I was camping in Mississippi Palisade State Park for the weekend with my Girlfriend Lily. I had…read morecontacted Paul a few weeks prior to book a trip while we were there for the weekend. We met Paul at Albany, IL boat ramp where we began our 4-hour outing. He had a great bass boat with a trolling motor, depth finder/navigation, and power poles. He has fished in many tournaments and was well versed with his equipment. We caught dozens of crappie and a good number of catfish! A few bluegills and a bowfin as well. We kept a good number of the crappie and catfish which made for some great meals back at camp! Anyone unfamiliar with the area should give Paul a call!

From the owner: Professional Bass Fishing Guide…read more Captain Paul Malone grew up along the Mississippi River fishing his first tournament at age 15, he has been fishing tournaments ever since. Paul has a passion for fishing and loves to teach and get others involved in the sport. This lead him to earn his Captain's license, and is he is now guiding Lake Okeechobee (Dec/Jan), Sturgeon Bay - Door County area (May/June) and the Mississippi River-Pools 7-14 ( La Crosse, WI - Lansing, IA - Prairie Du Chien, WI -Savanna, IL). If you are looking for an adventure on the water catching trophy large mouth bass, small mouth bass, crappie and walleye, contact Cpt. Paul today! He is more than your average fishing guide. You wont be disappointed.

Went there just for the day. Its a real nice property with several lakes. I only cost $10 for the…read moreday to fish and it was worth it. My dad and I both caught our 2 catfish limit within a couple of hours. If you are looking for peace and quiet along with clean lakes this is the place. They do offer a cleaning stations so you can clean your fish.

Rented one of the cabins this weekend & had a WONDERFUL time! Everyone was very friendly and kind,…read morethey even invited us to their communal potluck/mardi gras festivities. It was our first time bringing our 7mo. pup along and he had a blast. The beach for swimming is nice and the water is great! Lots of fishing and boating, 10/10 will most definitely come back! Thanks Rick!!

We were lucky to arrive at the this visitor center just when a barge was entering the locks. It…read morewas slow going but very interesting to see the entire process. The ranger in the building helped explain what was going on below in the lock. There are many different displays that describe the lock system from St. Paul to St. Louis. Very educational. Good views of the river. The one downside of visiting this place is that you need to get a visitor pass since this is on the Rock Island Armory military base. You need a valid US ID and have to fill out a form, etc. Once the form is completed it took almost five minutes per person to go through the process and get an ID issued. If there are more than a couple of people in line you could easily be waiting 30 minutes. This pass does let you go to the Military Museum and access other recreational facilities on the base. You've been warned!

First off, the visitor center isn't where Yelp shows it (at least not on my map it isn't), but the…read moresigns are pretty easy to follow - if you get to the clock tower you are across the street from the center. Your experience will depend on whether something is going through the lock. We arrived as a tug and some barges were finishing their transition to go down river. You get to see the lock filling and also get to see the bridge swing around to let the barges through. There was a ranger (?) there and he was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. There is real very little else to see if nothing is happening at the lock. As you drive around the arsenal (and I do recommend that you drive around some) and see something approaching the lock, get over there!

I brought my son to Shady Lakes for Labor Day and it was wonderful!! Between my friends and I, we…read morecaught nine fish. They were having a Labor Day special so each fish was $5.00. We seriously had the best time. My son is 6 so he doesn't have a whole lot of patience. We got there around 1pm but the fish didn't start biting until 3pm. We decided to make it a Labor Day tradition because we had so much fun. Right at about 3pm the fish started biting and biting. We actually had to stop because we started to catch too many. Everyone there was very nice. We did hear that it will be under new ownership starting in 2021 season. I would definitely recommend this place for kiddos. You don't even need a fishing license since it's a private business.

I only found out today that they had closed. It was a great place growing up, coming on field…read moretrips, and great for young kids and new timers to fishing. Fun to help others learn how to fish, bait their own hook (especially getting young girls into fishing). It was almost guaranteed you would catch something. I even caught a novelty golden trout here once. Beautiful lily pads and could hear the bullfrogs. But, at almost $0.70 an inch I can see where it could get a little pricey Like the old saying goes, "Teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime". Even if that feeding comes through curiosity :)

Excellent store. Large range of tackle, rods and reels, and even line. Employees are hopeful and…read morethey offer a wide range of services which include fixing and cleaning reels.

Great place, helpful folks, tackle for our local needs, and very generous with the minnows.read more

Absolutely beautiful and so much fun! We stayed for a few nights and I wish it was longer! We went…read morefishing (we just had to bring our own supplies!) kayaking, hiking around the property and enjoyed the fire pit!! This is seriously such an amazing place to escape from the hustle and bustle of life and the people running it are awesome and so sweet!

Really nice pond in the middle of town. It has a trail around the pond that connects up easily to…read morethe bike trail and to other wide sidewalks adjacent to the park. The pond is stocked with fish, so there's usually a few people out trying their luck at that, either along the shoreline or at the fishing pier. You'll see families, bicyclists, joggers, and walkers out around the area. There's parking along the street and also a lot at the north side to provide plenty of parking. There are some delicious restaurants that back right up to the park if you get hungry while you're there or if you need a walk after your meal.

This is my happy place in town. Every bicycle path leads to it. You see families, dogs, bikers ,…read moreand runners. It is all around just a Happy beautiful place in town.

Muscatine aquatic park - had a man try to intimidate me (female) in the pool yesterday 7/3/25…read more I was in the water, a younger kid jumped in beside me so I turned my face away because I had on prescription sunglasses on. A woman says "I don't know why you come to a pool and don't wanna get wet". To which I replied "since you're so concerned I moved my head so I wouldn't get splashed in the face". Her (assuming) Husband walks over to her and says "what's going on ?" The woman tells him something, and he then comes over to where I am (a good 30 feet away) and gets in my face yelling at me about "what the f*%! you say about my kid??" He was yelling so hard that his fake teeth flew out his mouth. I'm a 6 ft woman and I will not back down from a so called "man" who gets in my face. I backed up moved around and he was still in my face. I moved to the side of the pool to which he followed me and put his arm over mine and continued to yell. I wasn't quiet either, I was yelling telling him to get out of my face. He took a balled up fist and punched his other hand with it IN MY FACE, and flinched at me as if he was going to hit me. I pushed this man away from me and he fell back into the water. There wasn't a single person trying to help me out, no lifeguards blowing whistles or staff coming over. When they finally did, he went over to them and started talking..there were other women around upset because their kids were crying, telling him to stop (at this point I had got out of the poo). NOW people want to come over and talk and give their stories. I left the pool with my kids and called back to talk to the manager. Apparently he did nothing wrong, she said "oh we were looking for you to get your story". NO THANKS MUSCATINE AQUATIC CENTER! This man may like to intimidate women, but this one stood her ground! Muscatine Aquatic Center allows men to intimidate women in the pool..enter at your own risk!

The park has a pond, metal sculptures, that tells the parks past! A fantastic aquatic center for…read moreall ages! Picnic area, play area.! Shady also.!

Trail biked - I started at the east end in Bureau. The parking lot there has bathrooms and…read moretrashcans, and plenty of parking. I biked east to just north of I80 and back. Bike used - Specialized Sirrus hybrid. Bike style requirements - hybrid to mountain bike mostly. Fat tires will thrive back here. Road bikes will not survive many portions of this trail. I was leery to ride my hybrid in some sections near Tiskilwa because of the mid-sized gravel in spots. Other areas between I80 and Wyanet require grassy biking and non-descript trail riding. The trail composition varies between dirt and minced limestone mostly. There are some portions of asphalt, although those covered by limestone. Some areas are nicer than others. It's more favorable if the trail is mowed, as the trail rut can be swallowed by tall reeds of grass. There are area's where you're biking through short bursts of just grass. My hybrid held up like a champ, but there were spots where I was leery. This is a path where you'll need to keep both hands on the grips. The trail follows a series of water canals that serve as nice scenery. Every so often you'll come across a lock, which are numbered, giving you an idea of how many away you are from your starting point. Bridges span the locks every so often. A river also carves the trail in many areas, offering some nice views. As for wildlife, I spotted several turtles in canals and one trailside (almost accidentally biked over him). I also saw a pair of deer and a ton of colorful birds (red, yellow, blue, orange, black, white, gray, brown). The Orioles were a rare treat. A pair of eagles sat atop dead tree's west of Wyanet. Benches and amenities are seldom. Bridges span the lock areas which offer nice water drains to view and areas to sit on the edge for a break. During my two hour ride I saw a dozen other bikers, and this was on a 75 degree, cloudless Saturday in mid-June. Suffice it to say, there aren't many folks out here unless you count the occasional fisherman. Other nuances, the trail offers a nice split of shade and sun, but more on the sunny side. I saw one parking lot with trail signs in my stretch. Cheers.

The Hennepin Canal was constructed in 1892, the first boat went through in 1907, and the canal…read moreclosed to boat traffic in 1951. Today the Hennepin Canal serves as a state park. On travels between Wisconsin and central Illinois, we often stop and stretch our legs on the portion near Bureau Junction. There is a bench, restrooms (only open seasonally) and the sound of the water rushing under the bridge is relaxing. The trails have seen better days but are conducive to activities such as picnicking, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, and snowmobiling. People often fish in the canal as well.

When I was growing up my mom would always say, "Go outside and get the stink blown off you!"…read more Terry Trueblood Recreation Area is the perfect place to do that. The wide, paved loop around Sand Lake is 1.9 miles long and always has motivated joggers, leisurely walkers, families with strollers, bicycle enthusiasts and leashed four legged friends enjoying it. The lake is cool during the summer. You'll definitely see people fishing, canoeing or kayaking, a dog swimming and much more. (You can rent equipment at Fin &Feather H2O right then and there, on site.) Besides taking my family here to have 'the stink blown off them' we have also taken family photos at Terry Trueblood. They have really turned out fabulous with the water in the background. There is ample parking, a little play area for kids and a handful of shelters to enjoy lunch in, or have a party. There is also a lodge and while I have never rented it, I have friends who have and their events turned out great. Bring your family, your dog ... maybe your bike or your workout here and enjoy!

My husband and I got married at Terry Trueblood, the ceremony was on the outdoor patio overlooking…read morethe water and then the reception and everything else was inside. It was the most gorgeous venue, and the pictures turned out wonderfully! There were people at the park while our photos were being taken or canoeers while our ceremony was going on which could've been weird but we enjoyed that random people got to enjoy our day with us!