Beautifully cared for grounds with great view of the river. The Dutch history of Fulton is evident.read more

Fulton is not a big town. But it has the cutest fully operational windmill that they brought over…read morefrom the Netherlands. They even make their own flour - in several different varieties - which can be purchased in the gift shop. You can walk inside and tour the windmill. In the lower level they have some wooden shoes you can try on as well. When you walk up to the top, you have a beautiful view of the river. Entrance to the windmill is free, but they do accept donations. There were even some nice gentleman that told us all about the windmill. Across the street from the windmill there is a gift shop in the Windmill Cultural Center. I didn't buy any flour since I was traveling but I did buy the cutest blue and white ceramic windmill magnet (I collect magnets).

A truly beautiful hike filled with caves to explore! There are a total of nine caves, ranging in…read moresize from massive walk-through caverns to smaller, single-person passages. Two of the largest caves let you walk straight from one entrance to another, while one of the smaller ones requires squeezing through two tight openings before you can barely stand inside--definitely an adventure! The trails are not wheelchair accessible. The full hike took us about three hours at a steady pace. I'd recommend bringing a flashlight for exploring, though it's not absolutely necessary. Between the unique caves and the gorgeous trails, this park is a gem. I'll definitely be returning to Maquoketa Caves in the future!

Fun and interesting state park with plenty of caves to see...but wear good shoes for climbing and…read morewalking along steep paths and clothing that will probably get dirty (layers are best as the caves can get cold). Many of the caves have streams running through which are very cool but can also cause slips and falls... I'd also be careful of some of the off-the-beaten-track paths as one led us to some pretty steep cliffs. And again don't underestimate the slipperiness of even the regular paths... The gift shop is just a few tables set up outside of a shelter-type open building (I had to get my usual magnets) in the parking lot, and the visitors center is a separate building off of the main road (Caves Road) and 98. The visitors center has a few interesting displays and we watched a film about the history of the park, Well worth a visit, and especially recommend seeing the Dance Hall Caves....

Are you headed into Debuque? Need fishing spots? Need trails to the caves?…read moreThis is a great resource stop. There is all kinds of things going on here. Check out the monthly activities and hands on activities for the kids. We stopped for fishing info and got some great information from the gentleman working there. There is a great outside area for actions to walk around. This is just off the highway and full of good information. The bathrooms are super clean and there is a lot of animals on display in this building. Comes with a little gift shop that carries toys to wine from the local winery right up the hill. A must stop if you are not from around here.

What a wonderful place to visit! For so many reasons. Besides being free. A lot is offered here…read more There are exhibits which tells you about the natural environment in the area. My favorite is an enclosed bee hive with live bees. Awesome! I've been here at night to look at the stars. And I've walked the trail. Going past a pond and the prairie. Then I brought my lunch to eat at the picnic shelter. All very relaxing and therapeutic for me. Great for those with families. Easy to find. Right off Highway 61. I try to come here at least half a dozen times a year.

The National Park honoring the life of Herbert Hoover is inspiring and educational. The complex is…read morelarge and includes a Visitors Center, his original birthplace cottage, schoolhouse, blacksmith, gravesite, park and Presidential Library and Museum. We started our tour in the Visitor's Center. We were greeted by a friendly Park Ranger, who described the layout of the center. A twelve minute movie provides a nice overview of Hoover's life from boyhood to post presidential. The Center also has a room with interactive displays and artifacts. I confess that I didn't know much about Hoover prior to this visit. His story is memorable as he was raised Quaker, became orphaned at a young age, yet managed to attend Stanford University and become a successful geologist. Then, he became president and devoted his life to international outreach. What an inspirational story! Despite cold rain, we took the short walk to Hoover's boyhood cottage, the blacksmith shop where his father worked and the schoolhouse. Each stop was informative. Nice boardwalks connect all the buildings, which are wheel chair accessible. The museum was closed for major renovations and will reopen in 2026. The grave site (behind the museum) is peaceful, simple and lovely. There is nearby parking. The Park is easy on/off US 80. The site was free to visit (although donations are accepted). There were public restrooms in the Visitors Center. I encourage a visit if you like history. The Park is a great place to bring kids. Plan a couple hours.

Admittedly, I don't do much research before visiting an NPS site, as I would like to be educated by…read morethe informational displays present. If I have additional questions, I just look them up later. So, it was a huge surprise to me that this place was pretty sizable. Starting from the visitor's center, you can meander your way through the grounds containing the former president's house (and birth place), his school house, and his original Quaker church. There's also a blacksmithery which has demonstrations over the weekends. Finally, you can see his grave site. I unfortunately did not have time to visit the museum, but the NPS ranger had good things to say about it. There is also a small path to the prairie to give you a sense of what Hoover's family encountered before they farmed the land. Overall, this was a great visit!

Unfortunately when I visited the visitor's center was closed, but I still had a blast! There is a…read morelot that you can park in, and then travel down a path to a bunch of informational displays about the flood in 1993 that carved out this gorge, revealing all of the fossils. Then, you proceed down the path into a gorge, keeping an eye out for fossils. I saw a bunch of fossils on the bank to my right, before I even made it to the gorge. There were a few people scattered walking their dogs, although one group was actively looking to spot fossils and had the brochure from the Army Corps of Engineers about the different fossils present. All in all, this was a great spot to spend an hour walking around. I did see evidence that people have poached fossils from here, which is a shame. Look, but don't take!

Open area with lots to look at. I'm surprised they let people walk over these fossil imprints. Much…read moreof the rock is cracked and loose. Much of the area has numbers imbedded into the ground to help you find the things.

I've passed here a couple of times and thought it looked like more than I would expect. It was…read more It is very clean and a great bathroom stop too. There are racks of area brochures. A cute pond inside. There was a cool flight simulator, but either it wasn't working or I was the malfunction and couldn't figure it out. Nice stop for area information.

When you're traveling, a good source for information about the area in which you are traveling is…read morethe convention and visitors bureau. Over the years, I've run into some good some and some bad ones, this is a particularly good one. While most C&VB are loaded with local info, this one stands out for both having lots of good info but also for being a very new and attractive facility. The staff is knowledgeable and very friendly. Freeport is a very interesting area, there is a lot of history here beyond the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debate that was held here. The city also has its own carousel in Krape Park, which is identified here in the southwest corner of the showroom with a representative model and two carousel horses on display. The city of Lena, not far from Freeport, boasts a brick water tower, and a large model of the water tower is on display here. The C&VB is conveniently located on US 20, just east of town and just before the highway turns north to bypass the city. If you're westbound, you can quickly stop on your way into town. If you're eastbound, it's worth bypassing the city to visit here, then backtrack into town. Freeport has a lot to offer, the visitors bureau is a good place to learn about it all!