It will overlook the river, the little town is doing a good job in remaking its self as a resort town.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
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Seems sort of cool. I am not sure it will be a major tourist mecca, but it can't hurt any.
I would love to see this ferris wheel as I slowly drifted on a tour up the River to Minneapolis. I found this river boat cruise company the other day and I thought it would be a fantastic trip and I am trying to convince my wife to go (if not, maybe I will take another woman :smt077). Anyway, here is the link to the company, http://www.majesticamericaline.com/. I am sure everyone else knows about it, but it was new to me.
But, good for Grafton - just one more thing. That stretch of the Great River Road around Grafton has to be one of my favorite roads in the Midwest. It is worth the trip all by itself ... now a ferris wheel too!!
I would love to see this ferris wheel as I slowly drifted on a tour up the River to Minneapolis. I found this river boat cruise company the other day and I thought it would be a fantastic trip and I am trying to convince my wife to go (if not, maybe I will take another woman :smt077). Anyway, here is the link to the company, http://www.majesticamericaline.com/. I am sure everyone else knows about it, but it was new to me.
But, good for Grafton - just one more thing. That stretch of the Great River Road around Grafton has to be one of my favorite roads in the Midwest. It is worth the trip all by itself ... now a ferris wheel too!!
Grafton is very cool. I like the size of the wheel. If it were larger, it would overwhelm the town.
Grafton is one of the greatest towns I've ever been to. Go there on a spring Saturday and there are literally hundreds of bikers right next to families licking ice cream cones. Its your American Heartland home. They've got a marina there, a cute main street, and a neat Flea Market/restaurant right up on the river in an old shed/hanger thing. I too like the size, just right.
I love going to Grafton. Sweet place, and it's getting better every day!
Cool to be driving along the the Great River Road and seeing a ferris wheel. A good addition to the daytrip.- 5,433
Earlier this month, we spent the better part of a week near Grafton at Pere Marquette State Park. It was our first time staying there, and I am looking forward to many enjoyable returns. I'd recommend it to anyone that hasn't been and wants a peaceful and relaxing getaway not far from home. St. Louis is lucky to have a destination like this less than an hour from downtown.
The Ferris wheel is good news, and it will certainly add to Grafton's unique appeal.
And, as an auto enthusiast, I agree with LE, as the Great River Road is one of the best drives in the Midwest.
The Ferris wheel is good news, and it will certainly add to Grafton's unique appeal.
And, as an auto enthusiast, I agree with LE, as the Great River Road is one of the best drives in the Midwest.
ThreeOneFour wrote:Earlier this month, we spent the better part of a week near Grafton at Pere Marquette State Park. It was our first time staying there, and I am looking forward to many enjoyable returns. I'd recommend it to anyone that hasn't been and wants a peaceful and relaxing getaway not far from home. St. Louis is lucky to have a destination like this less than an hour from downtown.
The Ferris wheel is good news, and it will certainly add to Grafton's unique appeal.
And, as an auto enthusiast, I agree with LE, as the Great River Road is one of the best drives in the Midwest.
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It's a beautiful drive when the leaves turn in the fall. We go up to Pere Marquette each year in the fall for just that reason.
-RBB
Love that area -- Alton, Elsah, Grafton, the ferries over to Calhoun County, the chess set and the Lodge.
The ferris wheel, though not grand, adds to the texture and fabric or the area. Love to see more things like this around the metro.
The ferris wheel, though not grand, adds to the texture and fabric or the area. Love to see more things like this around the metro.
Not a Ferris wheel, but was I the only one that didn't know Grafton was opening up a gondola? Pretty cool looking.
https://fox2now.com/2019/11/03/grafton- ... or-months/
https://fox2now.com/2019/11/03/grafton- ... or-months/
I was totally unaware of this until I saw that news report. The gondola does look like fun. Gon-DOH-la, that is. Bet it looks great today with the snow.
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I saw something about this a few weeks ago, and I am actually fairly excited about it.
I want to go and do some exploring of Grafton and Alton. My wife and I drove up there once after moving here, and I was super impressed with the giant bluffs along the Mississippi River.
I want to go and do some exploring of Grafton and Alton. My wife and I drove up there once after moving here, and I was super impressed with the giant bluffs along the Mississippi River.
^ Arguably the most beautiful part of the metropolitan area. Grafton is already pretty popular with lots of folks, but the whole area has so much natural beauty, between the bluffs, the wide expanse of the river (and the confluence with the Illinois), the Great River Road, the rolling hills and quaint little Main Street of Grafton, the history and architecture of downtown Alton, one of the few areas in the metro to still grab a ferry, etc. Like someone said a little further up, to have all that within 40 or so miles of Downtown St. Louis is pretty damn special.
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That's the other thing I wanted to do up there.... is take the car ferry. I believe it's closed for the season, but I'll take it next April or whenever it re-opens.
The Great River Road is pretty hard to beat (still pissed about Raging Rivers, though). Elsah, Principia College Campus, and Pierre Marquette State Park are must-sees too.
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Grafton ferry closes at some point but you can still take the IDOT ferry over the Illinois (for free) and then the Golden eagle to St. Chrles County over the mississippi.KansasCitian wrote: ↑Nov 12, 2019That's the other thing I wanted to do up there.... is take the car ferry. I believe it's closed for the season, but I'll take it next April or whenever it re-opens.
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Where is the IDOT ferry? Brussels? Does it not close?
Same with the Golden Eagle ferry?
Same with the Golden Eagle ferry?
^ Golden Eagle is still open, here is their site:
http://calhounferrycompany.com/
The Winfield Ferry is currently closed. Here is the site for the two IDOT ferries (both IDOT ferries are currently open, one at Brussels and one at Kampsville):
http://idot.illinois.gov/travel-informa ... ices/index
http://calhounferrycompany.com/
The Winfield Ferry is currently closed. Here is the site for the two IDOT ferries (both IDOT ferries are currently open, one at Brussels and one at Kampsville):
http://idot.illinois.gov/travel-informa ... ices/index
IDOT run 24/7.KansasCitian wrote: ↑Nov 12, 2019Where is the IDOT ferry? Brussels? Does it not close?
Same with the Golden Eagle ferry?
Golden eagle has hours but I think is year round (posted in link from sc) $8 one way.
So you can take Golden Eagle from St Charles county to calhoun then brussels from Calhoun to by Grafton.
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It looks like I could double up on the ferry fun by taking the Brussels ferry from its north dock to Calhoun County, then taking the Golden Eagle Ferry to St. Charles County, all for a combined cost of $8.
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^I rode one of those in Da Lat Vietnam with my wife. They're great fun. Didn't realize they were even legal in the United States. (I figured the whole user controlled braking . . . or lack thereof . . . would be a non-starter.)
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I've seen them in Colorado but nothing with those fancy tracks. Just a partial cement tube with high banks in the corners like a small luge/bobsled run. No seatbelts or anything, You could get up to a pretty good speed if you had the nerve. A lot of them were summertime attractions at ski areas. If those are legal, these newer ones look way safer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZypV43XQT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZypV43XQT8
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Reminds me a lot of a flying turns style operation, but with some user control. If wiki is to be trusted both the sled operations are examples of what's called a summer toboggan, with the rail sort being an "alpine coaster" and the more bobsled style chute type an "alpine slide." The example I rode in Da Lat was more like Chris's Branson example.Black02AltimaSE wrote: ↑Dec 16, 2021I've seen them in Colorado but nothing with those fancy tracks. Just a partial cement tube with high banks in the corners like a small luge/bobsled run. No seatbelts or anything, You could get up to a pretty good speed if you had the nerve. A lot of them were summertime attractions at ski areas. If those are legal, these newer ones look way safer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZypV43XQT8
I'd love to ride the Colorado sort too. But I'd also like to ride a flying turns. (Makes me sad we lost ours.)