In the 1930s, a beautiful park was built here on the bluff over the Missouri River, including a Grand Staircase which still stands today. Chouteau Island - Lies between the main channel of the Mississippi and the shipping canal 12 miles north of St. Louis. Residents left the island after the '93 flood, and it is now home to farmland and a landfill. Future use includes a nature area with wetland restoration and multi-use trails. Pere Marquette State Park - This scenic park is situated on a point overlooking the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
Many visitors come to stay in the historic lodge or hike the park's numerous trails.
Bikeway - Parallels a National Scenic Byway along high limestone bluffs between Alton and the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers at Pere Marquette State Park. Cahokia Mounds - The largest prehistoric Indian city in the U.S. is adjacent to the Confluence Greenway at its eastern edge. A connecting route will be developed. Every year, millions of tons of commodities pass through the locks at this dam, a gigantic structure just south of Alton. This is also the site of the National Great Rivers Museum.