the states along the route, from the Mississippi River Parkway Commission.

Highlights along the Great River Road

• Lake Itasca State Park, MN : Hike, bike and boat surrounded by old growth pine forest
• Maiden Rock, WI : See the longest Main Street in the nation
• Marquette, IA : See more than 200 distinct burial mounds at Effigy Mounds National Monument
• St. Louis, MO : Home of the St. Louis Cardinals and Gateway Arch National Park
• Memphis, TN : Must-sees include Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum, and Graceland
• The Natchez Trace Parkway : Drive this relaxed, scenic route between the Gulf Coast and the upper Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys
• New Orleans, LA : Visit the famed French Quarter for Dixieland jazz, Cajun or Creole food, and historical sites

• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Indigo (Canada)
• Powell's Books
• Apple Books

Maps of the Great River Road

Pin it for Later

Atlantic Coast Road Trip

Southern US Road Trip

Northern US Road Trip

Pacific Coast Road Trip

US Route 12

Northeastern US Routes

Rocky Mountain Destinations

Warm-Weather Road Trip

The Longest Highway in the US

Car Rental Companies

Best Audio Books

Must-Have Emergency Supplies

Family Road Trip Toys and Games

Car Bike Racks

Getting Your Car Ready

Preparing for the Weather

8 Helpful Apps for a Road Trip

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Taking a Road Trip With Kids

Planning a Solo Road Trip

How to Plan a Camping Road Trip

Planning a Stargazing Road Trip

10 Helpful Budget Tips

Calculating the Cost of Gas

Budget for a 3-Day Road Trip

Best Road Trip Route By Interest

Mississippi River Road Trip

A Complete Guide to the Mississippi River Road Trip

 Henryk Sadura/Getty Images

You can find a great American road trip along the banks of likely the most iconic river in the United States: the Mississippi River. The legend of this body of water has existed since before the creation of the U.S. and the mythos that surrounds it makes for a fantastic road trip. The route passes through 10 different states as it traverses nearly the entire length of the U.S. from north to south for 2,340 miles (3,765 kilometers), ending right at the Gulf of Mexico.

This road trip doesn't follow a single highway, but rather a series of local and state routes that follow the river and are collectively known as the "Great River Road." You'll know you're on the right path by the distinctive green and white signs showing the form of a ship's steering wheel that line the route.

Making this drive in spring or early fall is the best time to do it, when you don't have to worry about icy Midwest snowstorms or the sweltering summer heat of the South.

First Stop: Park Rapids, Minnesota

Danita Delimont / Getty Images

The Mississippi headwaters are located in Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota, about four hours north of the Twin Cities if you use the most direct highways instead of the Great River Road. If you want to fully experience the Mississippi River, you have to see where this mighty body of water is born.

You’ll be in the heart of the action by staying right in the park. You can hike the trails, take a kayak out on the water, go birdwatching, or bike around the area. Bring your fishing pole to this area to fish Lake Itasca itself.

Where to Stay

The state park has all options for accommodations, including campsites, RV hookups, log cabins, and even a hostel. All of the basic amenities are provided throughout the campgrounds, including bathrooms with flush toilets and showers. The park also has picnic areas, a boat ramp, fishing dock, and playground right on-site, so it's easy to keep everyone entertained while enjoying the wilderness.

Time to Twin Cities: 6 hours

Second Stop: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Walter Bibikow / Getty Images

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have plenty of options to keep you entertained, from a thriving art scene to cultural events to nature parks, and travelers could easily spend a few days exploring the area if they have the time. After camping out in Itasca, you may want to spend some time in the cities seeing museums such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Mill City Museum, or the Museum of Russian Art. Other points of interest include the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Minnesota History Center.

If you’re still outdoor-minded, try Minnehaha Park , Lake Harriet , the Lake of the Isles, or nearby river-tubing .

For staying in the Twin Cities, there are hotel options for all tastes and budgets, from the family-friendly Hampton Inn to the luxurious Hotel Ivy . If you are in an RV or camping, you'll have to be outside of the city limits of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Lebanon Hills Regional Campground in Apple Valley, Minnesota, is about 30 minutes south of Minneapolis, but it's a beautiful setting near the city with spacious RV sites that offer full utility hookups. Numerous campsites are also available for those who prefer to pitch a tent and sleep on the ground. Enjoy amenities such as laundry facilities, full bathhouses, fire pits, picnic tables, and more.

Time to Quad Cities: 7 hours

Third Stop: The Quad Cities, Indiana/Iowa

After the Twin Cities, continue down the river until you reach the Quad Cities. Confusingly, the Quad Cities are actually a group of five towns, not four, that straddle the border of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois.

Davenport is the largest of the five and will likely be the base for your activities in the area. Try Vander Veer Botanical Park, the Figge Art Museum, and the delicious culinary creations found at Chocolate Manor. The Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science also has some great regular and seasonal exhibits to entertain both you and the kids. For a relaxing evening by the water, head down to the riverfront to watch the passing boats and barges. 

West Lake Park in Davenport, Iowa, is the camping spot of choice around the Quad Cities. This highly-rated park is outfitted with plenty of amenities for RVers and tent campers, such as full utility hookups, dump station, hot showers, restrooms, and playground, all in the middle of a lovely public park. You can't reserve a spot in advance, however, and all sites are booked on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Time to St. Louis: 5 hours, 30 minutes

Fourth Stop: St. Louis, Missouri

Davel5957 / Getty Images

St. Louis, Missouri, is known as the gateway to the West, and what better way to appreciate its legacy than by checking out the famous Gateway Arch or even taking an elevator all the way to the top. St. Louis is a big city so there will be plenty to do. If you like being outside, you can try the Missouri Botanical Garden or Forest Park . If you you're looking for activities for the kids, you can try out the St. Louis Zoo or Grant’s Farm . Other points of interest include City Museum, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, and the Missouri Civil War Museum .

Hotels are aplenty in a major city like St. Louis, so you just need to look at your budget and preferences to select from the many available options.

One of the more unique RV parks you'll find along the route is Casino Queen RV Park , which feels more like a Las Vegas resort than an RV park. The sites are pull-through and outfitted with full utility hookups, and also come with cable and wireless internet access. The bathhouses and laundry facilities are kept clean and the park can satisfy that late-night snack attack thanks to the on-site convenience store. The casino at the park is open 24/7, so parents who need a break from the kids can head out at night while the little ones are sleeping.

Time to Memphis: 5 hours

Fifth Stop: Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee , is known for its musical roots, which feature a blend of influences including blues, country, rock n' roll, hip-hop, and soul. Start out at Graceland , the one-time home of the King of Rock n' Roll himself, Elvis Presley. He recorded several of his biggest hits at Sun Studio in downtown Memphis, which is open to visitors. For live music, try one of the bars on Beale Street , which is the hub for nightlife in the city center.

A powerful and educational stop for all should be the National Civil Rights Museum, located inside the building of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

To enjoy the best of the city without being too far out, look for Memphis hotels that are near the city center or Beale Street, such as the family-friendly Hampton Inn and Suites .

The Graceland RV Park and Campground is across the street from the eponymous museum, and RV sites come with full utility hookups along with a choice of 30-amp or 50-amp electrical units. The well-maintained grounds house bathhouses and laundry facilities, Wi-Fi access, and a camping store. On top of all that you’ll get hiking and biking trails, a swimming pool, and 24/7 security patrol at the park.

Time to Greenville: 3 hours

Sixth Stop: Greenville, Mississppi

JimmySmith / CC / Flickr

Between the urban stops of Memphis and New Orleans, you’ll find the beautiful and river-minded community of Greenville, Mississippi. This is one of the best places along the route to enjoy the waters of the Mississippi River itself, and you can hike around the lush Greenville Cypress Preserve to experience the river up close. The Winterville Mounds are prehistoric man-made hills used by Indigenous groups in the area from nearly 1,000 years ago—centuries before Europeans arrived on the continent.

If you or your kids are fans of the Muppets, it's worth paying a visit to the Jim Henson Museum, named for the Muppets creator who was born in Greenville. You can also hit up one of the local casinos, such as Harlow's Casino, for a little gambling after nearly a week on the road.

A great park right on the banks of the Mississippi River in Mississippi is at Warfield Point Park . There are 52 sites for tent campers and RVers, all of which are decked out with full utility hookups of water, sewage, and electricity. Some sites even come with their own fire pits for relaxing around the fire. The bathhouses are kept clean and the park has its own fun amenities like a disc golf course, horseshoe pits, volleyball court, and boat ramp if you happen to be hauling a watercraft.

Time to New Orleans: 6 hours, 30 minutes

Seventh Stop: New Orleans, Louisiana

Nathan Steele / EyeEm / Getty Images

New Orleans is one of the magical cities that truly has no counterpart in the world. The oldest and most popular neighborhood is the French Quarter , with its ebullient atmosphere, non-stop music, and mouthwatering dishes. Here you can grab a Hurricane cocktail, go dancing, or check out the French Quarter’s famous street buskers. It's also a bit touristy, so don't limit yourself and remember to see other parts of the city , such as the artsy Bywater neighborhood or the photogenic area of Bayou St. John. There's also Jackson Square , New Orleans City Park, and the National World War II Museum.

The Mississippi River road trip ends with one of the best RV parks you will stay at on your trip. French Quarter RV Resort is home to 52 large and level spaces outfitted with full utility hookups as well as cable TV. You’ll be able to take care of any end-of-trip cleanup with the park’s private bathhouses and public laundry facilities, and the entire park is monitored with 24/7 on-site security personnel. On top of these great basic amenities, you’ll also get a pool, Jacuzzi, rec room, fitness center, and more.

Guide to an Atlantic Coast Road Trip

9 of the Best Ontario RV Parks

5 of the Best RV Parks in British Columbia

5 of the Best Quebec RV Parks

5 of the Best RV Parks in Nova Scotia

The 11 Best Day Trips from New Orleans

Your Trip to Minneapolis: The Complete Guide

The 10 Best RV Parks in Arizona

Science Says This Is the Perfect U.S. Road Trip

Your Guide to the Southern Road Trip

10 Neighborhoods You Need to Know in New Orleans

The Ultimate Northern US Road Trip

The Best Small Town in Every State

5 of the Best North Carolina RV Parks

The Best Places to See Fall Colors in Minneapolis and St. Paul

Memphis Gay Guide and Events Calendar

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

How to Plan the Perfect Road Trip on the Great River Road

Plan the perfect Great River Road trip with these tips.

What to Know Before You Go

Best stops along the great river road, places to stay.

DutcherAerials/Getty Images

As far as fantastic American road trips go, the Great River Road National Scenic Byway deserves a spot near the very top of the list. And it’s high time you got to know it better. 

The Great River Road runs the length of the U.S. from north to south (or south to north if you’d prefer), touching 10 states along the way, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Ready to put the pedal to the metal on this one? Here’s how to plan a Great River Road trip, including can't-miss stops and places to stay. 

The Great River Road is an official National Scenic Byway that follows the same path as the Mississippi River. The route is about 3,000 miles long and can technically be driven in about 36 hours straight. But if you did that, you’d miss all its beauty; consider planning a road trip that lasts four to 10 days so you have plenty of time to stop and explore along the way. The best time of year to drive the Great River Road depends on your travel preferences, but fall can be a great time to take advantage of beautiful foliage views.

Wirestock/Getty Images

While you can turn off just about anywhere along the road and find something fantastic, we suggest earmarking these seven destinations.

Mississippi River Headwaters, Minnesota

Begin your trip in a natural spot — the originating point of the Mississippi River, found at Itasca State Park , the oldest state park in Minnesota. Come dip your toes in the river, go for a hike, or cast a line to see if you can snag a fish or two. 

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul form the largest metropolitan area on the Mississippi River. Check out the water views from the hill at Gold Medal Park , which celebrates the area’s flour-producing past. In Minneapolis, travelers can also explore parts of the 72-mile Mississippi National River and Recreation Area , where park rangers offer events throughout the year. 

Dubuque, Iowa

Roughly a four-hour drive south of the Mississippi's Lake Pepin region lies Dubuque, Iowa. Situated on the shores of the river, this scenic town offers ideal views from Eagle Point Park , the Fenelon Place Elevator Company , and the Riverwalk . (There’s a Heritage Trail that leads from the Riverwalk to the nearby Field of Dreams for those seeking a baseball-focused side trip.) Don’t miss the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium , which will delight all ages with its interactive exhibits.

St. Louis, Missouri

The Gateway City is a quintessential stop on any Great River Road tour. Visitors should make time for its remarkable Gateway Arch, with a newly redesigned museum. Other great spots include the quirky City Museum and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Additionally, families will love the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station . 

Memphis, Tennessee

Called the "Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll" and "Home of the Blues," the city of Memphis is another ideal stop on any Great River Road itinerary. You can’t visit Memphis without moseying down famed Beale Street to hear some blues. Then stroll to the nearby Riverbluff Walkway, which offers impressive views of the Mississippi. Also, be sure to spend some time wandering the South Main Arts District, home to the National Civil Rights Museum , which belongs on all Memphis itineraries.

Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez contains examples of antebellum architecture and is among the oldest cities on the Mississippi River. Explore Natchez National Historical Park , dine at The Camp , and consider driving part of the Natchez Trace Parkway , a historic route that ends in Middle Tennessee. Fun fact: True Blood fans will recognize the popular octagonal mansion of Longwood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Big Easy is home to the naturally deepest spot on the Mississippi River, right off of Algiers Point. Great views of the French Quarter and the river can be enjoyed from the neighborhood of the same name on the West Bank of the river, which is best accessed via ferry. Another area highlight includes the vast City Park , home to a free outdoor sculpture garden, botanical garden, and old live oak trees. Look for the famous “ Singing Oak ” tree, an installation meant to showcase the idea that there’s always music in the air in New Orleans.

Related: 23 Best Road Trips in the U.S.

pabradyphoto/Getty Images

Need a place to snooze on your multi-day road trip? Here’s where to stop and rest your head. 

Camp at Itasca State Park

Begin the journey with an overnight camping trip at Itasca State Park . The park offers 223 drive-in spots, so you can easily car camp, or you can park your car and hike to one of its 11 designated backpack camping sites, all within a five-mile hike. 

Nicollet Island Inn

Once you get to Minneapolis, make your way to Nicollet Island, a natural islet in the middle of the river. Part of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, the island is on the National Register of Historic Places. Here, you can book an overnight stay at the Nicollet Island Inn , a charming hotel inside a building constructed in 1893, which provides spectacular views of the city skyline. 

Hotel Julien

Get off the highway in Dubuque, Iowa for a night at Hotel Julien , a boutique property in the heart of the historic Old Main district. The 133 rooms are all styled in a rich, dark brown color palette, making it ultra-cozy in every corner. Want to make the stay extra special? Book its Al Capone-inspired suite, just to say you did. On your way out of town, check out one of the most show-stopping views of the river in the Mines of Spain Recreation Area , just south of Dubuque.

Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis

In St. Louis, book a luxurious stay at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis , which is home to multiple on-site dining options. The hotel also sports a fantastic spa offering head-to-toe body treatments, making it a prime destination for a road trip stop to rest and let your body recover.  

The Peabody

Once you make your way to Memphis, pop into The Peabody for a spell. The hotel is loved for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its famous ducks, which trot through the lobby once a day on their parade to the fountain. Say hello, then go parade yourself right to bed to rest up for another exciting day on the road. 

Hotel Saint Vincent

End your trip in New Orleans in style with a few nights at Hotel Saint Vincent, named the best hotel in New Orleans by Travel + Leisure readers in the 2023 World’s Best Awards. The 75-room hotel sits in a building dating back to 1861 but went through a total refurbishment in 2021 that perfectly married New Orleans’ old-school charm with new amenities. The rooms come with bright pops of color (which make for excellent Instagram backdrops), but don’t miss the common spaces, including the pool, courtyard, and its signature San Lorenzo & Paradise Lounge. 

Related Articles

Phone 800 331-1467

2 – Day Cruise

Our signature cruise, leclaire, iowa to dubuque, iowa & return.

Includes :  All Meals ( Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Snacks both days ), 1 Night Lodging, Entry to the National Mississippi River Museum, Dubuque Shuttle, Entertainment & Activities Onboard.

Fares start at $439 per person

Terms and Conditions

River Cruises reserves the right to cancel any cruise, change schedules or routes and substitute vessel without prior notice.

River Cruises reserves the right to substitute the overnight accommodations in Dubuque from the Grand Harbor Hotel to a property of a similar or better quality when necessary.

Cruises may be abbreviated, altered or cancelled, if in the judgement of the Captain, conditions are not conducive to the safe operations. Passengers, who by their actions, endanger themselves, other passengers, crew members, or the vessel, will be subject to arrest.

• Know Before You Go

. Our two-day overnight cruise journeys from LeClaire, Iowa upriver to Dubuque, Iowa.

Experience towering bluffs, two Locks & Dams, quaint river towns, and historical narration during your two days on the river.

The trip includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks (both days), overnight lodging in Dubuque, Iowa, entry to the Smithsonian accredited National Mississippi River Museum, Dubuque shuttle, and live entertainment onboard.

New for 2024 , we are partnering with Trolleys of Dubuque, who will be offering a 1.5-hour, historical tour throughout downtown Dubuque.  The tour is $20 per adult and will depart in the evening from the front of the hotel. If you are interested in reserving a spot, you can book directly through Tim at 563-552-2896.

Fares start at $439 per person – Double Occupancy

* Prices listed are per person . You may have between 2 and 4 adults share the same room at the per person Double Occupancy rate. The overnight accommodations in Dubuque come standard with two double beds in each room. Rooms with one King size bed can be requested upon availability.

Refunds for Cancellations

Less than 30 days’ notice of cancellation: $100 /person not refunded. – Less than 5 days notice: 50% refund. – Less than 24 hours’ notice, no-shows or late arrivals: no refund. An inconvenience fee of up to 50% of the cruise value may be charged for passengers who fail to show up for their scheduled cruise. We may allow you to reschedule, based upon availability.

The Riverboat Twilight will make every accommodation possible to stay on schedule, however, will not be responsible for cruise delays that are beyond their control. 

Boarding Location 197 North Front St. LeClaire, IA 52753

Boarding time is 7:30 am at our dock in leclaire, iowa. departure time is 8:00 am sharp..

If you are running behind, call 1-800-331-1467 .

Free, ample, overnight parking is available at our boat dock in LeClaire. Parking is well-lit and routinely patrolled by the local police.

We will check one piece of medium-sized luggage per person at the boarding point. Your luggage will be waiting for you in your room when you arrive in Dubuque. Please leave your luggage in your hotel room when you depart the next morning. You may bring a backpack, purse, tote bag, or other carry-on bag onboard, with essential items you need during the day. Coolers are only allowed for medical use. CPAP machines or other medical devices do not count as extra baggage and can be checked with your overnight luggage.

The Twilight offers ample, indoor and outdoor seating on all three decks. A gift shop and restrooms are located on the main deck; a cash bar is located on the third deck. Stair climbing is required to reach the upper decks.

An indoor, dining table is reserved for your party; we ask that you sit at your reserved table during mealtimes. You may roam throughout the boat during the duration of your trip.

Hotel in Dubuque

Passengers aboard the Twilight overnight at the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque, Iowa. The Grand Harbor is a riverfront hotel; standard rooms include two queen or one king bed. All rooms are non-smoking.

Suggested Items to Bring with You

We recommend dressing in layers and wearing comfortable shoes. Consider bringing onboard items such as a camera, medication, binoculars, sunscreen, sunglasses, and or leisure items such as a book, board games, cards, etc. Charge your devices ahead of time; outlets are limited.

Accommodations & Requests

Please notify us in advance of any specific physical or dietary accommodations. We cannot guarantee requested changes less than 10 days prior to your cruise date.

Our chef can accommodate most special diets (e.g. diabetic, vegan/vegetarian, and gluten free). We cannot guarantee the availability of particular foods once the boat has left the dock. We encourage anyone with special dietary needs to  read our complete policy here.  Any questions? Call 1-800-331-1467 to request dietary accommodations.

The Twilight has three levels; stairs are required to reach the upper decks. We are unable to accommodate motorized scooters onboard; these can be sent with your overnight luggage and will be waiting for you at our dock in Dubuque. Walkers or wheelchairs are welcomed. If you need seating on the lowest level, an ADA room at the hotel, or any other physical accommodation, call 1-800-331-1467.

Hotel Recommendations (for before/after your trip)

All three hotels in LeClaire, Iowa, are less than a five-minute drive from our boat dock; each offer special rates for Twilight passengers. Additional, local accommodations can be found at https://riverboattwilight.com/accommodations/

Holiday Inn Express   —  563-289-9978 Comfort Inn   —  563-289-4747 Super 8   —  563-289-5888

DAY ONE – LeClaire to Dubuque

Board the Twilight at 7:30 am in LeClaire, Iowa. We will have coffee, sweet rolls, yogurt parfaits, a hot item, fresh fruit, and orange juice waiting for you. Depart Northbound for Dubuque, Iowa by 8:00 am. Lunch and dinner will be served onboard as well as a midmorning and mid-afternoon snack. Narration available throughout the day; live entertainment in the afternoon. Arrival time in Dubuque is approximately 6:15pm.

DAY TWO – Dubuque to LeClaire

After breakfast at the hotel, board our complimentary shuttle that will take you to various Port of Dubuque attractions. Included in your fare are tickets to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. This award-winning facility opens at 8:30am for our passengers. The Twilight will be departing no later than 11:00 am, arriving back in LeClaire at approximately 6:30pm. A delicious lunch, mid-afternoon snack and dinner are served on the return trip while you enjoy another afternoon of entertainment, history, and the beauty of the Mississippi River.

2024 Cruise Schedule

2-day mississippi river cruise • highlights.

Historic River Towns

Mississippi Palisades State Park

Fulton Windmill

Lock & Dams 12 & 13

Live Entertainment

Bald Eagle Nests

Savanna Army Depot

Bird Island

History & Architecture

Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

Fenelon Elevator / Bluff Street Shops

Diamond Jo Casino

Cancellation Policy

Two-day cruises: Less than 30 days notice of cancellation: $100 /person not refunded. – Less than 5 days notice: 50% refund. – Less than 24 hours notice, no shows or late arrivals no refunds. If your plans change less than 30 days prior to departure, we may let you reschedule based on availability.  An inconvenience fee of up to 50% of the cruise value will be charged for passengers who fail to show up for their scheduled cruise.

If you are not vaccinated, we strongly encourage you to do so, however, at this time the Riverboat Twilight does not ask for proof of vaccination. Mask wearing is the choice of the individual. The Twilight offers ample indoor and outdoor seating on all three decks and plenty of fresh air.

We will continue to maintain our increased sanitization efforts of the TWILIGHT and our boarding facilities, and we continue to provide hand sanitizer aboard the boat and employ a strong air purifier that uses UVC lighting that has been proven to destroy viruses and other bacteria.

For the safety of our passengers and crew and to maintain proper cleanliness, we have implemented the following guidelines for parents of children under the age of 14. While onboard the vessel and when making use of our food and beverages services, children must be accompanied by an adult at all times. With your cooperation and understanding, we will be able to continue to offer a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone.

As an owner, of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Le Claire, IA and the President of Great Lakes Management Group which manages the hotel’s day to day operations, I wanted to say thank you. The business relationship with the Riverboat Twilight and her passengers is valued and much appreciated. We all know businesses from every industry has been operating in a different environment the last 8 weeks and will encounter new changes in the future.

We continue to monitor the franchise, local, state and federal safety guidelines to insure our guest and staff safety. For example, we anticipate a few changes in the near future which will include the following: a plastic shield / barrier at the front desk check,  revised breakfast offerings without a buffet setting, hand sanitizer located in the lobby and all floors at the elevator landings, continued use of hospital grade products to clean and sanitize the guest rooms, individual sanitizer wipes as an in-room amenity, removal of all products in the rooms that are reusable for example, pens, pads, laundry bags, and throw pillows, these items will be available upon request. We hope to see you soon. Stay safe and healthy!

  Respectfully, Neil Densmore | President glmg | hotels

7 best Mississippi River cruises

Mississippi River cruises have surged in popularity in recent decades. They are especially appealing to mature travelers looking to enjoy guided tours of top cities and small towns in several Southern and Midwestern states.

Add in regionally inspired cuisine enjoyed aboard a luxurious river ship, plus the camaraderie of other culturally curious travelers, and cruising the most celebrated river in the United States promises satisfaction on multiple levels.

Two major cruise lines sail the Mississippi, which stretches 2,340 miles from New Orleans to Minneapolis-St. Paul: American Cruise Lines and Viking . Each line offers several similar itineraries ranging from eight to 23 days, but the ships themselves differ. Some are retro-inspired paddlewheelers, others sleek modern riverboats. The onboard dining and entertainment, as well as the excursions in port, also vary across the lines.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

We've rounded up the best Mississippi River cruises for seniors, history buffs and Americana lovers, so you can find your perfect U.S. river cruise itinerary based on your interests and travel preferences.

Best cruise for Civil War history: Lower Mississippi (round trip from New Orleans)

The Deep South attracts history buffs with its Civil War battlefields and cemeteries and 18th- and 19th-century mansions guarded by regiments of live oaks. Both cruise lines offer a Lower Mississippi river cruise, sailing round-trip from New Orleans, but only one features multiple excursions geared to those with a keen interest in the 19th-century conflict.

On American Cruise Lines' eight-day New Orleans to New Orleans itinerary , cruisers can visit Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the National Military Park commemorates the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg in 1863. In Louisiana's capital, Baton Rouge, a guided excursion explores critical locations in the Civil War's Battle of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson.

Other ports bring to life the pre-war South. In Oak Alley, Louisiana, guests can tour a Greek Revival mansion on a sugar plantation built and maintained by slaves. While no Civil War fighting took place in Natchez, Mississippi, the city is home to hundreds of lavish mansions from the era and the Historic Natchez Cemetery, which dates to 1822.

This itinerary is offered in 2024 and 2025 on four American Cruise Lines ships, ranging from the 150-passenger classic paddlewheeler American Heritage to the 180-passenger modern riverboat American Serenade. American Cruise Lines is known for its regionally inspired cuisine, served with complimentary wine and beer at lunch and dinner, plus complimentary cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and hosted entertainment in the main lounges.

Some excursions and a pre-cruise hotel stay in the Big Easy are included in the cruise fare. You can book additional day tours for an extra cost.

Related: Best river cruise lines around the world

If you're especially passionate about Civil War history, look for American Cruise Lines' special Civil War-themed cruises on limited dates, which allow a deeper dive into the period. These include a nine-day Lower Mississippi itinerary from Memphis to New Orleans (or vice versa).

In addition to visiting monuments and museums, you'll enjoy onboard lectures and presentations and interaction with other Civil War buffs. These sailings are aboard 150-passenger American Heritage and 180-guest American Melody, American Serenade, American Splendor and American Symphony.

Best cruise for music: Lower Mississippi (New Orleans to Memphis)

If you love the musical genres of the South, a Mississippi River cruise from New Orleans to Memphis (or vice versa) should be your choice.

From Crescent City, the birthplace of American jazz, to Memphis, known as the Home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll, this itinerary celebrates the region's homegrown rhythms. Both cruise lines offer itineraries between New Orleans and Memphis, but Viking features more excursions and onboard experiences tailored to music lovers.

Viking's 12-day Heart of the Delta itinerary includes a two-night pre-cruise hotel stay in New Orleans. This allows ample time to enjoy the city's street musicians and jazz clubs.

In Baton Rouge, you can visit the Capitol Park Museum, which showcases exhibits dedicated to Louisiana's musical heritage and Mardi Gras traditions. While in Natchez, Mississippi, classical music (played on a 1903 Steinway piano) and Southern cuisine are the stars of the excursion to Lansdowne and Joseph Stone House.

The port call in Greenville, Mississippi, is steeped in the blues with a chance to visit a museum dedicated to hometown legend B.B. King. The grand finale of the cruise is two nights in Memphis, where you can enjoy all things blues, barbecue and Elvis Presley.

Viking is a newcomer to the Mississippi River, and all sailings are aboard the 386-guest Viking Mississippi. The riverboat debuted in 2022 and features a modern Scandinavian design. Itinerary departures are available in 2024 and 2025.

Passengers can enjoy a sun terrace with an aft infinity pool and an Explorer's Lounge with panoramic forward views of the Mississippi. The Restaurant serves both Southern regional cuisine and global favorites, and the ship welcomes local musicians onboard for evening entertainment.

Related: Meet the only line that cruises from Washington, DC. Here's where it'll take you

Best cruise for art and architecture: Upper Mississippi

An Upper Mississippi cruise between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, provides access to some of the top architectural landmarks and artistic treasures of the American Heartland — from Eero Saarinen's soaring Gateway Arch to Frank Lloyd Wright's inimitable Taliesin.

Both cruise lines offer Upper Mississippi sailings from July through September. Viking and American Cruise Lines' itineraries and excursions are our picks for fans of American art and architecture.

Viking River Cruises' American Heartland itinerary sails from St. Louis to St. Paul (or vice versa) and runs 12 days with pre- and post-cruise stays in 2024 and 2025. You'll explore architectural gems aboard Viking Mississippi, itself an example of sleek, Scandinavian-inspired nautical architecture.

Highlights include St. Louis, where you'll admire Saarinen's circa-1965 Gateway Arch, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis featuring a 41-million-piece mosaic and the Renaissance Revival-style City Hall. From Dubuque, Iowa, you can head to Spring Green, Wisconsin, to visit Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's private home, studio and school from 1911 to 1959.

After a day in Redwing, Minnesota, known for its pottery studios, you'll end your journey in the Twin Cities, home to the Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis and well-preserved Victorian buildings in St. Paul.

Related: River cruise packing list: What to pack when traveling by riverboat

American Cruise Line's nine-day Upper Mississippi river cruise covers much of the same ground, with a few differences. Sailings are available on the 150-passenger paddlewheeler American Heritage as well as on three sleek new 180-guest riverboats, American Melody, American Serenade and American Symphony. They're offered between June and late September/early October in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Beyond the landmarks of St. Louis, highlights include Hannibal, Missouri, where you can visit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, and Dubuque, Iowa, known for its colorful Victorian mansions. (An excursion to the Field of Dreams featured in the 1989 Kevin Costner movie is also available.)

Winona, Minnesota, boasts some of the state's most architecturally significant buildings, many featuring the beautiful stained glass for which the city is known. Then it's off to Red Wing, Minnesota, where you can explore the Pottery Museum before completing your journey in the Twin Cities.

Best extended cruise: Complete Mississippi

Want it all? You can visit 18 ports in six states on a 23-day Mississippi River journey from New Orleans to St. Paul. These itineraries are offered by both American Cruise Lines and Viking, and are perfect for seniors with plenty of time to explore.

American Cruise Lines offers the 23-day Complete Mississippi Cruise in 2024, 2025 and 2026, with sailings available on three 180-passenger modern river ships: American Melody, American Serenade and American Symphony.

After a pre-cruise hotel stay in New Orleans, passengers journey through all aspects of American history. You'll visit ports known for ornate mansions (Oak Alley and St. Francisville, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi), Civil War battles (Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Vicksburg, Mississippi), music (Memphis and Greenville, Tennessee) and architecture (St. Louis and Dubuque, Iowa). You'll also call on a historic Missouri trading post in Cape Girardeau (a French river port).

Viking River Cruises' 22-day Grand Mississippi Voyage , available in 2024 aboard the 386-passenger Viking Mississippi, also embarks in New Orleans and visits 16 ports in nine states as it cruises north to St. Paul, Minnesota.

During this sailing, you'll overnight in Memphis, so there's time to fully savor barbecue, the blues and Elvis Presley's Graceland. A port call in Paducah, Kentucky, lets you explore the National Quilt Museum and colorful street murals.

You can enjoy excursions in Missouri's most famous big city (St. Louis) and small town (Hannibal) and then visit three ports in Iowa known for their historic architecture and agriculture (including a tour of the John Deere Pavilion). Learn about the Norwegian heritage of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and get to know the eagles and pottery of Red Wing, Minnesota, before disembarking in St. Paul.

Bottom line

History buffs and Americana lovers will find plenty to enjoy on a Mississippi River cruise. Your ship will stop in major cities and lesser-known towns, offering excursions to historic sites and evenings spent enjoying locally inspired cuisine and regional music.

The two cruise lines sailing America's most legendary river offer itineraries for every interest on ships designed with mature travelers in mind. Whether you want to visit Civil War sites, see top architectural landmarks or enjoy our country's best-loved musical genres, these two lines will offer a Mississippi River itinerary that will help you do it — in comfort and style as you make new friends on board.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A beginners guide to picking a cruise line
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The ultimate guide to what to pack for a cruise
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• Top ways cruisers waste money
• The ultimate guide to choosing a cruise ship cabin

St. Louis to New Orleans

• Get inspired by the possibilities.
• Build your ideal trip.
• Experience Memphis, home of the blues and the birthplace of rock ‘n roll
• Discover incredible museums, parks, and architecture in St. Louis
• Learn about the role of Vicksburg, Mississippi in the Civil War
• Immerse yourself in the festive energy of New Orleans
• Urban Exploration
• River Cruises
• Archaeological Site Visits
• Mississippi River
• North America
• United States
• Mississippi
• New Orleans
• Gulf of Mexico

Full Itinerary

Day 1: st. louis, missouri, day 2: alton, il | embark.

• Accommodation

Day 3: River Cruising

• 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner

Day 4: Memphis, TN

Day 5: port of the mississippi delta, day 6: vicksburg, ms, day 7: natchez, ms, day 8: nottoway, la, day 9: new orleans, la | disembark.

• 1 Breakfast

American Countess

Dates & prices, my preferred start date.

Initial deposit is $250 per person, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.

Final payment is due 71 days prior to departure by MasterCard, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, or check

See our general terms and conditions:

• Adventure Life Terms & Conditions

We are an agent for one or more providers on this trip with specific cancellation policies and terms:

• American Queen Steamboat Company - Terms and Conditions 2022 - American Queen Voyages

For full cancellation policy details, please contact us for a quote.

• 7 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 7 Dinners
• 8 Nights Accommodations
• Accommodations as listed
• Ground transportation as listed
• Activities as listed
• Meals as listed
• Access to a 24-7 Emergency line while traveling
• Unlimited Wifi
• Gratuities to Onboard Crew
• Port Taxes & Fees
• Open Bars & Lounges throughout the vessel including a juice bar every morning
• In-Room Dining
• Bicycles & Hiking Sticks equipment if needed
• Live, Daily Onboard Entertainment & Enrichment
• Locally Sourced & regionally Inspired Cuisine from land and sea
• Gourmet Selections of freshly prepared choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Unlimited Beverages including an extensive wine list, choice spirits, local craft beers and specialty coffees
• Unlimited Guided Tours designed with your comfort in mind aboard private, deluxe motorcoaches
• 1-night Pre-cruise Hotel Stay with free ground transfers between hotel and vessel
• Travel Insurance
• Personal Expenses
• Flight costs (please request a quote)
• Fuel and transportation surcharges (when applicable)
• Optional Premium Shore Excursions - highly recommend booking these in advance. If interested, ask us for a detailed list of premium excursions for your cruise as these vary depending on your departure date.
• Transfers to and from the airport
• Mandatory Gratuities

We Love to Talk Travel

Why travel with adventure life, recognized by.

Aboutriver.com

A Trip Down The Mississippi River

A trip down the mississippi river.

The Mississippi River is one of the most iconic and historically significant rivers in the United States. This mighty river has served as a waterway for Native Americans, settlers, and travelers for centuries.

Nowadays, taking a trip down the Mississippi River can be both a thrilling and educational experience. From the rich history to the stunning landscapes, natural splendor, and interesting wildlife, there’s something for everyone.

Located in the Midwest and the southern United States, the Mississippi River has a total length of 2,320 miles and the source is Lake Itasca. Along the way, it passes through ten states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

The Mississippi River is renowned for the vast range of activities, from fishing to kayaking, canoeing, and camping along its banks. There’s also an abundance of wildlife that can be observed in and around the river, including bald eagles, common loons, and beavers.

In addition to the wildlife and activities, lots of potential travelers are drawn to the Mississippi River due to its unique cultural heritage. The river has a long, fascinating history: it served as a trading and transportation route for Native Americans and was an integral part of the American Civil War.

In modern times, taking a trip along the Mississippi River offers a unique opportunity to learn about the geography, biology, and culture of the region. It’s also a fantastic way to appreciate the natural beauty of the United States.

If you’re considering a trip down the Mississippi River, keep in mind that you’ll need to do some planning and research first. Booking a tour with a guide is an excellent way to get the most out of your experience. The staff of these tours can not only provide you with a safe, comfortable journey but also provide expert advice on the region.

Traveling in Style

If you’re in search of a luxurious trip down the Mississippi River, you may want to consider chartering your own private boat. There are a variety of companies located both along the river and in nearby towns that can help you organize a private voyage. Private charters are ideal for those looking to experience the river in luxurious comfort. Many of the boats that offer private charters include amenities such as in-suite bathrooms, full-service kitchens, and cozy cabins.

If you’re looking for a more laid-back experience, renting a houseboat is definitely something to consider. Houseboats allow travelers to take their time as they slowly drift down the river, stopping for sightseeing and other activities along the way. Most houseboats include all the amenities you’d expect from a hotel, such as full bathrooms, beds, and living areas.

Traveling the river in your own vessel has the added benefit of allowing you to explore the shoreline and surrounding region more thoroughly than on a traditional boat tour. Offering a more immersive experience, it’s no surprise that private boat charters have become increasingly popular in recent years.

The Fauna and Flora of The Mississippi

The Mississippi River is also home to a wide variety of species of both animals and plants. As you travel down the river, you’ll be able to spot many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Turtles, sturgeon, and alligators are just a few of the creatures you may encounter.

Along the banks, visitors can also spot an array of plant life. Oak, hickory, and poplar trees are just some of the vegetation you’ll find. Be sure to take a moment to take in the beauty of the pink and white blooms of the wild dogwood trees.

Finally, make sure to plan a stop to visit some of the riverside towns along the way. These can be great places to explore, sample some local cuisine, and get a glimpse into the cultural and historical heritage of the areas. Don’t forget to bring a camera – you’ll definitely want to capture the beauty of these river towns!

Interesting Attractions Along the Mississippi

There is never a shortage of interesting attractions while traveling down the Mississippi River. In St. Louis, Missouri, visitors may want to check out the Gateway Arch. The 630-foot-tall stainless steel monument is a symbol of the pioneering spirit of the city and is also a great spot to take photos.

In addition, a trip down the Mississippi River should include a stop at the Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, Louisiana. This gorgeously preserved antebellum mansion is an important reminder of the historic Louisiana Plantation system. The tour of the mansion has been described as “magical” and offers visitors a glimpse into the lives of the region’s wealthy aristocracy in the 19th century.

Finally, no journey down the Mississippi River would be complete without paying a visit to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Located about an hour south of Jackson and two hours north of New Orleans, Vicksburg is a national historic site due to its importance in the Civil War. Here, visitors can take guided tours of the historic battlefields, or explore the plethora of art and antique shops that line the streets of downtown.

Safety and Preparation

Last but not least, it’s important to remember to keep safety in mind when planning a trip down the Mississippi River. Most tour operators will provide detailed instructions regarding safety protocols and what passengers need to bring on the boat.

Those planning to travel the river on their own should familiarize themselves with the area and River Navigation Rules before heading out. Additionally, always make sure to bring along a map, compass, sunscreen, and a cell phone.

In conclusion, a trip down the Mississippi River can be an unforgettable experience filled with natural beauty, wildlife, and history. With a bit of planning and preparation, you can create a journey you’ll never forget.

Practical Considerations

In addition to safety, there are a few other practical matters to keep in mind when planning a trip down the Mississippi River. It’s important to understand the region’s changing weather conditions, such as spring floods and summer droughts.

In addition, be mindful of the water levels. Low water can create hazardous obstructions when navigating the river, while high water can make for treacherous currents. Always be sure to check the weather and the river’s level before heading out for a river trip.

Lastly, it’s important to remember that the Mississippi is can be a fast-moving river. Boat tours and houseboat rentals are often recommended for those not familiar with navigating the tricky currents in the region.

The Culinary Side of The Mississippi

As you make your way down the Mississippi, be sure to take in the local cuisine. Louisiana is well known for its seafood gumbo, shrimp po’ boys, and crawfish jambalaya. For a sweet treat, you can’t go wrong with classic pralines or beignets.

Of course, the Mississippi River is home to many other culinary delights. In St. Louis, the local favorite is deep-dish pizza. Meanwhile, those visiting the Twin Cities can sample world-famous wild rice dishes.

In addition, many towns along the Mississippi feature their own unique dishes. North of Memphis, try some of the delicious fried catfish sandwiches served up at the local eateries. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget!

Whatever your culinary preferences, you can be sure to find something to satisfy your taste buds on a journey down the Mississippi. Just always remember to bring along some cash – some local restaurants are cash-only!

Capturing the Essence of The Mississippi

No trip down the Mississippi would be complete without collecting some keepsakes to remind you of your journey. For those looking for something a little more unique, many towns along the river offer handmade crafts, jewelry, and vintage souvenirs.

When visiting the Big Easy, be sure to take home some of the iconic Mardi Gras beads and masks. Or, if you’re in the mood for a unique piece of art, one of the many galleries in New Orleans is sure to have something special.

In addition, consider picking up some local hotsauce or a jar of honey to give as gifts or to keep for yourself. No matter what you choose, a trip down the Mississippi River is sure to provide you with plenty of opportunities to pick up a few gems to take home.

Raymond Strasser

Raymond Strasser is a passion-driven writer and researcher, dedicated to educating readers on the topic of world rivers. With a background in Geography and Environmental Studies, Raymond provides insightful pieces which explore the impact and importance that rivers have around the world.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

History | July/August 2024

How the United States Laid Claim to the Mississippi River, One Mile at a Time

Thomas Jefferson imagined the waterway as the heart of his “empire of liberty” as he dispatched surveyors to measure a land already occupied by Native Americans

Louisiana Purchase State Park in Holly Grove, Arkansas, lies on the spot where the land surveys of the new territories originated.

By Boyce Upholt

Photographs by Ashleigh Coleman

On October 27, 1815, Prospect Robbins arrived by boat at the point in the alluvial swamps where the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers meet. He planted a post in the ground to mark his arrival, and then, along with his team, he began to trek into the muck.

On the same day, a second man, Joseph Brown, embarked with a separate team at another confluence: the mouth of the St. Francis River. Both surveyors were veterans—Brown a captain, Robbins a lieutenant—of an army that a few months earlier had been fending off a British invasion. Now, they were official emissaries of the United States government: here not just to scout the landscape but also to lay upon it a perfect rectilinear grid.

Decades earlier, Thomas Jefferson had formed a vision for new territory west of the Appalachian Mountains: It would fuel the creation of an “empire for liberty.” He first used a version of this phrase during the Revolutionary War, in a 1780 letter that urged George Rogers Clark, a surveyor turned soldier, to head north to wrest more land from the British. The frontiersman proved unable to muster sufficient recruits for an expedition, but Jefferson never dropped the idea.

After the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, Britain ceded more territory that doubled the size of the U.S. Along with the original 13 colonies, the new country now included territory that stretched all the way to the Mississippi River, to the western edges of what would become Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and the northern part of Mississippi. These new lands offered the space that Jefferson needed to establish an empire of landed farmers—“cultivators,” as he called them, or “husbandmen.” Jefferson did not want the soot-stained, over-mobbed cities that were growing like “sores” on the body of Europe. Nor was untamed nature a suitable fit for the new nation. He hoped the Mississippi watershed would be converted to a garden—or a collection of gardens, spreading across the landscape like a quilt. Private property would be everywhere. The only shared resource he spoke of was the river itself, the highway into his promised land.

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $19.99

This article is a selection from the July/August 2024 issue of Smithsonian magazine

In the Land Ordinance of 1785, Jefferson came up with a plan for parceling out the new territory: Lay out a perfect grid of townships, each covering 36 square miles, which could be broken into 640-acre sections, then split again into 160-acre quarter sections. Rather than allow an unorganized tumble of men to pick lots on their whim, the whole empire would be cataloged, then sold at auctions in land offices established across the territories. With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, this massive effort spread into the western watershed, through the 530 million new acres of land on the western side of the Mississippi River. And Robbins and Brown were instructed to establish the “initial point” for the era to come. They would cross the landscape at a right angle, with Robbins headed north, Brown headed west. The coordinates of every parcel within the new territories would be measured in reference to the spot where their lines intersected—the beginning, then, from which the river’s great wilderness would be tamed into a map.

Brown and Robbins assembled teams of men to serve as chainmen and axmen and markers. They were instructed by their superiors to leave late in the year, so as to avoid the “inundations, the undergrowth, weeds and flies of various descriptions.” (“No mortal man could take the woods before October,” one official added.) They slept in tents and lugged drinking water in pails. These frontiersmen knew how to hunt in these forests, what gear to carry, how to create quick shelter. But don’t picture grizzled mountaineers in stinking buffalo robes. These men were well educated—the polite, churchgoing neighbors down the block. Robbins was a former schoolteacher. It’s just that in this era, in this place, you needed to be hardy to make something of yourself.

As they trudged through the Arkansas swamps, they lugged chains to measure their progress, marking their passage at half-mile intervals, typically by driving stakes into the muddy ground. At the end of each mile, they selected some stout trunk and carved a mark to make a “witness tree,” the corner of a new future parcel. On November 10, after two weeks in the wet forests—plodding forward just four miles on average each day—Robbins must have spied some sign of Brown’s passage. He slashed two trees, indicating the point where the two lines crossed. The initial point was set.

The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi

A sweeping history of the Mississippi River―and the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America.

Robbins wrapped up his assignment two months later, hundreds of miles north, on the banks of the Missouri River in the Ozark hills. Brown traveled on across the flood plain to reach the Arkansas River. But in all of the states that would emerge from the Louisiana Purchase, as far away as Montana and Minnesota, parcels would be oriented around these trees.

Not that the initial point had much to recommend itself. Brown described the terrain around the site as “low,” featuring “cypress and briers and thickets in abundance.” He seemed unimpressed, repeatedly describing this flood plain territory as second-rate land. Robbins, too, had his doubts: When his former general offered him a patch of the Arkansas flood plain as “war bounty,” the surveyor declined, figuring it would be too much work to wring out a profit. No one else was much impressed, either: More than 100 years later, no village had been built along his route.

In the 1920s, a new group of surveyors arrived, in an attempt to clarify the local county boundaries. As they hacked through the overgrowth, they noticed Robbins’ slashed trees—and realized what they’d found. The locals decided to preserve this place, so today it remains a tiny island of swamp amid a surrounding sea of soybeans, a little-visited state park . A boardwalk allows visitors to navigate across the wet soils to the place where, according to an official placard , “the settlement of the American West began.”

Prospect Robbins, born in Massachusetts, might have balked at the idea that he was only just reaching the west. Even Pittsburgh was considered part of the “western waters,” the jumping-off point for many journeyers headed downstream. There in Pittsburgh, in 1801, the savvy printer and bookbinder Zadok Cramer had published the first edition of his great success, The Navigator —a mile-by-mile guide to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Updated roughly every other year with data gleaned from letters sent east by settlers, Cramer’s book provides a portrait of the watershed in these first, not quite fully American years. “This noble and celebrated stream,” Cramer wrote of the Mississippi, “this Nile of North America, commands the wonder of the old world, while it attracts the admiration of the new.”

A contemporary river traveler, accustomed to a deep and wide ribbon of water, may find it hard to envision the cluttered waterways that Cramer describes. The debris began at the Mississippi’s mouth, where shoals blocked the three forking passes that lead out into the Gulf of Mexico. Colonial pilots would unload their cargo onto smaller longboats so it could be carried 100 miles upstream to New Orleans, to avoid getting stuck in the mud. The debris continued up every tributary. Sandbars and rock bars and gravel bars could be broken down into a full taxonomy describing their size and shape and orientation: chains and traps, riffles and reefs. The largest hazards earned names all their own, which combine to make a rough American poetry. Big Bone. Pig’s Eye. Glass House. Scuffletown.

Where the rivers wound through softer soils, the banks crumbled easily. Whole trees—ancient, massive sentinels that might weigh as much as 60 tons—shed into the water, sometimes hundreds at a time. The sound, according to a later federal report, resembled “the distant roar of artillery.” Once in the channel, the roots grew matted with dirt and cobblestones and implanted in the river-bottom mud. The resulting hazards were known as snags, and they, too, inspired a full lexicon. “Planters” sat immobile. “Sawyers” bobbed in the current. “Sleepers” lay entirely beneath the water. “Wooden islands” were thick masses of driftwood that had gathered into a nearly solid whole.

All of these obstacles could be deadly. As many as a quarter of all flatboats wrecked en route to New Orleans. Among Cramer’s “instructions and precautions,” he emphasized the importance of selecting a quality vessel, especially if you hoped to make it down the whole of the Mississippi. He recommended a certain vessel in particular: a large wooden raft, typically somewhere around 60 feet by 15 feet, with a wooden box on top that served as makeshift quarters. The raft was known by many names—ark, broadhorn—but the term that stuck was Kentucky flatboat, in honor of the place where so many trips began.

Some dangers could not be solved by picking the right boat: “counterfeiters, horse thieves, robbers, murderers, etc.,” as Cramer put it. So many stories were spun that it’s hard to distinguish truth from fiction. Cave-in-Rock, a riverside cavern near the mouth of the Ohio River, became a focus of blood-soaked tales. Here crews of hardened criminals were supposed to have enticed travelers with decoys—attractive female compatriots who asked for a ride south, or a sign that advertised “Wilson’s Liquor Vault and House for Entertainment.” The victims were said to be murdered, their cargo hauled downstream for sale by the pirates. For all these tales, Cave-in-Rock was actually a regular stopping point for river travelers, something like a curiosity or tourist attraction, rather than a dangerous cavern to be avoided.

Indigenous warriors viewed the flatboats as part of an imperial invasion, enemies they needed to stop if they wanted to hold their homelands. It’s often overlooked that what Jefferson purchased in Louisiana was not the land itself, which the French had not yet fully acquired, but rather the right to negotiate for the land. With the exception of a few tracts recently acquired from the Choctaw and the Kaskaskia, the United States could not claim even the territory along the Mississippi’s east bank.

In a letter to William Henry Harrison (then the governor of the Indiana Territory) on the eve of the purchase, Jefferson had laid out his preferred strategy for getting the rest. White Americans should encircle tribal villages with settlement, he said, choking off hunting lands and thereby forcing the Indigenous people to depend on agriculture. Then the government could establish trade with Indigenous leaders and “be glad to see the good and influential individuals among them run in debt.” These measures would drive the Indigenous people to sell some land, Jefferson figured. And should anyone object and “take up the hatchet,” as Jefferson put it, the president was clear: The attackers should be crushed.

In 1804, just months after Louisiana changed hands, a group of Sauk hunters took up the hatchet: They killed three settlers along the Cuivre River, in the Ozark foothills, northwest of St. Louis. A few chiefs attended a conference with Harrison. There are no records of what transpired at the meeting, but the United States emerged with a new claim to 51 million acres of land in Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Some was not the Sauks’ to sell. One hypothesis is that the Sauk thought the treaty was a symbolic gesture, an acknowledgment that now the United States, and not Britain, would be the imperial presence looming over their lives. The text indicated that the tribe would be permitted to hunt on the land for as long as it belonged to the United States. Perhaps the Sauk did not yet realize that the U.S. government itself did not plan to keep the land. Instead, it would sell it to private citizens to build Jefferson’s empire.

Jefferson saw it as a “law of nature” that anyone who lived along the banks of a river ought to be allowed to travel its length. This was, after all, a far easier voyage than lugging crops over the mountains to Philadelphia or New York, and the flatboat rush had commenced decades before Louisiana changed hands. In the early 19th century, hundreds of flatboats traveled down the Mississippi annually, carrying the goods of a young nation: pine planks, pork, flour, whiskey and tobacco; hemp and rope and sacks; cattle and horses; cotton, animal pelts and lead; cutlery, ears of corn, and barrels of apples and potatoes and cider and dried fruit.

Theirs was a long voyage, five or six weeks of drifting atop an ever-changing river. Near Pittsburgh, the upper Ohio was transparent, revealing boulders below in its channel. Then after a few hundred miles, the terrain flattened; mud thickened the water, until it was a torrent of half-milk coffee. Even the fish in these waters seemed ungodly: Catfish could weigh 100 pounds. On some nights, they slammed against the boats so loudly that it was hard to sleep.

When travelers reached the Mississippi River, they faced a choice. Those interested in acquiring furs might head north, past old French villages, to reach St. Louis. Established as a trading post in 1764, the town had grown into a frontier crossroads, 200 homes perched atop the bluff where the Missouri and the Mississippi meet. The bulk of the traffic headed south, into a valley that was flat and wet—and mostly empty for the next few hundred miles. Finally, the delta plantations would appear. Those who made it safely to New Orleans sold their wares, then sold the warped wood from their flatboats as scrap. (Often the planks were laid atop the city mud to make a sidewalk.)

The crews walked home overland, often following a set of Indigenous trails known as the Natchez Trace, traveling in packs of 20 or more to avoid being robbed. If a farmer bought anything bulky with his profits, it would have to be sent north by keelboat—a long and narrow vessel with a pointed bow and stern, which at the time was the only way to carry substantial cargo against the current. Typically 60 feet long and 8 feet wide, capable of bearing 40 tons, the keelboat was specially designed for the western rivers. Still, an upstream trip would require the muscle of at least ten men.

If a keelboat crew were lucky, they could unfurl the sails to exploit a favorable wind. Otherwise, the work was wearying. Sometimes the boat’s best swimmer would head to shore with a rope clamped in his teeth. The rope was attached to the mast, and the swimmer tied the loose end to a tree; then the crew dragged the boat forward, one thousand-foot rope length at a time. During floods and high water, keelboat crews grabbed at brush and branches along the shore so they could drag the boat forward. Typically, though, the men jammed spears into the mud at the riverbottom, and then, bracing their shoulders against a crutch at the top of the pole, walked forward on the narrow planks that lined each side of the boat. When a boatman reached the front of the line, he pulled his spear free, then hopped atop the cargo box at the boat’s center to sprint to the back of the line and start again.

The keelboats hugged the inner bends of the river’s curves, where the water was slower, though this meant an arduous crossing after each bend ended and the next began. Often, a keelboat could manage just two crossings a day, for a total of 15 or 20 miles; afterward, their shirts bloodied, their shoulders callused, the men were rewarded with a fillee—a cup of whiskey chased by a cup of river water.

These men lived a life that was, according to one traveling preacher, “in turn extremely indolent, and extremely laborious.” The indolent moments sound pleasant enough. When the boats were moored, a fiddle was always playing. The music led to dancing and drinking—which led to cussing and fighting, in legendarily elaborate fashion. On a voyage in 1808, a traveler named Christian Schultz descended to the squalid neighborhood at the foot of the Natchez bluffs, known for its flophouses and gambling dens, and found himself captivated by a handful of boatmen caught in a dispute.

“I am a man; I am a horse,” one of the drunken men hollered. “I am a team. I can whip any man in all Kentucky, by God.”

The other upped the ante: “I am an alligator,” he said. “Half man, half horse; can whip any on the Mississippi by God.”

The men went at it “like two bulls,” Schultz wrote, “and continued for half an hour, when the alligator was fairly vanquished by the horse.”

The image of the boasting boatman became a literary trope, and one boatman emerged as a particular source of fascination. Mike Fink was a real man, but the stories about him are exaggerated. He’s made to sound like a hunk in a romance novel—heavily muscled, symmetrically proportioned, so frequently shirtless that his skin had darkened. He was sometimes mistaken for an Indigenous warrior. He was a crack shot and a “helliferocious fellow,” as one story put it, “and there ain’t a boatman on the river, to this day, but what strives to imitate him.” An influential account of Fink was published in 1828 by Morgan Neville, who was later deemed by one scholar to be “the first notable writer of fiction to be born west of the Alleghenies.” Neville, a Pittsburgher himself, was likely honest in his claims that he crossed paths with the legendary frontiersman.

Neville suggests that Fink got his start as a scout in the upper Ohio River watershed, living “as did the Indian,” spending weeks alone in the woods, eating parched corn instead of bread. He slept under the stars, rolled in a blanket. Such scouts served as the advance forces for white conquest, monitoring Indigenous warriors, ready to warn nearby settlements of any hostile approach. But the scouts themselves were often the aggressors. In a telling anecdote, Neville suggests Fink shot an Indigenous hunter for the simple offense of stalking a buck that Fink hoped to kill. In 1795, after 99 chiefs signed a treaty that opened Ohio to white settlers, the scouts were out of business. By then, apparently, Fink’s lifestyle had left him unsuited to a settled home, so he committed to a life on the river. Fink served as a fitting emblem for an era—an aspirational idea for thousands of young men, some just farm boys chafing under the glare of their fathers, feeling drawn to the motion of the river.

The American claim to the watershed had a haunting backstory. Napoleon had planned to grow food along the Mississippi, which would feed the workers on his Haitian sugar plantations. The Haitian slaves revolted, successfully, from 1791 to 1804, but Napoleon had hopes of recovering the island. Once it became clear that he wouldn’t, his Louisiana farms became moot. Now, with the land in American hands, more and more enslaved laborers were arriving on the riverside farms—raising worries that they would revolt as well.

So when in early 1811 an army of Black and Creole men arose along the Mississippi River, 30 miles upstream of New Orleans, white Americans saw this as a nightmare coming true. Armed with machetes and pitchforks, these fighters seized a cache of muskets, then burned down a mansion. They had likely gathered in the swamps behind the plantation to plan this attack. The rebels waved banners and marched to a drumbeat, sacking plantations as they descended on the city, recruiting more soldiers at every stop. In their wake, they created a zone, 30 miles long, where emancipation became, if not the law, then the fact on the ground.

The response was swift and strong: Within a few days, the U.S. Army, working in concert with a local militia, routed the uprising. One participant called it “ une grande carnage .” The severed heads of rebels were placed atop pikes along River Road, a reminder, to anyone else contemplating freedom, about who was in charge.

Even before the War of 1812 began, conflict was well underway in the increasingly dense settlements along the Ohio River. Many Indigenous people, subscribing to the theory that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, had allied with the British crown. Two Shawnee brothers set up the headquarters for a burgeoning anti-American movement in the unconquered territory along the Wabash River. Late in 1811 a frontier militia led by William Henry Harrison burned the village.

The next year, when Congress made this a proper war, the legendary Sauk warrior Black Hawk knew which side to join. Along with a battalion of Sauk and Winnebago soldiers, he took part in a British attack on a small American fort. Two years later, when the U.S. Army sent a fleet upstream with plans to demolish the great Sauk village, a group of 1,000 warriors drove back the boats. To the west, traders were reporting that the rivers throughout the Missouri Valley were “shut against” the Americans, too. Despite the Louisiana Purchase, then, the watershed could hardly be called American land.

In January 1815, the British decided to seize New Orleans. The U.S. forces were led by a lean and angry soldier named Andrew Jackson , who upon his death in 1845 was heralded in one eulogy as the embodiment of “the true spirit of his nation.” Technically, that spirit had been forged east of the mountains, where Jackson’s father, an immigrant from Ireland, had worked himself to death trying to eke a living out of a Carolina farm. After his family’s home was captured during the Revolution, 14-year-old Jackson refused to polish a British officer’s shoes. This act of resistance earned him a sword-slashed scar on his head and hand. Thereafter, it seems, any slight toward Jackson sparked furious indignation.

Jackson went on to join the river trade, where he carted swan skins, feathers, pork and beef—and notably, enslaved humans—as far south as Natchez. Eventually he established a business empire in Nashville, along the Cumberland River, that included a tavern, a racetrack and, since some of his customers paid in bartered goods, a trading depot to carry the wares downstream to market. He entered politics, too, and in 1812 was prominent enough to be put in charge of the local militia. He declared to his troops that their greatest duty as westerners would be to defend their mother river against invasion. Three years later, with that invasion imminent, he marched his volunteers into New Orleans.

Jackson’s men were mostly the hardscrabble sort who’d established farms along the western rivers—the flatboaters, in other words. In New Orleans, they were joined by French-descended pirates, Choctaw warriors and free men of color. This motley assembly—“perhaps the most racially varied ‘American’ military force ever,” according to scholar Thomas Ruys Smith—routed the royal army. The Brits were perhaps too well trained: As they streamed across a fallow field of sugarcane just downstream of the city, they refused to abandon their orderly lines—even as they were met by a constant barrage of musket fire. A quarter of the 8,000 British soldiers suffered casualties, compared with fewer than 100 on the American side.

For the Americans, the Battle of New Orleans was a triumph after years of chaos and loss—enough of a triumph, apparently, to finally settle the issue of who owned the river at the continent’s heart. The massive British death toll was extolled in newspaper poetry, and within a few years the date of the battle, January 8, was named an American holiday. When Andrew Jackson ran for president, 13 years after his victory, he chose as a campaign song an old ballad that celebrated the battle.

By then, the British had abandoned their Indigenous allies, which helped ensure that the length of the river was in secure American control. The U.S. Army sent a force north, to build a fort at Rock Island, Illinois, and it sent Prospect Robbins and Joseph Brown west, on their trek through the Arkansas swamps. The imagined grid of the empire for liberty was, chain by chain, laid atop the land.

Adapted from The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi by Boyce Upholt. Copyright © 2024 by Boyce Upholt. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

Get the latest History stories in your inbox?

Click to visit our Privacy Statement .

A Note to our Readers Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission.

Boyce Upholt | READ MORE

New Orleans-based writer Boyce Upholt is the author of  The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi .

Ashleigh Coleman | READ MORE

Ashleigh Coleman is a Mississippi-based photographer who documents Southern culture.

Ten States. One River.

A virtual trip down the great river road.

Wednesday, December 02, 2020

There’s a lot to discover on America’s greatest driving route. At every bend of the river you’ll find something special—beautiful wildlife and scenery, incredible history, lively attractions and more. While there’s nothing quite like a trip on the open road, virtual experiences can give you a good taste of what it’s like to travel the route from the comfort of your home. So “pack your bags” and check out these virtual experiences on the Great River Road.

Follow Muddy Waters

The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, has a series of virtual exhibits that spotlight the history of this important American musical genre. The exhibits include fascinating details about icons like McKinley Morganfield, best known as Muddy Waters. The museum’s exhibits are of very high quality and have drawn the praise of international travel writers. See the exhibits here .

What bird are you?

Located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul, the Science Museum of Minnesota features 370,000 square feet of exhibit space. It includes a 10,000-square-foot temporary exhibit gallery, five permanent galleries, acres of outdoor space and an Imax Convertible Dome Omnitheater. The museum has a variety of virtual offerings that appeal to science lovers of all ages. The “Which Minnesotan bird are you?”  quiz will help you determine if you’re a loon or chickadee!

Behind-the-scenes art tour

Another Minnesota experience of interest to art lovers is the Walker Art Center’s Garden Stories . Through short interactive narratives, this ongoing series created by the famous Minneapolis museum presents behind-the-scenes tours of your favorite outdoor sculptures.

Stroll Oak Alley

On the west bank of the Mississippi River, in the community of Vacherie, Louisiana, is a historic plantation called Oak Alley . It was named after a double row of live oak trees that leads from the mansion to the river. The plantation is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Visit Oak Alley virtually here.

Visit Vicksburg

Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, along the Mississippi River, also commemorates the Vicksburg Campaign which led up to the battle. A virtual tour offers a look at the landscape and offers important details of this significant site. Take the Vicksburg Virtual Tour here .

Say hello to a hippo

The popular Memphis Zoo is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. The zoo has been a Memphis fixture for more than a century, welcoming 1.2 million visitors annually. The zoo has live webcams of some of its most popular exhibits. See what the pandas, flamingos, elephants and hippos are up to here .

See birds take flight

The Great River road traces the Mississippi Flyway, a major migratory path for many species of birds. A good place to see these birds on their journey is the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, a 261-mile long protected area in and along the Upper Mississippi River. It runs from Wabasha, Minnesota, in the north to Rock Island, Illinois, in the south. There are webcams placed in the refuge so you can see the winged action any time you like. See the webcams here .

Enjoy more scenes from the road

Webcams up and down the Great River Road provide a live view of America’s greatest scenic drive. We’ve assembled a collection of some popular views—see them here .

Related Articles

Five reasons to be thankful about the great river road, must-see attractions in the show me state, discover these hidden gems on the great river road, american history awaits on the great river road, traveling through history in arkansas, national treasures on the great river road, 22 reasons to drive the great river road, celebrate drive the great river road month, discover ancient cultures and engaging history on the great river road, how to plan a great river road birding adventure, getting on the water along the great river road, enjoy bike month along the great river road, historic photos: sights along the mississippi river, great river road fun facts, see the spring migration along the river, fall migration on the great river road, return to blog.

Win a $100 gas card for a summer road trip

Discover events all summer long along the Great River Road!

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• Personal Finance
• AP Investigations
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election Results
• Delegate Tracker
• AP & Elections
• Auto Racing
• 2024 Paris Olympic Games
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Personal finance
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

For shrinking Mississippi River towns, frequent floods worsen fortunes

A child runs past an opening in the flood wall protecting downtown Hannibal, Mo., Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Along the Mississippi River, many towns have struggled economically. But flooding in many of these areas is driving even more people away. And it is getting worse as climate change makes these bad floods more common. )AP video by Jeff Roberson. Produced by Brittany Peterson)

A child runs past an opening in the flood wall protecting downtown Hannibal, Mo., Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The wall protected downtown Hannibal during the flood of 1993 not long after it was completed keeping business open and tourists coming while some homes outside were swamped. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

• Copy Link copied

Bear Creek, at bottom, and Mississippi River, to the right, are visible Wednesday, May 22, 2024. In spring 1993, the Mississippi rose fast, and torrential summer rains sent it higher than even the monumental flood of 1973. But downtown stayed dry and open to tourists because of a flood wall and a levee. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

People enjoy ice cream outside a downtown business as a cyclist rides past Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the Mississippi River. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Bear Creek flows Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. The creek, which runs from the mouth of the Mississippi through the south end of town, has been a consistent source of flooding over the years. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

An abandoned home sits across from a vacant lot Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the Mississippi River. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

West Alton Mayor Willie Richter poses for a photo outside what remains of a flood-damaged and burned home Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Vacant properties invite arson, said Richter, who said four or five abandoned homes have burned since the last big flood. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A flood-damaged and recently burned home is visible Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Data from First Street shows that while West Alton is an extreme example of flooding’s effect, it’s emblematic of challenges faced by smaller communities in the Midwest and South. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

West Alton Mayor Willie Richter speaks outside a vacant and vandalized church Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Richter recalls the West Alton of decades ago: three churches, an ice cream shop, four taverns where people hung out. “Now we don’t have any churches. We have one tavern that’s open and it just got reopened not too long ago,” he said. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A faded water line marking the height of the 1973 flood is visible on the wall of a damaged and vacant church Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the Mississippi River. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The reflection of West Alton Mayor Willie Richter is visible on a glass door outside a vacant and vandalized church Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Richter recalls the West Alton of decades ago: three churches, an ice cream shop, four taverns where people hung out. “Now we don’t have any churches. We have one tavern that’s open and it just got reopened not too long ago,” he said. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The interior of a flood-damaged home is visible on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. Data from First Street shows that while West Alton is an extreme example of flooding’s effect, it’s emblematic of challenges faced by smaller communities in the Midwest and South. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A vacant lot where, until recently, residences stood as a levee stands and Mississippi River flows past in the distance Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the river. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Resident and community leader Steve Tarver poses for a photo Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. Tarver left the flood-prone city for several years but has since returned home. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Vines grow outside a building Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The confluence of the Mississippi River, left, and Ohio River, right, is visible Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of the Mississippi River. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change , is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of America’s most storied river.

Flooding has pushed people out of their homes near the Mississippi River at a roughly 30% higher rate than the U.S. as a whole, according to data provided exclusively to The Associated Press by the risk analysis firm First Street. In regions growing slower than many other parts of the country, where towns are struggling with job loss and fewer resources, flooding is accelerating the exodus.

Consider West Alton, Missouri, on a bend of the Mississippi near its meeting with the Missouri River. It had 3,900 people in 1970, Mayor Willie Richter said. That number nosedived to about 570 after big floods in 1973 and 1993. Now, after the 2019 flood, about 360 people remain. All three churches closed. Many of the remaining homes have been raised to keep safe from floodwaters.

An abandoned home sits across from a vacant lot Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The toll weighs on people. When officials this year arrived at a blaze consuming a small home abandoned after the 2019 flood, the suspect said he “burned the house down because he got tired of looking at it,” according to a police report.

Vacant properties invite arson, said Richter, who said four or five abandoned homes have burned since that last big flood.

“People just walk away from them,” Richter said. “The houses are condemned, they either got to be torn down or elevated. This much time has passed, there’s a lot of damage.”

The data from First Street show that while West Alton is an extreme example of flooding’s effect, it’s emblematic of challenges faced by smaller communities in the Midwest and South. Many struggle to keep young people and jobs from leaving. Industries and economic forces that once spread wealth along the river have consolidated and shifted away.

In a peer-reviewed paper published in December , First Street found that flooding drove millions of people in the U.S. from their homes , using modeling that relied on analysis of block-level Census data, flood risk information and other factors. For this story, First Street provided additional data on communities within roughly 100 miles of the Mississippi River from 2000 to 2020. The AP analyzed the data and mapped it to find and report on hard-hit communities.

First Street’s work showed people tend to move to a safer place nearby. But some people leave communities entirely. Older residents are most likely to stay behind. Even in some growing communities, high flood risk constrained that growth.

Many Mississippi River towns formed in the 19th century. Pulp and paper mills, chemical plants, coal operations and the metals industry grew up along the massive river that provided a cheap and easy way to move heavy things, said Colin Wellenkamp, executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative.

But technology, automation and consolidation changed those industries. Coal consumption dropped. Fewer pulp and paper sites were needed. The national highway system made it easier to bypass towns.

Flooding worsens the fortunes of places already struggling, and some towns thriving a century ago now “are barely standing,” said Patrick Nunnally, a retired lecturer at the University of Minnesota and a Mississippi River expert.

“It sort of chips away at the river culture as people pick up and leave,” said Dean Klinkenberg, who travels the Mississippi River writing guidebooks and histories of the communities.

Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications at First Street, said two types of flooding events tend to drive people to move: Frequent low-level flooding, and shocking events like the floods of 1993 and 2019 that devastate communities .

Climate change is adding to the problem. A warmer atmosphere means big storms can dump more rain and overwhelm sewer systems. And severe river flooding is becoming more common: six of the 10 highest floods on record at St. Louis have come over roughly the last three decades.

And when big rain events hit the Midwest, they can overwhelm small rivers and creeks.

Bear Creek flows Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The creek vexing Twain’s birthplace

Bear Creek runs into the Mississippi near downtown Hannibal, Missouri. The city’s historic downtown draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, but its population has slowly declined — from 17,757 in 2000 to 17,107 in 2020. Flooding from Bear Creek hasn’t helped.

After years of dealing with floods that crept into downtown and even threatened the small home where young Samuel Clemens, later known to the world as Mark Twain, grew up, the city finally built an $8 million, 34-foot levee in 1992.

The timing was fortunate. In spring 1993, the Mississippi rose fast, and torrential summer rains sent it higher than even the monumental flood of 1973. But downtown stayed dry and open to tourists.

Homes outside the protected area got swamped, though. Much of the flooding was from Bear Creek as the Mississippi backed up into it.

Over the years, silt from the river has worked its way into the creek, clogging storm drains and worsening flash flooding, Mayor Barry Louderman said.

Louderman estimated at least a half-dozen companies that employed a combined 300 to 400 people “are just gone, were never replaced,” due to persistent flooding. First Street’s models show Hannibal would have likely grown over the last two decades if not for flooding.

People enjoy ice cream outside a downtown business as a cyclist rides past Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Hannibal, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Steve Dungan has lived on Ely Street near Bear Creek all of his 54 years. As a child, he fished from the porch when the creek rose.

One summer night in 1993, Dungan was at a hospital in nearby Quincy, Illinois, where his wife was about to give birth to their daughter. He got a call that the water was coming up fast, and relatives and friends were scurrying to salvage what they could from his home by boat.

“We lost the waterbed, stove, refrigerator — stuff they couldn’t pack out,” he said.

With family anchoring him to the area, he chose to stay.

Ray Allen, another longtime Ely Street resident who also operated an auto repair and welding shop there, did not. He recalled being awakened by a noise during that 1993 flooding.

“Jumped up out of bed and was standing in water knee-deep beside the bed,” Allen, now 80, recalled. “That’s a rude awakening, I’ll tell you that.”

The government bought out nearly all of the homes on Ely Street and in many other neighborhoods vulnerable to Bear Creek. People scattered. Some, like Allen and his wife of 63 years, Rachel, left town, though they moved back about 12 years ago and now live high on a hill.

He misses his old friends and neighbors on Ely Street.

“All of the people that were good friends down there kind of got busted apart,” he said.

West Alton Mayor Willie Richter speaks outside a vacant and vandalized church Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Cultural loss

West Alton is a two-hour drive downriver from Hannibal. In 1993, Sugar Vanburen watched as most of her mobile home floated down the river. Only what was bolted down remained — the floor, a toilet and furnace.

Her sister left, but not Sugar. It’s where she grew up. She likes the quiet community. Her grandchildren go to a good school. Residents learn how to empty mud from the basement and get neighbors to help clean up.

After the 1993 flood, the Federal Emergency Management Agency offered buyouts to some facing severe flood risk. Recently, letters for a new round of voluntary buyouts went out.

Sugar threw hers away. But Robert Myers, St. Charles County’s planning and zoning division director, said the goal is to buy out as many as 100 homes across the county.

Mayor Richter recalls the West Alton of decades ago: three churches, an ice cream shop, four taverns where people hung out.

“Now we don’t have any churches. We have one tavern that’s open and it just got reopened not too long ago,” he said. “A lot of that community stuff is gone.”

Tom Silk lives next to a vacant lot that was once home to the church he attended and where he married.

Silk likes the town. It’s rural, peaceful. But it takes work to stay. His front door still bears the water stain right at the handle marking the 2019 flood — second-highest on record.

That year, he packed up a U-Haul and left for about two months. It took a year and a half to repair his house — he did the work after finishing shifts loading trucks at a FedEx warehouse — but he wanted to stay.

“It’s quiet, it is the country life, but ... you are still by the city if you need to do anything or go anywhere,” he said.

West Alton Mayor Willie Richter poses for a photo outside what remains of a flood-damaged and burned home Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The interior of a flood-damaged home is visible on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in West Alton, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Richter said flooding is so frequent that he probably wouldn’t live in town if he didn’t grow up locally, farm and have strong community connections. The town has organized July 4 celebrations and a flea market family fun day in the fall. People come back. But there’s a sense of loss.

Vanburen misses neighbors who moved away.

“Everybody’s gone,” she said. “This is a ghost town.”

A vacant lot where, until recently, residences stood as a levee stands and Mississippi River flows past in the distance Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Diverging fortunes

Cairo, Illinois, is surrounded by a levee at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It’s endured a lot.

First rising as a hub for steamboats in the 19th century, Cairo peaked around 1920 with about 15,000 people, including a sizeable Black population. It had attractive retail shops, several rail lines and a healthy manufacturing sector. It was also strictly segregated, and protests in the 1960s met violence that spiraled for years. The city has hemorrhaged people during a downward economic trend that’s never stopped, according to local historian Klinkenberg.

Its population today is about 10% of peak. Retail and manufacturing are gone. For a long time, it didn’t have a grocery store. Most of the place is abandoned, with brick buildings cracked by growing trees.

Economic factors and racial discrimination caused Cairo’s decline; flooding made things harder. Most of its population loss since 2000 was due to flooding, First Street says.

In 2011, residents were told to evacuate as bad flooding threatened. Andrea “Drea” Vinson swore she wasn’t leaving. Then she went up to the river wall for a look at the rising water.

“Ain’t no way,” she recalled. “I lived downtown back then. No, that’s headed straight for my house.”

She evacuated.

Long before 2011, plans had been set to avert a flooding catastrophe in Cairo by flooding farmland instead. But officials waited a long time to blow a levee.

Steve Tarver, who runs a community development nonprofit, said the delay reflected how little officials seemed to value the largely Black community. That didn’t encourage people to return.

“That kills a lot of the value of our town,” he said.

Vinson likes living in Cairo and returned. She raised kids here, it’s inexpensive, she knows its people. But some who evacuated in 2011 never came back.

Resident and community leader Steve Tarver poses for a photo Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Hope remains

Recent decades have brought new benefits to some riverside towns. The Clean Water Act of 1972 improved rivers and streams around the country that had carried tons of waste. Parks sprouted from cleaned-up industrial areas, attracting tourists and businesses.

One example is Grafton, Illinois, a community of roughly 730 people about an hour north of St. Louis. To cope with bad flooding officials didn’t build a floodwall or levee. Instead, many residents simply vacated risky land to move uphill. Parks on low-lying land can absorb flooding. And the city worked to develop tourist attractions — a winery, a zip line and a marina. The population has edged up in recent years.

Then there are the “great river rats” as Klinkenberg calls them — people up and down the river who will never leave.

The confluence of the Mississippi River, left, and Ohio River, right, is visible Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Cairo, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

In Hannibal, the old Dungan family home is long gone, but Steve Dungan still lives nearby. So do his relatives. On a recent day, Dungan biked to his mother’s tidy white frame home near the creek.

“Dad passed away in this house,” he said. “Mom lives here. I’ve got an older brother in this room, and he’s handicapped. So, no.”

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment