Written Directions
This is a backway to St Louis, to avoid 2.5 hours of droning endlessly down 4 lane hwy. From Poplar Bluff take Hwy W 9 miles to Hwy KK, continue 5 miles on KK to T Hwy. Turn Left on T Hwy and go north aprox 7.5 mi to Z Hwy. Turn right on Z Hwy until it dead ends at P, turn right to Hwy 51. From there you will follow 51 through Marble Hill, Perryville, and across the river into IL. Once across the river you will enter Chester where you get onto IL Rt 3. Follow 3 all the way up to I255.
Scenery
This is a much more scenic route than droning down 67 or Business 60 to 55. Super slabs (highways/interstate) get extremely boring and this is a nice route to mix it up a bit.
The first half of this 4 hour ride is really nice. Rolling hills and some nice turns thrown into the mix. Once you get about a 1/2 hr past Marble Hill and closer to I55/Perryville it starts to flatten out a bit and turn more agricultural.
The IL section is just "okay" and is mostly agricultural but it's only 49 miles of the trip.
Drive Enjoyment
Road was fine. No major construction and surprisingly Z was adequate. Watch for deer and road kill when on W/KK/T/Z as the general Mingo & Wappapello Lake areas are notorious for lots of deer.
Tourism Opportunities
Plenty of gas stops along the way. There's a gas stop at 51/P, on 51 @Marble Hill & again @Perryville, and a few places along IL 3. It was early so I didn't eat but Perryville will have every chain restaurant under the sun.
Motorcycle Road Additional info
There was a local cop posted up at Marble Hill, and another after you cross the bridge and come into Chester IL. I was on a brand new FJR and was prob doing 5 over when I crossed the bridge into IL and he didn't seem phased by my presence.
