Just south of Marquette, near the foot of the “original” Pike’s Peak—Zebulon Pike came up the Mississippi before he went out west to Colorado—McGregor is a river town whose enticing old saloons and storefronts are a fine reason to stop and stretch your legs, watching the boat and barge traffic or simply wandering along the water. The slogan of McGregor’s tourism promotion effort is “Intriguing Stores on Historic Shores,” and for once the copywriter prose is about right. A number of browsable antique-and-collectible shops line the GRR through the four-block main business district, and right at the center of town is Ringlings, a very agreeable combo café-and-pub on the ground floor of the historic Alexander Hotel ($45–95; 563/873-3454) at 213 Main Street. McGregor also boasts about the only riverside hotel on the entire Great River Road: the family-friendly Holiday Shores Motel ($50–80; 563/873-3449) at the foot of Main Street.
Just south of town, the 500-foot-high limestone bluff known as Pike’s Peak is one of the highest points anywhere along the Mississippi River, and has been protected at the center of spacious green Pike’s Peak State Park (563/873-2341), with hiking trails, scenic viewpoints, and a campground with a small store, hot showers, and RV hookups.
