Planning a camping trip along the Mississippi River this year? Here’s a look at one can’t-miss campsite in each state along the Great River Road, from north to south.

Itasca State Park*, Minnesota

This state park—Minnesota’s oldest—is the starting point of both the Mississippi River and the Great River Road. Located about 20 miles north of Park Rapids in northern Minnesota, the 32,000-acre park includes more than 100 lakes, including Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It’s also home to nearly 50 miles of trails, historic cabins & lodges, the Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center, which is an official Great River Road Interpretive Center.

Wyalusing State Park, Wisconsin

One of Wisconsin’s most scenic state parks, Wyalusing State Park sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers and offers outstanding views from atop a 500-foot bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River and its backwaters. The park features group campsites and family campsites, as well as a group lodge, and visitors will enjoy hiking trails, fishing, boating, paddling, and other recreational activities.

Pikes Peak State Park, Iowa

From Wyalusing State Park, head west across the Mississippi River into Iowa and you’ll find Pikes Peak State Park, which also offers great camping, recreation, and scenic views. The park boasts 11 miles of trails and several overlooks where visitors can see the nearby town of McGregor and the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers.

Pere Marquette State Park, Illinois

A popular destination for hiking, fishing, and boating, Pere Marquette State Park is Illinois’ largest state park. The park is situated at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and features impressive views of the two waterways, as well as a scenic drive, more than a dozen miles of hiking trails, equestrian routes, and opportunities for rock climbing.

Mark Twain Cave Complex Campground, Missouri

Want to learn more about an American literary icon? Head to the city of Hannibal in northeastern Missouri (about a 2-hour drive north of St. Louis) to learn about the early life of native son Mark Twain and how his surroundings in this Mississippi River community shaped his work. One site featured prominently in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is what’s now known as the Mark Twain Cave Complex, which features the famed cave, as well as a winery and a campsite with more than 100 sites, ranging from tent sites to deluxe RV sites.

Columbus-Belmont State Park*, Kentucky

This state park offers outstanding views of the Mississippi River and boasts an interesting history—a former fortification at the site was an important location along the river and saw Ulysses S. Grant’s first active engagement in the Civil War. The park also features a historical museum, a 2.5-mile hiking trail, miniature golf, a picnic area, and a playground.

Reelfoot Lake State Park*, Tennessee

This lake in northwestern Tennessee has an amazing natural history: it’s a flooded cypress forest that was created during a series of earthquakes along the Mississippi River in the 1810s. Today, is a popular lake for fishing, birdwatching, and camping. The park’s nature center features educational exhibits about local wildlife and live raptors and other animals on display.

Mississippi River State Park*, Arkansas

This popular state park in east-central Arkansas is a great way to get out on the Mississippi River and its backwaters via canoe or kayak, and anglers find good success in the park’s waters for largemouth bass, crappie, and channel catfish. Mississippi River State Park is also an excellent spot for birdwatching, as it’s part of the Audubon Great River Birding Trail.

Bob M. Dearing Natchez State Park, Mississippi

Located just east of the historic city of Natchez, this park covers 48,000 acres and is a good spot for fishing (it’s the site of the state’s record largemouth bass catch). The park is also home to a nine-hole disc golf course, a playground, a nature trail, picnic sites, and a pavilion.

Bayou Segnette State Park, Louisiana

Bayou Segnette State Park may not technically be on the Mississippi River—it takes about a 15-minute drive south of New Orleans to get there), it’s still a fantastic spot for outdoor recreation in southern Louisiana. Recreation options include saltwater and freshwater fishing, boating, paddling, and hiking, and the park also has a wave pool, a 3-mile nature trail and playgrounds.

*denotes an Official Great River Road Interpretive Center

Photo: Mississippi River Overlook at Pikes Peak State Park, Iowa/Charles Fischer

Looking for a one-of-a-kind American adventure? Plan a road trip along the Great River Road, which follows the mighty Mississippi River for nearly 3,000 miles. The 10-state route offers a little bit of everything, from engaging historical sites to stunning scenery to delicious dining—here are four reasons to plan your road trip today.

It’s America’s greatest drive.

The Great River Road, which stretches from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, is a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road, a designation given to only the most notable National Scenic Byways. All-American Roads offer a truly unique experience to travelers that they can’t find anywhere else.

The Great River Road was established in 1938 and has encouraged road trippers to discover the heart of America ever since. The Great River Road passes through big cities and small river towns, passing National Park Service sites, state parks, historic bridges, and locks & dams.

Taking the whole road in one trip is about 36 hours of driving, but most visitors spend 10 to 14 days if they’re doing the whole route (which isn’t mandatory—many travelers will just travel on one state’s section of the Great River Road or hope back and forth between neighboring states.

Learn more about the best drive in America.

There are lots of stunning sights along the way.

A trip along the Great River Road is a trip through some of America’s most beautiful scenery. Start your trip at the same place the Mississippi River does: Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota, where the river is so narrow you can walk across it (or roll up your pants and wade across in the summer).

The northern section of the road—especially Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois—are home to lots of scenic overlooks at state and local parks that offer outstanding views of the river and the surrounding scenery. Get your cameras ready and head to photo hotspots like Garvin Heights Park in Winona, Minnesota; Buena Vista Park in Alma, Wisconsin; Pike’s Peak State Park in McGregor, Iowa; or Aerie’s Resort in Grafton, Illinois, where you can take a chair lift or gondola from the river to the blufftops.

See more scenic spots on the Great River Road here and here.

You’ll learn a lot at our Interpretive Centers.

There are nearly 100 official Great River Road Interpretive Centers—museums, historical sites, and other attractions that tell the story of the river and its people. Interpretive Centers can be found up and down the Great River Road and cover everything from music history (the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi) to Mississippi River ecology (the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa) to some of the region’s earliest settlers (Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site in Collinsville, Illinois, and Poverty Point in Pioneer, Louisiana, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.)

Learn more about our Interpretive Centers.

You don’t want to miss the food.

From walleye in Minnesota to cheese curds in Wisconsin to catfish in Mississippi to… well, almost everything in New Orleans, the Great River Road’s outstanding local and regional cuisines are enough to fulfill almost any appetite. Diners will find a little bit of everything, from James Beard Award-winning restaurants to family-owned roadside stops that have been in business for generations.

And that’s not to mention the ice cream stands, sweets shops, and bakeries you’ll find all along the route, as well as the wineries, breweries, and distilleries that craft some of your favorite beverages with care.

Learn more about the flavors of the Great River Road.

Photo: Confluence of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers in Vicksburg, Mississippi/Lola McCrarey