One of Margaret’s favorite places growing up was Pere Marquette Lodge and State Park. The lodge and state park are located about an hour north of St. Louis City in Grafton, IL, making it the perfect weekend getaway. Growing up Margaret’s family would visit the lodge and state park throughout the year because each season provides different views. Since moving back to St. Louis we are excited to continue the tradition of visiting Pere Marquette Lodge and State Park throughout the year.

Pere Marquette is seated at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi River and the lodge overlooks the river. The lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and sits atop a large hill that provides nice views and a cool breeze. The lodge itself is a beautiful large limestone structure that is filled inside with deep, rich woods. Inside the main room there is a massive floor to ceiling limestone fireplace that heats up the room. The main room has windows that look out onto the patio and the riverfront, large chandeliers, an array of oversized tables and chairs to snuggle up in and read a book or just relax, and a large chess board for visitors to partake in. The lodge is warm, inviting, and feels like home.

Pere Marquette offers visitors an array of options for accommodations including hotel-style rooms, cabins, and camping. The park provides two types of camping sites, ones with semi-permanent tents, and spaces for you to set up your own tent. Since Margaret frequented the park as a child she stayed in each of the lodge’s accommodations and found they each offered a different way to experience the park; however, her favorite was perhaps the cabin.

Inside the lodge there is also a restaurant, winery, a pool, a gift shop, sand volleyball, tennis courts, and expansive grounds for sports, picnicking, or just relaxing. The restaurant is rather large and has home-style cooking. During the spring and summer hummingbirds will often flit around the bushes adjacent to the windows providing a lovely view. The winery is a small little room that expands onto an outdoor patio, providing visitors the opportunity to try local wines, as well as beers. The gift shop is small, but allows visitors to get a little treasure from their trip. The lodge also provides some events throughout the year including mystery dinner theater, stained glass retreats, wine pairings, karaoke, mushroom festival, peach festival, special event brunches, and various smaller events on the patio. The rest of the grounds provide visitors the opportunity to relax and just enjoy nature with tables dotted throughout the property to provide a variety of settings.

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The state park visitor center sits next to the lodge and has a nice display to learn about the area, as well as a short film. There are a variety of hiking trails for visitors to explore the grounds, and there is a lovely scenic drive with several stop off points. The park also has biking trails, boating, horse back riding, fishing, geocaching, rock climbing, swimming, and the opportunity to explore nature. During our last visit we did a small hike, and enjoyed the scenic drive with beautiful fall views.

The area provides a variety of activities for visitors including horse back riding, fishing, zip lining, bike rentals, boating and boat rentals, cruises along the river, ferry rides, bike rentals, shopping in town, fruit picking at Eckert’s, golfing, and scenic drives along the bluffs. Additionally, there is also a variety of restaurants, such as the Fin Inn, and a couple of wineries. The bluffs also provide one of the best aspects of visiting Grafton and Pere Marquette, a prime location for eagles and eagle watching. Pere Marquette and Grafton, IL continue to be one of our favorite places to visit for a weekend getaway or a nice day trip.

Side Note: There is also wedding packages.