There is a pedestrian bridge north of St. Louis known as the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, and it happens to be a prime eagle-watching spot in the winter. I didn’t even know this bridge (part of the original Route 66) even existed until maybe a year ago. So I, of course, had to add it to my St. Louis bucket list. Tim and I both love old bridges, so I was pretty excited about checking it out with the chance of seeing some eagles in the wild. We originally had planned to go last weekend, but then I found out it was Eagle Days. Thousands of people show up to the bridge for the annual event, which I didn’t want to deal with so we waited another week. I’m glad we did because we practically had the bridge to ourselves when we arrived around 9:45 AM. When we were leaving around 11:00, a couple large groups of people had arrived. I’m glad we took our binoculars because we saw an eagle while there!
Note: I had read several places to park on the the IL side of the bridge because of past car break-ins on the MO side, so that’s what we did and didn’t have any issues. (Click that link for directions.)
There’s a few Route 66 themed signs on the bridge, which makes it feel a bit nostalgic. Looking south, you can see downtown and the Arch in the distance, which I think is neat. I’d love to go back when it’s warmer and the trees have leaves. After we finished at the bridge, we headed up to Fast Eddie’s in Alton for lunch and some great people watching!
—m.