Start from 21 curated places around Grafton, IL, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Grafton Oyster Bar
A floating restaurant on the Grafton Harbor Marina deck — one of the only water-level dining experiences in Illinois — serving fresh oysters, Gulf seafood, and Cajun-Creole plates directly above the Illinois-Mississippi confluence. The outdoor deck is the move on any warm evening; live music runs most Saturdays and Sundays. The kitchen takes the seafood sourcing seriously for this far from the coast.
Grafton Winery and Brewhaus
A two-in-one riverside destination: an upstairs winery with a deck overlooking the Illinois-Mississippi confluence, and a basement brewhaus with a completely different vibe — darker, more casual, and focused on craft beer rather than wine. The deck seatings during warm months are first-come, first-served and worth the wait. Illinois fruit wines and house-brewed ales are the respective specialties.
Trails & outdoors
McAdams Peak Trail
A 1.9-mile moderate loop in Pere Marquette State Park that summits McAdams Peak via a section locals call the goat trail — a steep, exposed limestone scramble — before opening to a panoramic Illinois River overlook that is the best viewpoint in the park. Rock formations along the way are genuine limestone karst; the descent through the forested back loop offers a completely different terrain.
Hickory South, North, and Goat Cliff Loop
A 3.9-mile moderate loop through the interior of Pere Marquette State Park, crossing creek bottoms and ascending to the Goat Cliff overlook with river views before returning through limestone rock formations. One of the park's most complete hikes — the terrain changes enough across 4 miles to feel like a genuine backcountry outing despite being minutes from the lodge.
Things to do
Grafton SkyTour Zipline at Aerie's Resort
A 7-line zipline course spanning 1.75 miles across the limestone bluffs above Grafton — individual lines run from 300 to 2,000 feet with the Mississippi River confluence visible from the upper platforms. The tour includes a chairlift gondola component through a hollowed-out ravine. The guides are safety-focused and the experience is pitched for adult adventurers rather than thrill-seekers with lower tolerances.
Raging Rivers WaterPark
A full waterpark on the Great River Road with a wave pool, lazy river, body flumes, and slides — seasonal (summer only), significantly cheaper than comparable St. Louis area parks, and sized right for a family day without the exhaustion of a mega-park. Accessible directly off Route 100 in Grafton.
Landmarks & sights
Pere Marquette State Park
Illinois's largest state park stretches across nearly 8,000 acres of limestone bluff country where the Illinois River meets the Mississippi. The CCC-era stone lodge is the architectural anchor; the park itself is the reason this stretch of the Great River Road has been drawing visitors for generations. Bald eagles winter here by the hundreds — December through February is genuinely spectacular.
Brussels Ferry
A free, 24/7 state-operated cable ferry that crosses the Illinois River in a 7–10 minute ride holding about 15 cars. The crossing itself is the experience — a piece of working river infrastructure that operates continuously without a bridge in sight. It connects Grafton's shore to Calhoun County, an isolated peninsula of orchards, wineries, and empty roads.