Beautiful Nauvoo, Illinois is a fabulous historic destination for families. There are a wide variety of things to do for all ages- so many in fact, that it can be overwhelming to know where to start. As a family with 7 kids, we have been several times, and this is the best line up for keeping kids entertained while still learning a lot.

If you haven’t heard of Nauvoo before, maybe you have heard of or been to Colonial Williamsburg. Both cities allow you to step back in time to see what life was like in the past. One of the main differences is that Nauvoo is free of charge and owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its volunteers.

This blog post is focused mainly on keeping kids engaged and entertained while learning at Nauvoo, and doesn’t even come close to covering all the historic sites. If you want to add more to your trip, to see all the historic stops, check out a full list here.

*QUICK TRAVEL TIP!! One thing that made this trip really fun was that I put my camera (DSLR as well as my cell phone) in the hands of my kids as much as I could during the trip. It was really fun to see what they captured, and it kept them busy during moments they were feeling restless. Try it out!

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Nauvoo Day 1:

Visitor Center

Start here to get your map and get oriented. If you go in the summertime, this is also a great place to start so you can make reservations for the carriage & wagon rides (no reservations needed on the off season). Make sure you see the Women’s statue garden in the back!!

Wagon Ride

The Wagon Ride (starts at Family Living Center) gives you a tour around the historic village of Nauvoo. It will be helpful to you early on in the trip to get a lay of the land and get the kids excited about what they are going to see.

At the end of the ride, you will also get a chance to pet the horses and take pictures.

Pioneer Pastimes (outdoor games)

This is a great stop for kids of all ages. They have a little playhouse with baby dolls and a kitchen, blocks, and other small toys for toddlers and young children, and they also have old fashioned bowing, a lasso station, stilts, ring fling, and several other games for older kids. Every one of my kids had an activity they enjoyed at this stop.

Smith Family Homestead, Mansion House, Nauvoo House

Along with the fun wagon ride, oxen encounter and games, this is a great place to learn some of the history of Nauvoo.

Visiting the Smith Family Homestead is a great place to experience this. There are lots of different rooms and buildings to visit, so it keeps the tour at a good pace for families. Some other places to see near the Smith Family Homestead:

Smith Family Cemetery
Red Brick Store (in the attic is where the Relief Society was founded- I really love this stop)

Trail of Hope

The Trail of Hope is the path the Saints took as they were being chased out of Nauvoo by the mobs.

It begins at the Seventies building (near the Blacksmith) and goes all the way down to the water where the Saints would have crossed the Mississippi River. This is a great break from sitting through tours, and kids can get those little bodies moving!

There are signs all along the path with quotes from the journals of different people and what they experienced when they were driven out of Nauvoo and forced across the frigid river. This is a very meaningful walk for me, while also being a great break for my kids.

Blacksmith Shop

Just down from the trail head of the Trail of Hope is the Blacksmith Shop, which makes sense since this would be the last place the Saints would need to visit as they pulled out of town. Kids can enjoy watching how horseshoes are created in a forge, and even bring home a souvenir made just for them!

Carthage Jail

Drive 25 minutes from Nauvoo to see the place where Joseph & Hyrum Smith were martyred. Kids go inside and see what a jail looked like in the 1840’s frontier.

Picnic at David’s Chamber

David’s Chamber is a quiet picnic spot, with tables, where you can get away from the crowds at historic Nauvoo for a little down time. Bring a frisbee to throw and enjoy the bridge and creek for some fun photo spots!

Fairy Door Hunt down Mulholland St

(In October you can also see all the scarecrows, too!) Mulholland Street is the main thoroughfare in Nauvoo where you will find most of the shops and restaurants. Kids will have a fun time walking along the street looking for tiny Fairy Doors on various properties. While you’re walking around, stop in and grab some treats at the Fudge Factory!

Tomb of Joseph

Just down from the Fudge Shop, you will cross the street and find Zion’s Mercantile where you can take a tour of the Tomb of Joseph. You can call ahead and take a private tour.

It is very interesting to go under the ground to see artifacts and the likely place of the tomb Joseph Smith was beginning to build for his family, so they could all be buried together.

The tomb was never finished, but I think it’s a lovely desire Joseph had that his family could be together in life, death and resurrection.

You can see where he and his family actually ended up being buried together in the Smith Family Cemetery next door to the Smith Family Home.

Nauvoo Day 2

Oxen encounter

At the oxen encounter, you will go on a very short ride pulled by oxen (cows), and learn why oxen were preferrable to horses on the trek West to Salt Lake City, Utah from Nauvoo, Illinois. At the end of the quick ride, children can pet the oxen. This is one of my kids’ favorite parts of the trip.

Carriage Ride

Take a carriage ride around some farms to learn more about some of the families that lived in Nauvoo.

Once again, at the end of the ride, the kids can pet the horses and take pictures.

Frontier Life, Trades & Craftsman Sites:

Visit places like the bakery, tin smith and post office to learn more about what life was like in the 1840’s. Some of our favorites are:

Scovil Bakery
Cultural Hall
Tin Shop
Gunsmith Shop

*You don’t have to stop at the end of this list. There are LOTS of historical homes you can visit in Nauvoo. You can spend a week there going to where different apostles lived and learn about how the city was built to center around the temple.

The sites I have listed above, are the places most enjoyable for kids.

Family Living Center -

This stop is great with lots of hands on crafts and activities. Kids learn how to make rope, barrels, rugs, bricks, bread, candles and much more! This was a crowd favorite!

The Red Front Store

This is a fun stop for Old Nauvoo Rootbeer, made to order burgers & ice cream. It’s just down the street from the temple on Mulholland Street.

Sunset at the Nauvoo Temple

This is the highlight of my visit to Nauvoo. If you can, and have a recommend, make an appointment and went to see the inside of the temple while you are visiting Nauvoo.

I love seeing the pink sunrise gleam on the outside of the white temple walls at sunrise and sunset.

In the evening, grab ice cream from The Red Front Store and watched the sunset at the temple. The sunsets there are GORGEOUS!! It’s a really amazing picture spot!

* Activity not listed!! You can go to the red horse barn at the crossroads of Partridge & Carlos Street at 8:45am to see the horses run out one by one (called by their names) to eat their breakfast.

* Suggestion: Pack a lunch. There aren’t very many places to eat in Nauvoo, but there are LOTS of places to have a picnic. We suggest packing your lunch and eating in between activities whenever your kids are hungry, and eating dinner out if you don’t want to cook.

Want a Printable Itinerary of this Nauvoo trip?

Want to see into Nauvoo Even more? See our other Nauvoo Post: Why to visit Historic Nauvoo in the Winter

Thank you to The Inn at Old Nauvoo for hosting us in the Manor. This would be a great place for Youth groups to stay if they were visiting beautiful, historic Nauvoo. Check out more about the city and local events here!