Feel Chills and Thrills on the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route

Autumn Colors in Alton, Illinois (IL) [1]

Experience the beauty of autumn in Alton, Illinois, on the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route, with gorgeous yellow, red, and orange leaves floating down to the ground from branches of stately trees in town and country. Peaking in mid-October, the fall colors of forest and field will dazzle your eyes while the mouthwatering flavors of the harvest will delight your tastebuds.

Riverside Byway Below White Bluff in the Fall (IL) [2]

But when the sun goes down, prepare to use your "sixth sense" in “one of the most haunted small towns in America”. From mid-September to early November, learn about Alton’s dark past of disease, disaster, and death on the History & Hauntings Ghost Hunter’s Tour. Or take a walk in the dark in the Mineral Springs Hotel and be spooked by the spirits of the murders, suicides, or accidents that happened there. Call out to the long-departed at a séance and tarot card reading, then follow the Mineral Springs hearse to the Alton City Cemetery and shiver in apprehension of a glimpse of the ghostly apparitions there—or is that just the bite of the chill autumn air? Dare you sleep during an overnight haunted tour, or try a campout amidst the late-October foliage at McPike Mansion, notorious among ghost hunters for its hundreds of supernatural sightings?

Haunted Tours at McPike Mansion (IL) [3]

Have a spooktacular time on the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route, but be prepared--a jacket won’t stop the chills you’ll get from visiting Alton.