Start from 20 curated places around Nauvoo, IL, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Hotel Nauvoo Historic Inn & Restaurant
The town's landmark dining room, occupying the 1840s-era inn a block from the temple, anchors its reputation on a Friday-Saturday evening seven-meat buffet featuring fried catfish, hand-carved beef, ham, turkey, and fried chicken with a 40-item salad bar — a tradition that draws visitors from across the tri-state area. The dining room is full-service the rest of the week. Reservations are strongly advised for the buffet nights.
Peter's Place
A seasonal diner beside the Nauvoo RV Park that serves Navajo tacos — fry bread topped with seasoned meat, beans, and fixings — alongside hand-pressed burgers, fish and chips, homemade onion rings, and root beer freezes. It is the most distinctive quick-service option in town and draws a devoted following among repeat visitors for its honest, made-to-order food. Open spring through fall only.
Trails & outdoors
Trail of Hope
A half-mile out-and-back walk along Parley Street from the state park to the Mississippi riverbank, tracing the route the Mormon pioneers took on winter nights in 1846 when they fled Nauvoo across the frozen river. Split-rail fences line the path, and interpretive plaques display journal entries from the crossing — some harrowing, some quietly moving. The endpoint on the muddy bank is the most evocative spot in town.
Locust Lane Nature Trail
A 1.2-mile easy loop through Nauvoo State Park that hugs the shore of Lake Horton before ducking into the timber and prairie sections where cardinals and goldfinches are a near-constant presence. It is the longest dedicated trail in the park and connects to the picnic area and the Rheinberger Museum, making it a natural anchor for an afternoon in the park. Wildflowers are best in May and June.
Things to do
Nauvoo Pageant
A free outdoor musical drama performed July through August in a 3,000-seat amphitheater with the illuminated Nauvoo Temple as a backdrop, staged by a volunteer cast of over 1,100 church members each summer. The production depicts the history of the 1840s Latter-day Saint settlement with choreographed scenes, live music, and theatrical lighting. Two pageants alternate nights — the Nauvoo Pageant and the British Pageant — and a country fair pre-show begins at 7 p.m.
Historic Nauvoo Wagon Rides
Free horse-drawn wagon tours of the restored 1840s townsite depart from the North Visitors' Center throughout the day, guided by LDS missionaries who narrate the history of each building as the wagon rolls through the district. The ride covers more ground than a walking tour in the same time and gives a sense of the town's original scale. It is especially good for children and for first-time visitors who want an orientation before exploring on foot.
Landmarks & sights
Nauvoo Illinois Temple
The reconstructed 2002 temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands 150 feet tall on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi, nearly identical to the original 1846 building that burned and was demolished. The interior is restricted to church members, but the grounds are open to everyone and the views of the river bend are remarkable. The adjoining visitors' center, newly dedicated in 2026, houses a genuine Tiffany stained-glass window and detailed exhibits on the original temple's construction.
Historic Nauvoo
Over 40 authentically restored homes, shops, and religious buildings spread across the original 1840s townsite, maintained by the LDS Church and free to visit. Costumed missionaries demonstrate crafts at the tin shop, blacksmith, and print house, and wagon rides through the district depart regularly. It is the most thorough reconstructed 19th-century town in the Midwest, and the scale surprises first-time visitors.