The Padelford Packet Boat Company operates six riverboats out of St. Paul, Minnesota, taking sightseers on day cruises on the upper Mississippi. You can explore the history of the Mississippi River Valley on a one-and-a-half hour narrated cruise through the mouth of the Minnesota River to Pike Island and Fort Snelling, viewing the St. Paul High Bridge and Pig's Eye's Cave. These daily excursions run seven days a week, from June through August. In September and October, you can enjoy the colorful fall foliage along the river on special Fall Sightseeing cruises. If you're looking for a new dining experience, you can cruise and feast on several different meal cruises, including a sunset sail up the Mississippi, Sunday brunch and dinner cruises, and Mother's and Father's Day Brunches. Specialty cruises include a Margarita cruise, a Beer & Brats cruise, an Oktoberfest cruise and a Fireworks cruise on the 4th of July, where you'll watch St. Paul's fireworks display from the river. All regular and specialty cruises are subject to change as of 2010.
Padelford Packet Boat Co., Inc.
Harriet Island
St. Paul, MN 55107
651-227-1100, 800-543-3908
riverrides.com
See the sights along the Mississippi River as you cruise on an authentic paddleboat from Peoria, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, any time of the year. For three days, you can travel "Mark Twain" style through the locks of the big river, viewing riverscapes of natural beauty and watching the wildlife in the area on The Spirit of Peoria, a "wedding cake" style riverboat "complete with an enormous 21-foot diameter paddle wheel," according to its website. The boat cruises from 7:45 am to 7:30 pm each day; the first night you'll spend in Jacksonville, Illinois, and the second night at the Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton, Illinois, before docking at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis on the third day. As of 2010, ticket pricing includes overnight lodging, all meals, unlimited complimentary drinks and live entertainment such as a ragtime piano player and old-time banjo picker. The fare, which in 2010 is $485 per person for double occupancy, includes round-trip transportation back to Peoria and bagging handling. The Spirit of Peoria also has other overnight trips.
Spirit of Peoria
100 Water Street
Peoria, IL 61602
309-637-8000, 800-676-8988
spiritofpeoria.com
Spend two days in Indian country as you travel the Mississippi on The Twilight Riverboat from LeClaire, Iowa (boyhood home of "Buffalo" Bill Cody) to the Port of Dubuque, Iowa. You'll cruise upriver through the majestic limestone bluffs of Mississippi Palisades Park and various locks. You'll visit the Julien Dubuque Monument at river mile 578; the monument celebrates the French miner and explorer who first settled the area. You'll spend the night at Dubuque's Grand Harbor Resort, where you can swim at the hotel's 25,000-square-foot attached water park or gamble the night away at the nearby casino. After a full breakfast buffet the next morning, you'll reboard your Victorian-era riverboat and sightsee or nap in the sun as The Twilight brings you back downriver to LeClaire. As of 2010, cruises depart every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from May through October; per person double occupancy fare is $329 plus tax, and include all meals, lodging and activities.
River Cruises
406 Franklin St.
Scales Mound, IL 61075
815-845-2333, 800-331-1467
riverboattwilight.com
Glory in the sights and sounds of historic New Orleans as you cruise down the Mississippi on the Creole Queen, an "authentic paddlewheeler powered by a 24-foot diameter paddlewheel," says the Queen's website. At night, you can dine on a spicy Creole buffet, listen to New Orleans jazz musicians and watch the lights of the city slip by on the Dinner Jazz Cruise that runs four to five nights a week, including Fridays and Saturdays. By day, you can cruise downriver, disembark at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, and tour Chalmette Battlefield, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans between the English and U. S. President-to-be Andrew Jackson. Specialty cruises include an Easter Sunday New Orleans Jazz Brunch and the 4th of July Celebration River Cruise. All cruises are available as of 2010.
New Orleans Paddlewheels Inc.
#1 Poydras Street
Riverwalk Market Place, Box 39
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-529-4567 or 800-445-4109
creolequeen.com
