No matter what the season, you'll find plenty of things to see and do in Canton. Experience the great outdoors as you bike, walk, or fish along the Mississippi. Park your RV in well developed facilities along the river's edge. Shop for antiques or unique items at one of our local stores or visit nearby Amish for homemade goods. Whether you're traveling by yourself, with a friend, or with your family, you'll always feel right at home here.
Shopping:
With several quaint shops, unique gifts and antique stores, you won't be just window shopping. From handpicked inventories to numerous specialty items, you'll marvel at the quality and love the special attention. To name a few: The Saturday store offers custom apparel and handmade gifts from local artists based out of one of Canton's beautiful historcial buildings. Capps Variety, the name sais it all from paper to cell phones, they have what you are looking for and more. here is a listing of all retail businesses
Theatre:
Enjoy big box of popcorn and a soda as you sit and enjoy a feature movie in our beautifully restored Lewis Street Playhouse theatre. The Playhouse also houses comedy acts, plays, and special events throughout the year. more info
Recreation:
If you are an outdoor enthusiast, Canton has a lot to offer. Biking, fishing, camping, parks, golf, swimming, hunting, boating, sports and more. If biking is your hobby our riverfront is a scenic place to ride or if you want a longer ride try the old highway 61 from Canton to La Grange. This is a lightly traveled road that is great for biking and jogging. If you enjoy the great outdoors and wish to camp and fish our riverfront provides some great views and good fishing by the dam along with river access for boaters. more info
The Parks in Canton provide families with play equipment for the kids to enjoy and bar-b-que pits for cooking up some great meals for reunions and get togethers. more info
Get caught up in the excitement of local sports on your visit. Depending on the season, You can take in a Friday night highschool basketball game or go to a College football game on a saturday afternoon. Check the highschool schedule here, college sports schedule here.
We have a private golf course just south of Canton that provides day passes if you are missing the links. There are also other courses within a 40 miles of Canton.
History:
Canton has managed to retain much of its rural charm through an active interest in historic preservation. Elements of our history can still be seen in the buildings downtown. Canton is also home to a number of musicians, artists and crafts people, many of whom are recognized throughout the area. Be sure to experience the festivals, galleries, arts and crafts displays and shows held throughout the year.
Visit our historical society downtown to discover our heritage and interesting facts that make Canton special. Learn more
Drives:
Stop for lunch downtown and then set the GPS and go explore the country roads near Canton! Enjoy scenic country, small towns, farmland and you may spot an Amish buggy or two. Canton is also located near a few larger cities if you wanted to plan a day out on your visit to Canton.
We are located 20 miles from Quincy, Illinois, 30 miles from Keokuk, Iowa and 40 miles from Hannibal, Missouri. Each of these cities offer many sightseeing and recreational facilities. Other recreational facilities are also located in and close to Lewis County and a few of these opportunities are listed.
There is also a Ferry available to take you to Illinois, for times and schedules please call the 217-440-3738 to verify hours of operation.
Geocaching:
Basically, geocaching (www.geocaching.com) is a high-tech version of treasure hunting. Geocachers seek out hidden treasures utilizing GPS coordinates posted on the Internet by zip code by those hiding the cache. Using a GPS unit, they then trek out into the backwoods or urban jungles to find the hiding spot of the cache. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. If the visitor takes something out of the cache, they are asked to leave something in return. For some, the biggest reward is the thrill of the search and the discovery of a place that they have never been.
The Rules:
This growing outdoor sport has a simple set of rules, making it easy for anyone to play. The challenging part is finding the cache. Some caches have even been planted on mountainsides and underwater! Once geocachers find a cache, they follow these basic rules:
- fill out the logbook
- take something out of the cache
- put something in the cache
- return the cache to the exact position and condition in which it was found
Caches typically consist of a waterproof container discreetly placed within the local terrain. The container will include a logbook and any number of more or less valuable items such as toys, books, money, jewelry, trinkets, etc. You never know what the founder or other visitors of the cache may have left for you to enjoy. Be sure to fill out the logbook with the date and time you visit the cache and leave something in return.
If you have a business you want to list on the Canton Tourism site please email info@showmecanton.com.
