A 15-day voyage with USA River Cruises, from Chicago, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana costs from $4,399 per person. Shorter, less expensive cruises also are available. From May through October, the "Spirit of Peoria" steams from Peoria to the Starved Rock Lodge, Utica, Illinois. For a single adult, this two-day Illinois River cruise costs $364.
In Illinois, vacationers could visit the restored pioneer village of New Salem, where Abraham Lincoln once lived, or when passing through Fulton, can view one of only two working Dutch windmills in the country. In Iowa, you can visit the Wild Bill "Buffalo" Cody Museum at Le Claire or the Julien Dubuque Monument in Dubuque.
The river vessels used range from USA River Cruises' modern "Niagara Prince" to the "Spirit of Peoria," a replica of a 19th-century paddlewheeler. The "Niagara Prince" trip includes musical entertainment and a performance from a Mark Twain impersonator. Among the Spirit of Peoria's crew is a "riverlorian," who adds color to the journey with a mixture of stories and historical facts.
