ATTRACTIONS
Amusements
Backwater Gamblers Water Ski Shows
5000 44th Street • Rock Island, IL 61201
One of the top rated ski clubs in show competition, the Backwater Gamblers provide quality water ski entertainment to the Quad City area. more... mapWhitewater Junction
1601 Longview Drive • Rock Island, IL 61201
309-732-7946
Fun for the whole family can be found at Whitewater Junction, a zero-depth to 9 feet deep pool featuring a body slide, tube slide, two drop-slides, and a water playground with tumble buckets, water geysers, a tot tea-cup, and a tot slide. Along with all the water fun provided, Whitewater Junction also includes a large concession area with tables and giant shade umbrellas. The facility is also available for private parties. more... map
Casinos
Jumer's Casino Rock Island
777 Jumer Drive • Rock Island, IL 61204
309-756-4600
Enjoy world-class hospitality, elegant surroundings, and all the excitement of casino gaming at Jumer's Casino, overlooking the Mississippi River. There are five floors of fun on two permanently docked riverside structures, including over 700 of the newest and best slot games, and your favorite table games. more... map
Historic Homes & Buildings
Colonel Davenport House (circa 1833)
Located on the north side of Arsenal Island
309-786-7336
This federal-style house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the oldest home in the Quad Cities. The structure was restored in 1907 and again in 1988 and is filled with artifacts from the mid nineteenth century. The home is open to the public from May through October, while tours during the remainder of the year are by appointment only. more... map
Historic Sites & Monuments
Black Hawk State Historic Site
1510 46th Avenue • Rock Island, IL 61201
309-788-0177
This wooded, steeply rolling 208-acre tract, which borders the Rock River, was home to Prehistoric Indians, nineteenth-century settlers, and the Sauk nation whose warrior-leader's name it bears. Open year-round the site features restrooms; three picnic areas with shade, tables, water and stoves; three shelter houses with fireplaces; a playground; four miles of marked hiking trails; the Hauberg Indian Museum, Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, and Singing Bird Nature Center. map
Museums & Galleries
Augustana's Fryxell Geology Museum
Located at Augustana College
309-794-7318
One of the largest and finest collections of rocks, minerals and fossils in the Midwest can be found in Swenson Hall of Geosciences. The museum boasts over 2,000 rock, mineral and fossil specimens including a complete skeleton of a Tylosaurus "sea serpent", skulls of Parasaurolophus, Ankylosaurus, Apatosaurus, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex and a 2 billion year old fossil! Of particular interest is the display of the complete 22-foot long skeleton of Cryolophosaurus, a large crested carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Antarctica in 1991 by Augustana paleontologist Dr. William Hammer. The museum is open to the public, free of charge, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, and on weekend afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the academic school year. Summer hours are limited. more... mapCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum
1510 46th Avenue • Rock Island, IL 61201
Located at Blackhawk State Historic Site
309-788-0177
This museum which opened in October of 1999, is dedicated to the Depression-era government work program which employed 225,000 World War I veterans. From 1933 to 1935 two hundred men set up camp at Black Hawk, and over eighteen months built six miles of hiking trails, trail structures, parking lots and two picnic shelters; planted thousands of trees and wildflowers; and constructed two-thirds of the present-day lodge. They were given clothing, room, board and a dollar a day. The museum has excellent pictures of the hard work put into the park and lodge. Many show the progress made and the CCC camp conditions. The museum is open seven day a week. more... mapHauberg Indian Museum
1510 46th Avenue • Rock Island, IL 61201
Located at the Blackhawk State Historic Site
309-788-9536
Constructed in 1934 at the Blackhawk State Historic Site by the Civilian Conservation Corps, this museum depicts the daily life of the Sauk Indians from 1750 to 1830, with seasonal dioramas. Sauk and Fox Indian artifacts including jewelry, weapons, and domestic items are also displayed. Admission to both the park and the museum is free. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m, seven days a week. more... mapRock Island Arsenal Museum
Building 60 Rock Island Arsenal • Rock Island, IL 61201
Located on Rock Island Arsenal Island
309-782-5021
Established on July 4, 1905, this museum preserves and displays the history of Rock Island Arsenal and Arsenal Island, as well as the history of small arms development. It is the second oldest US Army Museum in the United States. Rock Island Arsenal was established by Act of Congress in 1862 and has been an active manufacturer of military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s including leather horse equipment, meat cans and canteens, paper targets, artillery recoil mechanisms and carriages, and the Model 1903 rifle. Arsenal Island was also the site of a Confederate prison camp, which was operational from December 1863 to July 1865 and housed 12,192 prisoners. more... map
Parks, Gardens & Zoos
LongView Conservatory and Gardens
1300 17th Street • Rock Island, IL 61201
309-786-0443
This park offers a conservatory, greenhouse, flower gardens, playground equipment, picnic shelter, volleyball, outdoor ice-skating, tennis courts, walking path and 39 acres of green space. It also features one of the best Disc Golf Courses in the Quad Cities, with 18 holes beginning at the top of the hill, and meandering throughout the park, with demanding 3, 4 and 5 par holes. more... mapQuad City Botanical Center, The
2525 Fourth Avenue • Rock Island, IL 61201
309-794-0991
You will be enchanted by the exotic tropical flowers, 14-foot waterfall, reflecting pools, and outdoor gardens which feature a magnificent conifer collection, thousands of spring bulbs, colorful, rare perennials and annuals. The Quad City Botanical Center offers Garden festivals, a gift shop, art shows, guided group tours with reservations, banquet rooms, and ample parking. Perfect for meetings, receptions, and other special events, the facility provides a 220 seat banquet room, catering, set-up, clean-up and audio visual equipment. more... map
Science & Technology
Lock & Dam 15
Located on Arsenal Island
For an up close and impressive look at the mighty Mississippi River, Lock & Dam 15 is the place to go. This lock and dam is 15th in a chain of 27 lock & dams that start in St. Paul, Minnesota and end in Granite City, Illinois. Visitors can witness river traffic move through the lock, or just sit back and enjoy the beautiful scenery. There is a visitor’s center at the west end of Arsenal Island that contains exhibits about the river and the US Army Corps of Engineers. map
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