North of St. Louis on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, the high-speed section of the GRR between Grafton and Alton is widely considered one of its most scenic stretches. Towering limestone bluffs, their curving faces pocked with caves and overhangs, push the road to the edge of the broad lake formed by Lock and Dam No. 26. Before or after the drive, stop at the south edge of Grafton, where Elsah’s Landing Restaurant (closed Mon.; 618/786-7687), at 420 E. Main Street, has something of a monopoly on good food in these parts; its made-from-scratch ethic pays off in all departments.
Speeding along Hwy-100 south of Grafton, it’s easy to miss the turnoff for Elsah, but even if you have to turn around and come back, it’s worth it to check out this tiny hamlet tucked away in a cleft in the palisades. Light years away from St. Louis, but only a half hour’s drive away, Elsah is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in its entirety and is an architectural gem, with 19th-century cut-stone and clapboard buildings and narrow lanes reminiscent of some idyllic English country village. Two small B&Bs and the Green Tree Inn ($90–150; 618/374-2821) offer what most people would consider romantic getaways; the inn even has a tandem bike for guests.
South of Elsah, before the bluffs give way to grain elevators at Alton, you’ll catch a glimpse of the Piasa Bird (PIE-a-saw) high on the wall of an old roadside quarry. Marquette and other early explorers mention a pair of huge pictographs on the cliff face, representations of the Illini Indians’ legendary “bird that devours men.” Faded by the 1840s, the original site was destroyed by quarrying. The current 20- by 40-foot replica, based on various eyewitness descriptions, resembles something from the notebook of an adolescent Dungeons and Dragons fan.
