Monthly Archives: September 2026

Fall color hotspots along the northern Great River Road

Tuesday, September 08, 2026

Fall colors put on an amazing show along the Mississippi River every autumn, and there are lots of great views to be had along the Great River Road. There are dozens of scenic overlooks along the northern part of the river, and the Great River Road boasts an impressive array of parks and other attractions that are great locales for seeing fall color in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.

Here are a few you shouldn’t miss.

Great River Bluffs State Park – Winona, Minnesota

This state park southeast of Winona is home to nearly 10 miles of hiking trails and outstanding views of the Mississippi River. It’s a great place to go in fall, as the trails lead to several scenic overlooks along the river where hikers can see fall colors along the bluffs below and across the river in Wisconsin. 

Buena Vista Park & Overlook – Alma, Wisconsin

This great spot overlooking the Mississippi is located 30 minutes north of Winona. Better Homes & Gardens Magazine named this one of the river valley’s “finest natural balconies.” The lookout towers 500 feet above tree-lined Alma and the Mississippi River Valley. Watch the barges and boats travel through the lock & dam, do some birdwatching, and watch the sun set over the river!

Mount Hosmer Park, Lansing, Iowa

This park is located on a bluff that towers 450 feet above Lansing. It offers a panoramic overlook of 50 miles of the Mississippi River Valley and its fall foliage. There’s also some beautiful hiking and biking trails here. While in Lansing, check out one of our official Great River Road Interpretive Centers, the Driftless Area Education & Visitor Center.

Pere Marquette State Park – Grafton, Illinois

Located near the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers in southwestern Illinois, this scenic state park is the largest in Illinois, covering nearly 8,000 acres. In addition to awe-inspiring views of the Illinois River, the park is home to eight trails of varying lengths open for hiking, biking, equestrian activities, and winter sports.

Riverview Park – Hannibal, Missouri

True to its name, Riverview Park in Hannibal offers amazing views of the Missouri and Illinois sides of the Mississippi River during fall color season. (Fall colors in Missouri usually peak in mid-to-late October.) The 465-acre park is home to nearly 5 miles of paved and unpaved trails that wind through the park and along the river. There is also a Mark Twain statue—this is his boyhood home, after all, and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum (an official Great River Road Interpretive Center) is a must-visit.

(Photo: Great River Bluffs State Park, Minnesota/Beth Barutha)

Fall migration on the Great River Road

Travelers on the Great River Road this season may notice they have some company.

The Great River Road All-American Road follows the path of the Mississippi Flyway, a migratory route used by 35 percent of North American birds. It the biggest flyway for migratory birds and is used by 325 different species. Some bids will travel a few hundred miles on the flyway, others more than a thousand as they move from vast breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada to wintering areas in southern states, Central America and Mexico.

The Mississippi River Valley provides food, habitat and protection for millions of birds as they make this epic twice-yearly journey. Along the route, travelers will see birds on the move, including vast flocks of geese as well as cranes, ducks, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes and warblers.

So what’s the best way to see these beautiful creatures?

Start by visiting one of the birding locations on the route. Locks & dams and scenic overlooks along the route offer fantastic birding. See a list of these spots here. Consider bring along some binoculars and a birding book so you can identify the birds you encounter.

There are also many parks and museums of interest to bird lovers on the route.

  • At the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota you can meet real bald and golden eagles, climb in a nest or see how your strength stacks up against the national bird’s. The museum is open but pre-registration is required.
  • The Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge stretches for 261 miles through Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota and offers some of the best birdwatching in the world during the spring and fall migrations. 
  • Charles, Arkansas is home to the White River National Wildlife Refuge. Over 300 lakes and ponds, the Bottomland Hardwood Forest and the White River make an ideal home for migrating birds. You’ll see bald eagles, wood ducks, prothonotary warblers and many kinds of birds native to the south.
  • In Louisiana, the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve, you’ll find more than 200 species of birds, from herons, egrets and ibis to prothonotary warblers and painted buntings. The scenery is breathtaking here with canals, forests and swamps.

Interested in learning even more? The Great River Birding Trail has specific details on birds on the rote, including the abundance of different species, nesting locations and directions to more birding spots along then northern part of the Mississippi. Click below to see maps for some of the different segments on the route.