Grand View Drive takes you back to the early 1900s, when a group of influential Peorians envisioned a park and scenic drive on the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River. Completed in 1903, the park garnered national attention, and 100+ years later, remains a favorite of motorists, picnickers, romantics, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts of all sorts. According to a long-told story, former president Teddy Roosevelt was riding in a car to the Peoria Country Club in 1910 when his driver apologized for the bumpy roads. Roosevelt said he didn’t mind because it was “the world’s most beautiful drive.”
