Find Eagle Watching Hotspots With Guided Tours

They sit in the trees. Or float on an ice floe or log in the rivers. They can even be seen gliding through the winter skies. The great American Bald Eagles have returned to southwest Illinois.

All you have to do is find them! We can help with that.

Eagle Watching Guided Shuttle Tours

Eagles are returning to their winter homes in southwest Illinois and now is the ideal time to see them in their natural habitats along the rivers and bluffs.

But where are the best places to see them? And how do you find them?

The Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau is making eagle watching easier with a series of guided eagle watching shuttle tours available in Alton and Grafton every Saturday in January and February beginning Jan. 7.

Alton Eagle Watching Tours

Get the skinny on eagle watching hot spots in the Alton region! Two guided eagle watching shuttle tours will be offered each Saturday starting Jan. 7. Tours will last 90 minutes and provide visitors with a birds-eye view of some of the best spots to view eagles. Tours will be run at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.. Tickets are $15 per person and are available here. Advance purchase is required.

Please note: on Jan. 7, all tours begin and end at the Alton Visitor Center as part of the annual Alton Eagle Ice Festival. The following Saturdays including Jan. 14, 21, 28 and Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25th all tours begin and end at the Alton Visitor Center. Tours are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. each Saturday.

These tours are a great way to scope out the eagle watching hot spots before starting out on your own eagle watching adventure.

Grafton Eagle Watching Tours

Eagles love hanging around open water. And Grafton, located at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, is a great spot to view eagles in the winter.

Take a guided 2 1/2 hour shuttle tour to see America's national bird in the wild in Grafton and Calhoun County. Tours are available every Saturday in January and February starting Jan. 7 in Grafton. Tickets are $30 per person and tours begin at 9 a.m. Advance ticket purchase is required. Shuttle space is limited. Purchase your tickets here.

Grafton tours begin and end at the Grafton SkyTour. Tours will be held Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28 and Feb. 4, 11, 18, and 25th.

And There's More!

Follow up your eagle watching adventure with lunch or dinner at great locally owned and operated restaurants. Or make it an eagle watching overnight adventure and book a stay at local guest houses, bed and breakfast inns or hotels. Check out our Eagle Watchers overnight specials here!

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