Pere Marquette Lodge features 50 lodge guest rooms and 22 natural stone cabin rooms. Guests may enjoy a scenic river view, or a park view. All are perfect for a quiet getaway.

Businesses find Pere Marquette Lodge and Conference Center perfect for that important event. Our 2900 Sq. Ft. meeting space accommodates up to 320 attendees and our banquet facilities can accommodate up to 280. These facilities provide for a first class conference in a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.

Couples choose Pere Marquette Lodge as the beautiful and romantic choice for their wedding plans. Our expertise will bring that touch of class to your reception and the picturesque beauty of the park is sure to impress.

Situated in Pere Marquette State Park amid 8000 acres of beauty and nature, we are located on Rt 100, 5 miles north of Grafton Illinois, 10 miles south of Rt 16. Just 45 minutes from St. Louis, Missouri.

About The Lodge
Pere Marquette State Park Lodge was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933-1939, opening for business in 1940 at a cost $352,912.00. The massive poles, as much as 3 feet in diameter- that were used as roof and wall supports, as well as other wood in the chalet-like buildings, are Douglas fir, western cedar from Oregon, and peckey cypress. Limestone, which was taken from the Grafton rock quarry, was used in the construction of the seven cabins, the floor in the lodge, and the 700-ton stone fireplace, which dominates the lobby and dining room. The inmates of one of the prisons in Illinois constructed the furniture in the lodge. The Civilian Conservation Corps did all of the metal work, such as the chandeliers in the lobby and dining room, door handles, window locks, etc. Three hots and a flop comprised the bulk of a corpsman’s payday. Today their dedication and craftsmanship are here for all of us to enjoy.

The Park was named in memory of Father Jacques Marquette, the French Jesuit missionary priest, who in 1673 along with explorer Louis Joliet, were the first Europeans to enter what is now the State of Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. A large white cross, at the park entrance alongside route 100, marks where these two men landed.

At one time, an Indian village was located where the Lodge now stands. Indian tribes in the area were the Hopewell and Illini. The Illini Indians were the tribe to put the Piasa Bird (bird that devours man on the bluffs at Alton. Marquette recorded the first account of the Piasa Bird painting in the summer of 1673 on what is now the Great River Road/National Scenic Byway. The Piasa Bird has been moved several times to make way for road construction. In 1998 the present bird was painted on the bluffs at Alton.

Native Americans controlled the Mississippi valley with their flourishing fur trade centered on the Illinois River until the French and Indian wars of 1760. The British took over in 1763, and the area became the State of Illinois in 1818.

Grafton became a booming business community and important river port in the late 1800's. It reached its peak in the early 1900’s and the population began to decline by the 1920’s. Today, Grafton retains its charm and commerce and is steaming steadily ahead.

In 1932, 2,600 acres were given to the State for a park, and the State bought an adjoining 2,500 acres of conservation area. These parcels were combined into Pere Marquette State Park by legislative action in 1967. Later acquisitions and recent land purchases have brought the total to approximately 9,500 acres.