What a beautiful park!…read more During a quick trip to Iowa we kept our activities limited to outdoor activities and carry out eats. I pulled up the Yelp app to find a park to explore and voila, there was Vander Veer Botanical Park. It was a toasty 93 degree day so we were quickly drawn to the plentiful shaded spaces found throughout this large park. In addition to a botanical garden (which we didn't visit specifically), they also have a rose garden, small pond with a fountain, long shaded promenade, and plentiful paved paths for walking. We strolled through the rose garden and then were naturally drawn to the long shaded walkway that leads up to a large and entertaining fountain at the end. This park has so many lovely uses for varying audiences and interests. Highly recommend giving it a visit if you find yourself in the Quad Cities!

It the most fun me and my kid add I love how handicap accessible it was in the summerread more

Wonderful educational experience! It is lovely here and the kids loved it! The staff was extremely…read moreknowledgeable about EVERYTHING!

We came here from metro Minneapolis to watch a game. We were here in 2022, but the team was out of…read moretown. The ball park is unique as it sits on the banks of the Mississippi River. On one side is a bridge and another side, an amusement park with Ferris wheel and merry go round. I walked around a lot. The layout is graded up high, as you had to walk 20 steps up to it. The reason 4/5 stars is lack of good concessions. A couple of places such as a Mexican grill weren't open. The line for this one grill was insanely long the whole night. The Whiteys ice-cream did not have malt cups, supposedly sold out the night before. Piss poor planning for a crowd. I settled for Cheesesteak nachos without onions and peppers in a helmet. Also shared a chip witch or chocolate chip cookie with ice-cream between it. The stadium was really iconic and cool. The Ferris wheel lit up at night. Just work on better concessions with product and have more open. Review 94 in 2023.

One of the best locations in the QC to host a wedding…read more Event management, view, price. I definitely suggest this location. It made first looks, parking, and catering extremely easy.

Great park and historical site in Rock Island that's an important part of Native American culture…read more If you want to know more, come here and check out the museum about it. Black Hawk State Historic Site is located on the former location of an amusement park, that's no lie. Lodge has a museum about the famous warrior and the village that was here. The rest of the park has other feature such as trails. Black Hawk was a famous chief. In the 1800s the Sauk tribe was living here. They were later forced to move west. Soon this area became an amusement park. The railroad was used to bring people here, and when cars got popular, the park didn't have as many visitors. It soon closed. Then the Civilian Conservation Corps build the lodge and made the area a park. All this can be learned by visiting the museum. This is located in the lodge, and you can watch a video about the history of all this. Also there's trails for hiking. One overlooks the Rock River. Elsewhere in the park is the site of an 1886 coal mine. There's also a pioneer cemetery with a few old tombstones. Also there's lots of deer. The last time here we came across a bunch in the woods just standing around and eating leaves. Cool place as far as this area goes. It's got a lot of history to it. The museum in the lodge is helpful for learning about whatever.

I spent three days in Moline for a business function at the iWireless center. I needed a break so I…read morefound this park on Yelp. Moline is rather compact so this is a about 15 minutes from the downtown area. The park is named for Black Hawk, the leader of the Sauk people who built a rather sophisticated culture in the Mississippi basin area. The draws are the native peoples museum and the surrounding park with hiking trails. I visited the museum and walked down to the banks of the Rock RIver. The musuem has about five or six dioramas which give you a pretty good idea of everyday life for the Sauk people of the area. As I walked the path straddling the river I couldn't help thinking that this path was in everyday use hundreds of years ago.. From my visit I learned: * the native peoples in the area had a rich culture * it wasn't exactly a picnic living in the path of Europeans as they moved westward (google Black Hawk War) * my knees aren't what they were as I made it down the steep path to the river. Here is the lowdown from the website: Pause a moment and picture a forest in the middle of the city -- an urban paradise... Hiking trails that wind deep into the woods, up rugged hills and along the banks of a gentle river, remote spots where nature wraps around you...the songs of birds...scampering squirrels...oaks that were here when the first pioneers came... Picnic shelters with stone fireplaces, a museum of Native American life, a nature center where children can learn the values of the natural world, playgrounds, a rustic lodge that a duke would envy...

This place is very fun to bring the family.You can rent a kayak and much more.Maybe even come here…read morewith friends.Who knew to get a Bosch stick and pepperoni pizza would take 20 minutesThe water is too cold and they need to get a heater.The service isn't good at all.The concessions had 7 people in there but 5 of them were just sitting around.

Outstanding county park. Very well maintained. Safe. With a nice play area for the…read moregrandchildren. Perfect.