U.S. Route 62: Fort Defiance – Illinois

Take a scenic ride through the lowlands of southern Illinois as we follow a short but historically rich stretch of U.S. Route 62 from U.S. Highway 51 to Fort Defiance, where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet. Though just two miles in length, this journey carries us through a confluence of geography, history, and transportation that has shaped the region for centuries. From the outskirts of Cairo to the riverbanks where two of America’s mightiest rivers converge, this brief drive reveals a landscape steeped in both natural grandeur and the echoes of American legacy.

We begin our drive at the junction with U.S. Highway 51 in Cairo, Illinois, a once-thriving river city that served as a vital hub during the steamboat era and the Civil War. As we head west on U.S. 62 from the junction with U.S. 51, we enter a distinctly leveed corridor surrounded by broad, low-lying floodplain and dense woodland, hemmed in by raised embankments that shield the land from the ever-near rivers. This part of Cairo is quiet and undeveloped, part of the protected zone near the southern tip of Illinois. The highway runs straight and narrow here, bounded by green on either side, with only occasional signage and access roads breaking the tree line. It feels like we’re driving through a space between worlds—more natural than urban, more forgotten than remembered.

A few minutes into the drive, we detour into Fort Defiance Park, once a Union military post during the Civil War and now a peaceful public area managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Here, the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers come together in dramatic fashion, creating a watery T-junction of continental scale. A small observation deck allows us to watch the endless flow of barge traffic and to reflect on how this single location has served as a gateway to the heart of America for generations. The vantage point is quietly stunning, with the green and brown waters intermingling under a wide sky, and the roar of industry whispering across the current.

Returning to U.S. 62, we resume our drive westward, passing over the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge—a cantilevered steel structure that arcs gracefully across the river into Missouri. The bridge itself is a marvel of mid-century engineering, opening in 1929 and still carrying a steady flow of cross-country travelers, locals, and long-haul freight. As we rise above the river, the flatlands of Illinois fall away behind us, and the rolling Missouri farmland begins to emerge on the western shore. Below us, the Mississippi churns and winds southward, carrying water from 31 states toward the Gulf of Mexico.

This short segment of U.S. 62 may be only two miles long in Illinois, but it’s layered with significance—geographic, historic, and emotional. It’s a place where boundaries meet: state to state, river to river, past to present. We end our drive not with the roar of a metropolis, but with the hushed power of nature and memory converging at the edge of a continent. In a nation defined by motion, this is one of its most quietly profound crossroads.