5 Non-Boring Things To Do In Peoria, Illinois

I’ll be honest – Peoria, Illinois was a bit of a snoozefest.

We spent six nights there on our 50 state road trip as we got a great deal on a hotel using our points. The only problem was that there didn’t seem to be all that much fun stuff to do there.

By the end of the six days we found a handful of enjoyable things, so here are 5 non-boring things to do in Peoria.

1) Grand View Drive

Grand View Drive is a 2.5 mile road that offers beautiful views of Peoria Lake and the Illinois River.

There are several pull-offs along the way where you can stop to get a photo, as well as many benches and picnic tables where you can stop for longer to admire the views.

2) Fancy Homes

On one side of Grand View Drive you have lovely views of the water. On the other you have some absolutely stunning homes.

I think my favorite home we saw resembled a castle with dragon sculptures greeting you if entering the driveway.

3) Pour Bros Craft Taproom

Pour Bros Craft Taproom is a bar in Peoria Heights where you get to pour your own beers.

You set up a tab at the bar and are given a special card linked to your payment method. You tap the card against the wooden frame of the beer you want, then pour it yourself. There are different sized glasses, so you can pour small samples of each of the beers if you’d like to try all of them. Alternatively, you can pour 10 oz or pint servings if you’d like a larger serving.

4) Emo’s Dairy Mart

While driving from our hotel to Grand View Drive, we passed by Emo’s. It looked like a fun place to grab ice cream, so we stopped by there after having drinks at Pour Bros.

In addition to ice cream, they serve hot food including fantastic chili dogs. Truffles could sense its deliciousness and was desperate to try it for herself.

We also ordered some ice cream – Truffles got a small vanilla cone (but only took a couple of licks), Shae got a banana split (which was huge), while I got a caramel sundae.

5) Mackinaw Valley Vineyard

I said that we had a hard time finding fun things to do in Peoria, so the fifth item on this list isn’t even in Peoria! It’s still worth a mention though as it’s only ~30 minutes from the city.

Mackinaw Valley Vineyard offers wine tasting and has something like a couple of dozen wines to choose from. The first three tastings are free, while additional pours are $1 each.

We tried six wines each and ended up buying a bottle of Deux Noir, a chilled red wine with blackberry, blueberry and raspberry flavors. The winery has plenty of outdoor seating where you can enjoy a glass overlooking their vineyard.

Question

Are we being unfair to Peoria? Are there more non-boring things to do in Peoria that we missed out on? If so, let us know in the comments below.