Nauvoo Illinois is located between bluffs and the might Mississippi river, roughly 4 and half hours from Chicago or about 270 miles(ish). It’s well known for its historic Mormon ties. In the 1830s the Mormons set this city as their own and their population rivaled Chicagos at that time. It is an important place to the Mormons since their leader Joseph Smith was killed there by a mob and violence against their church members forced many to leave Nauvoo and the life they had build there.
Nauvoo State Park Campground
This campground is spread out and the RV electric sites are on the top of the hill. The modern showers/restrooms are outside this campground and down the hill across from the dump station.
There are other campgrounds with no electric on site which are nice for tents and are fairly large. There is a small lake in the state park that is good for fishing or small boats/kayaks.
The RV sites at the top of the hill are a little close together for my liking but they are nice and have lots of large pine trees so it does make you feel like you are in the woods.
The road that runs along the RV sites is Parley and it’s only about a 0.5 mile from the Baxter Winery (oldest winery in IL). It’s about a 0.5 mile down the hill to get to the first grouping of historic Nauvoo sites but they are very spaced out through out the town so we recommend driving down to them.
Historic buildings and tours for days…
There are simply so many tours and buildings to explore in old Nauvoo. I’m not sure it’s possible to do it all in a day. The volunteer guides are very knowledgeable and engaging (the kids were even able to sit through all the talks because they make it family friendly). The gun smith, tin maker, shoe maker, and printing press really were our favorites this trip. The is also a area for play to give the kids a break from sitting and listening and gives them the opportunity for play. They had vintage games in the play area that we all enjoyed. The old shop in Nauvoo was wonderful as well, we couldn’t leave without a few books and souvenirs.
Hands on at the Family Center!
Our kids could have spend most of the day inside the family center doing all the domestic demos. They got very involved in pretend bread making, churning butter, packing a wagon, making a barrel, pottery wheel, candle dipping, and making a rope (which they got to keep!).
Live performances
Our first stop of the day was the visitor center and we happened to be there right when the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries were about to start a show on Joseph Smith. It was a musical that explained who Joseph Smith was and why he was an important figure to their history. It was an entertaining experience. Later during the day we ran into the same group signing songs and preparing for other performances. If you’re interested in these shows it’s best to stop at the visitor center and pick up a schedule for the day.
Rides and Animals Galore
Three different free rides – yes free! There is a horse drawn wagon ride which meets by the bakery building, a horse drawn carriage tour which meets by the visitor center and an oxen pulled wagon stimulation of what it would have been like to travel west (also located by the visitor center). All three offer insights into the history of the area and of course most kids love animal rides. We also had a wonderful interaction with the Nauvoo sheep who really loved getting attention from the kids when we stopped to pet them.
Click here for a map of old Nauvoo sites.
Hopewell Mounds – Burial Grounds.
The Hopewell Native American culture in Northwestern IL was around from 550BC to 400AD. These mounds were burial grounds for the woodlands native Americans and they can be found from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Missouri River to the Atlantic Ocean. They are the people who invented bow and arrows and are the ancestors of the Native Americans who occupied North America. The mounds are an impressive site over looking the Mississippi River. Seems like a pretty good resting place to me. It was a nice short stroll through the woods on a path to visit them.
Mississippi River Walk Trail Nauvoo IL
There is a short river walk trail along the Mississippi and we highly recommend this short stroll. We were treated to so many wonderful sites and creatures along the walk. It was very peaceful to stroll along the river in the evening and just take it all in.
Hotel Nauvoo
In downtown Nauvoo, you’ll find Hotel Nauvoo which is famous in the area for their dinner buffet. They have freshly baked cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins which were amazing! We don’t go to buffets very often so the kids were super happy to be able to pick out what they wanted on their plates. Just incase you were wondering, they did have a drink menu, so it’s not a dry establishment. Highly recommend their dinner buffet if you are in the area. Click here to go to their website.
Baxter’s Vineyards & Winery and the The Wine Barrel
While in Nauvoo, we made a stop at Baxter’s Vineyards which happened to be the oldest winery in the state of Illinois. It is a small family winery established in 1857 by Emile and Annette Baxter and their family still runs it today! A very impressive family history.
Tasting room, gift shop, and little historical artifacts are in one building and pizza/appetizers and mixed drinks are in the building just across the patio.
We did a wine tasting, picked up some fresh zucchini bread, dehydrated marshmallows (aka – a bag full of just the marshmallows from lucky charms cereal), and other goodies in the wine tasting room. Most of their wines are very sweet and would do well over ice in the summertime.
We went over to the the Wine Barrel across the patio afterwards and enjoyed pretzels, pizza, and a few peach wine slushies (deliciousness!). This is a great stop after a few hours of walking around downtown historic Nauvoo. Find out more here: http://www.nauvoowinery.com
