If picnicking is in your plans while visiting Nauvoo State Park, you're in luck. The park features two picnic and playground areas totaling 20 acres. In addition to playground equipment for kids, you'll find tables, stoves and two shelter houses, one equipped with modern toilet facilities. A ball diamond and two parking lots round out the list of amenities.

The park's main trail, Locust Lane at 1.5 miles, shows off some of the park's best features. As the trail winds around the lake and through timbered areas, hikers can see and hear a variety of birds. There's also a three-eighths-mile loop from the camping area that's accessible to senior citizens and to those in wheelchairs. A short trail connects the main picnic and playground area to the dam, and there's also a short, one-way jaunt to Gilligan's Island on Lake Horton.

The Mormon Temple

Joseph Smith began building a temple in the early 1840s. It was four stories high, measured 128 by 88 feet, and featured an 82-foot octagonal tower. Church Elder William Weeks served as architect and directed the work of dozens of skilled craftsmen. Although incomplete, services were first held in the temple in 1844. Because of Smith's assassination that same year, the temple was never finished. Despite this fact, it was said to have been the finest building in the west at the time, with the cost of materials estimated to have been $1 million.

An arsonist set fire to the temple in 1848. Three years later, it was completely destroyed by a tornado. Stone from the temple has been incorporated into other Nauvoo buildings, but one original architectural feature can be seen in Nauvoo. A decorative cap to one of the temple's pilasters is displayed inside a covered cage to protect it from direct sunlight and rain. Called a "sunstone" because it depicts a sun with a radiant face, the two-piece, 2.5-ton limestone carving was one of 30 such stones that adorned the columns. The pilasters also featured the same number of "moonstones" and "starstones," and some of these are still in existence. However, the sunstone displayed at Nauvoo is one of only two known to exist. It is owned by the State, on loan to the LDS Church, and displayed at the original temple site. The other was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1989.

Today both the LDS and RLDS churches have visitor centers plus restored homes and shops adjacent to the park that are open throughout the year.

Icarians

Nauvoo went from being the state's largest city in 1844 to becoming all but a ghost town in the three years following the Mormon exodus. In 1849 a small group of French and German immigrants to the United States heard of the vacant city and decided to settle in Nauvoo. Their leader was a French political figure, Etienne Cabet, who wrote several books including the story of a utopian community, A Voyage into Icaria. The book gave members of this communistic colony the name "Icarians."

The colony broke up a few years later when the group found its communal way of life unworkable. Before the Icarians split up, however, they introduced grape growing and wine making to the area. While most of the local vineyards have disappeared, the first vineyard planted in Nauvoo still exists on park property and is maintained by park personnel. Many of the former wine cellars are now vacant, although one is used in the manufacture of Nauvoo's Roquefort-type blue cheese, which has received international awards.

Museum

A house built by Mormons in the 1840s, remodeled by Icarians, and later owned by the Rheinberger family serves as the Nauvoo State Park Museum. The restored home features a wine cellar and a press room, and has the only Nauvoo wine cellar open to the public. This also is the location of Nauvoo's first vineyard, which has been producing grapes since the mid-1800s. The museum itself exhibits artifacts from all periods of Nauvoo's history, from Native American occupation to the introduction of Nauvoo Blue Cheese in the 1930s. The museum is staffed by the Nauvoo Historical Society and is open 1-5 afternoons from May 1 through October 15.

Grape Bowl, Sod Stage and South Areas

The Nauvoo Grape Festival, held annually over Labor Day weekend in the Grape Bowl and Sod Stage area directly west of Lake Horton, coincides with the ripening of the grapes. The festival includes an hour-long program depicting Nauvoo's history. A pageant, which for more than 50 years has paid tribute to two Nauvoo industries, observes an old French rite called "The Wedding of the Wine and Cheese." The festival's carnivals, entertainment tents, arts and crafts exhibits, flea markets, buckskinners, and car shows are held at the South Area, just south of the ball diamond.

From Chicago area take I80 west to I74. Take I74 south to Rte 34. Take Rte 34 West to Rte 67. Take Rte 67 South to Rte 136. Take Rte 136 west to Rte 96. Take Rte 96 north 12 miles to Nauvoo State Park.

From Springfield take Rte 97 west and north to Rte 136. Take Rte 136 west to Rte 96. Take Rte 96 north 12 miles to Nauvoo State Park.

From the East St. Louis, Alton area take Rte 67 north to Rte 136. Take Rte 136 west to Rte 96. Take Rte 96 north 12 miles to Nauvoo State Park.