Southwest

Southwest Illinois covers the metro east country across the Mississippi from St. Louis, the urban-and-river corridor running from Alton south through East St. Louis to the Kaskaskia River. The terrain is mostly flat — the American Bottom flood plain along the river, with the Illinois bluff country rising sharply to the east — and the Mississippi defines the entire western edge. Madison County holds Alton and Edwardsville; St. Clair holds Belleville and East St. Louis; Monroe holds Waterloo; Randolph holds Chester and Prairie du Rocher; Jersey holds Jerseyville and Grafton. Anchor attractions include Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Pere Marquette State Park, the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower, the National Great Rivers Museum, and Fort de Chartres State Historic Site. Most trips here treat the region as a side-of-St. Louis day trip. The Cahokia Mounds anchor the archaeological itinerary; the Great River Road from Alton north through Grafton to Pere Marquette runs the most scenic stretch of Mississippi River drive in the state; Alton’s antebellum and Civil War history (the Lincoln-Douglas debate site, the Confederate prison) fills the historical side.