Plan A Trip

Welcome from the Mayor and Mission President

Dear Friends,

We are pleased you have chosen to come to Nauvoo and hope you will enjoy the time you spend here.  Because our town is often full of visitors, please be conscious of the following courtesies while visiting:

• Watch carefully that you do not walk into the busy street while you are trying to get the “perfect picture.”
• Please be mindful of traffic as you cross the streets.  Mulholland is a busy state highway and many buses, cars and trucks are moving on it.
• Be courteous of private property.  Please do not use a person’s lawn or private drive as a quicker means to get to your car or to another place you want to go.
• Obey all speed limit and parking signs wherever you are in Nauvoo—either in the Historic district or in the city.  You could be ticketed and no one wants a trip to be marred with a speeding or parking ticket.
• As you are out walking in places where there are no sidewalks, remember to walk facing the on-coming traffic and please, stay on the side of the road or walk in the grassy areas just off the road.
• Where there are sidewalks, please use them.
• Shop in our stores and eat in our restaurants.  As you are aware, “like a good neighbor,” Nauvoo is here!

Thanks again for coming to Nauvoo.  We welcome you and hope you have a sweet and memorable experience while you are here.

John McCarty, Nauvoo Mayor

President Gilliland, Illinois Nauvoo Mission President

When is the best time to visit Nauvoo?

Historic Nauvoo is open every day, year round, and there is always plenty to do and see. It’s an ideal destination for families and tour groups. History buffs will enjoy learning how the city of Nauvoo was founded, what it was like in its heydey in the 1840′s, and why the early Mormon settlers left their beloved city behind to begin their trek to the mountain west.

It’s great to start the Nauvoo experience with a horse-drawn wagon ride.  This is a chance to hear a narrative about the village and to get an overview of the entire site.  After that, a great idea is a stop at the Historic Nauvoo Visitors’ Center, where you can pick up a map and see some interesting historic displays.

Families will want to visit the carefully restored homes and shops, or tour the Browning Home and Gun Shop, where Browning Arms found its origins.

Children will enjoy the many demonstrations in the blacksmith shop, the brickyard, or the Family Living Center, where nineteenth-century crafts and skills can be learned.  Or they can play for hours at Pioneer Pastimes, where “unplugged” pioneer games keep them fascinated.

Every night except Sunday, year round, “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo,” a rollicking musical play, is performed at least once, and twice when necessary.  In the summer season, musicals and performances are offered almost every hour of the day.

But stay long enough to slow down!  Nauvoo also offers peace and a chance to contemplate on “The Trail of Hope,” or in the “Monument to Women” gardens.  Or sit and gaze at the temple on the hill, built at enormous cost to a people who possessed so very little of worldly goods.

Nauvoo is a flyway for many migrating birds and waterfowl, and the historic area is a virtual arboretum, with many of the trees labeled.  Take some time to walk, to look, to feel, to think – to make a connection to a time when simple values and a strong faith kept the people focused on what was most important.

Don’t forget the brilliant colors of the fall, the bald eagles that migrate to the area in winter, and the breathtaking spring displays in all the gardens.  This is a place for every season.

One last thing to know:  All sites, tours, shows, and rides in Historic Nauvoo are FREE!

Read more about off-season activities in this article by Dean Hughes that appeared in LDS Living October 2009