Monthly Archives: December 2025

Museums to visit on the northern Great River Road

Monday, December 22, 2025

If you’re following the Mississippi River through the northern states of the Great River Road—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri—you’ll find lots of engaging museums that share the history of the river and its people. Here are a few to check out on your next trip.

Find more Great River Road Interpretive Centers here.

Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center at Itasca State Park, Minnesota

Itasca State Park is not only Minnesota’s oldest state park, it’s also the home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which flows out of Lake Itasca on the river’s 2,500-mile journey to the Gulf. Named for the “Father of Itasca State Park,” the Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center educates park visitors about the history of the park, its environment (including plants, trees, and wildlife), and recreational opportunities at the park.

Potosi Brewing Company, Wisconsin

The Potosi Brewing Company was founded in 1852 in southwestern Wisconsin—just about a mile from the Mississippi River—and brewed tasty ales and lagers for more than century before closing shop in the 1970s. The brewery was re-founded on its original site in 2008, and the site is now home to the award-winning Potosi Brewery, the Transportation Museum (which shares the history of how Potosi’s tasty drinks were delivered by wagons, steamboats, railroads, and cars), and the National Brewery Museum (which showcases a large collection of beer bottles, cans, glasses, advertising materials, and other collectibles).

National Great Rivers Museum, Illinois

Located next to the Melvin Price Locks & Dam (of the largest locks and dam on the Mississippi River), the National Great Rivers Museum in Alton tells the full story of America’s most famous river with interactive exhibits, highlighting the Mississippi’s natural environment, how people have interacted with the river through the centuries, and the impact the river has had on the history of the country. Visitors can also explore the Melvin Price Locks & Dam—free tours are open to the public at 10am, 1pm, and 3pm daily.

National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, Iowa

This Smithsonian-affiliated museum and aquarium in Dubuque in northeastern Iowa is home to more than 200 species of animals, including ducks, turtles, river otters, an alligator, and dozens of species of fish. The 14-acre site also includes a 19th-century belt-driven machine shop, the William M. Black dredge boat, artifacts from indigenous civilizations, and a large-format 4-D theater.

Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, Missouri

See the town that inspired America’s most famous author. The Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is in Hannibal in northeastern Missouri, about two hours north of St. Louis, and boasts an impressive collection of exhibits, including original Norman Rockwell paintings, family artifacts, and Twain memorabilia. The tour includes two museums and five historic properties, including the Mark Twain Boyhood Home, which is a National Historic Landmark.

(Photo: Mark Twain Boyhood Home in Hannibal, Missouri/Doug Black)

4 museums to visit on the southern Great River Road

Thursday, December 04, 2025

If you’re traveling along the southern Mississippi River, there are lots of interesting attractions to visit, whether you’re interested in music history, stories of life on the river, or unique hands-on educational experiences. Here are four museums you should visit on your next Great River Road trip.

Find more Great River Road Interpretive Centers here.

Delta Blues Museum, Mississippi

Blues lovers shouldn’t miss the place where this uniquely American genre of music was born: Mississippi’s Delta region. Clarksdale, located about 75 miles south of Memphis, is home to the Delta Blues Museum, which features exhibits and artifacts that tell the story of blues music and its legends, from Muddy Waters and Son House to Robert Johns and Howlin’ Wolf.

Discovery Park of America, Tennessee

This state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot museum in Union City in northwestern Tennessee boasts a bevy of interesting exhibits across 10 galleries, with interactive displays on everything from local Native American cultures to outer space to natural history. The facility is also home to a 50-acre outdoor heritage park that features a manmade river, waterfalls, bridges, and other scenic features.

The Louisiana Great River Road Interpretive Center and Museum

Located on the grounds of the historic Houmas House Estate and Gardens outside of New Orleans, the Great River Road Interpretive Center and Museum shares the story of the lower Mississippi River with visitors, highlighting the waterway’s effects on transportation, commerce, music, and river life. The 35,000-square-foot museum is designed to resemble a Mississippi River steamboat, and visitors can also look out on the Mighty Mississippi at an overlook that’s reached via a pedestrian bridge over the Great River Road.

Delta Cultural Center, Arkansas

Learn about the people, industry, and history of the Arkansas Delta at this museum complex in Helena, which is about a 70-mile drive south of Memphis on the Arkansas side of the river. The center’s Depot building—a renovated 1912 railroad station—features several permanent exhibits that educate visitors about the history and geography of the Delta. The Cherry Street Pavilion outside the Depot is the site of annual King Biscuit Blues Festival.

Photo: Discovery Park of America