The road that follows the Mississippi from the headwaters in northern Minnesota down to the Gulf, through ten states and, as the Federal Highway Administration puts it, hundreds of river towns.
- The route
- Great River Road, an All-American Road
- How long
- 2,069 miles end to end. The Federal Highway Administration suggests: “Allow six days to drive or ten days to enjoy the entire byway.”
- How far apart
- Our stops on it sit within 1237 miles of one another.
- Fees
- None to drive the byway itself; individual sites set their own.
Our guides along it
9 guides across 5 states. Where you start, where you stop and how long you stay are yours to pick.
BemidjiMinnesota
The headwaters end. The Mississippi runs out of Lake Itasca half an hour south of town and through Bemidji itself.
MinneapolisMinnesota
Where the river runs through the middle of a city and over Saint Anthony Falls.
St. PaulMinnesota
The other half of the Twin Cities, on the bluffs downstream.
HannibalMissouri
Mark Twain’s boyhood town, on the Missouri bank.
St. LouisMissouri
The Gateway Arch stands on the levee here; the Missouri joins the Mississippi a few miles upstream.
MemphisTennessee
The bluff city on the lower river, and the crossing into Arkansas.
NatchezMississippi
On the bluff above the river, and the southern end of the Natchez Trace.
Baton RougeLouisiana
Louisiana’s capital, on the east bank.
New OrleansLouisiana
Near the river’s end, where the road carries on into the delta.
What our guides already say about sites on it
Each of these is written up in the guide named beneath it. Nothing on this page is new text.
Itasca State Park & the Mississippi headwaters
Half an hour south: the first Minnesota state park, established April 20, 1891, the second-oldest state park in the U.S.; walk across the rocks where the Mississippi flows out of Lake Itasca (or take the bridge if you'd rather not get wet). About 500,000 people visit each year.
from Bemidji
Stone Arch Bridge
The 1883 James J. Hill–commissioned arched stone bridge across the Mississippi at Saint Anthony Falls — the only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River. Now pedestrian and bicycle only.
from Minneapolis
Science Museum of Minnesota
On the Mississippi River bluff downtown, with the Mississippi River Gallery (river ecology and the National Park upriver), a strong dinosaur hall including a Triceratops mount, and a large-format Omnitheater.
from St. Paul
Fort Snelling Historic Site
About 5 miles south-west in a straight line, on the bluffs where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet: Historic Fort Snelling, a National Historic Landmark operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, whose fort was completed in 1825. From September 7 to December 31, 2026 the site is open Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the fort is visited on guided walking tours included with admission. Hours change by season, so check mnhs.org/fortsnelling before you go.
from St. Paul
Mississippi riverfront
The river that shaped both the town and Twain's fiction, running through downtown Hannibal.
from Hannibal
Laclede's Landing
A historic riverfront entertainment district near the Gateway Arch grounds.
from St. Louis
Illinois side of the river (East St. Louis / Cahokia Mounds)
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, in Collinsville, Illinois, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 and preserves the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city; it lies about 7 miles east of the Gateway Arch in a straight line, across the Mississippi River. The site says its grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk; check its open/closed page for the interpretive center and gallery before planning.
from St. Louis
Mud Island River Park
A peninsula park whose centerpiece is a 2,000-foot working scale model of the lower Mississippi River, with real flowing water tracing every bend from Cairo to the Gulf.
from Memphis
Natchez Under-the-Hill
A historic riverfront district below the bluff with restaurants and bars overlooking the Mississippi River.
from Natchez
The USS Kidd
A World War II Fletcher-class destroyer preserved as a museum ship on the Mississippi River, one of only two U.S. destroyers surviving in their original wartime configuration.
from Baton Rouge
In this corridor, and not in a guide yet
Listed so this page is not mistaken for a complete one.
- Vicksburg, Mississippi — A river town with a national military park on the bluff. The Jackson guide lists it as a day trip; it has no guide of its own yet.
- Dubuque, Iowa — Named in four of our guides as somewhere nearby, and in none as a place of its own. The Iowa stretch of the road has no anchor guide between the Twin Cities and Hannibal.
- La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Prairie du Chien — The Wisconsin bank is in no guide at all, so the 400 miles between Saint Paul and Galena are unwritten.
- Cape Girardeau, Missouri — Between St. Louis and Memphis, and in no guide yet.
Where these facts come from
- The byway’s length, designation, suggested time, fees and corridor description — fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov, checked 2026-11-02