Get away to Pere Marquette Lodge

Submitted on May 13, 2009

Paul Watkins

Just across the river slightly north of Grafton, Ill., is Pere Marquette Lodge in Pere Marquette State Park, offering visitors relaxation, charm and beautiful scenery.

It’s a short drive of about 45 minutes from St. Louis. Go through St. Charles County and catch the ferry to scenic Calhoun County, an Illinois peninsula with the feel of an island, then take another ferry to the Illinois “mainland.” Or cross the Clark Bridge at Alton and go north for about 20 miles or so on Illinois Highway 100 or, as it’s popularly known, the Great River Road. Go through the scenic river town of Grafton, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, and five miles later, on the right, you’ll see Pere Marquette State Park.

The park and lodge are named after Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette, the French explorer/missionary. A large cross at the park entrance marks where Pere Marquette and fellow explorer Louis Joliet landed near the river confluence. There is a statue of Pere Marquette near the lodge.