I was wondering if the Quad Cities (mainly Rock Island, IL) would be worth seeing. I know the towns are on the Mississippi River, but is it hilly and scenic, like a lot of river towns? I would be driving from Chicago, just going for a 1-night thing. Any suggestions?

Oh boy. After years reading this forum someone has actually asked about my childhood home. Rock Island...(birthplace of Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues, the Blues Brothers).
I can say with confidence that RI is most definitely not worth a detour. Old blue collar town which has been dying a slow death for 20+ years. Moline is not much better. Davenport and Bettendorf are a quarter of a rung up the ladder toward 1 on a scale of 10.
If you like casino boats, by all means stop in the QC's. If you want some really outstanding ice cream, stop into one of the many Whitey's shops.
That's about all that's newsworthy about the area IMO.
The prettier areas along the banks of the Mississippi are a bit removed from the QC's.

Thank you! All the travel brochures for Rock Island made it look so interesting. I appreciate your honesty!

No. Go to Galena instead.

There are actually travel brochures for Rock Island?
Certainly created by the same shrewd advertising folk who have pumped up tourism to the World's Largest Ball of Twine and the Sod Museum.
Dan's correct. Galena is very pretty. I was going to mention that earlier, but thought it might be a bit too far from I-80 if the QC's were your target.

Haven't been myself, but spouse travels there often for business (John Deere). I think his reply would be "no."

I live about 30 miles north of the Quad Cities. If you like the gambling boats it is worth the trip. otherwise I would go to Galena much prettier.Rock Island seems so dirty. Not much else to do. good Luck

Has RI been cleaned up any since 2001. Am planning trip in June. How is the location and area around the Sheraton in Rock Island? Trying to earn air miles by staying there. Is it worth it. Mainly going to John Deere Pavilion in Moline.. Thaks for any help..

The area around west of the Sheraton is the worst in the whole metro area. Sheraton only holds on to the property because there are gambling boats nearby, I suspect. Please do yourself a favor and avoid.

Galena is a great choice. If you're looking for gambling and a few intersting sites, you might try Dubuque. It is about 20 minutes from Galena. There are a few museums, the 4th street elevator, shops on Bluff St., and Eagle Point Park, which overlooks the lock and dam.

NO, don't go. I 2nd, (or 3rd) Galena.

We enjoyed touring the locks on the Mississippi River and a state park with nature trails---maybe Blackhawk.

Thank you so much for the replies. I will follow the advice and NOT stay there....

We drove to the Quad Cities for a one-nighter from St. Louis a few years back. I too thought Rock Island looked kind of interesting. Wrong! We were very bored and weren't too impressed with any of the Quad Cities. I personally wouldn't bother going.

Tracy

tcreath: The trip is for my brother coming in from Seattle. He wants to visit Moline and the John Deere place. Then I think we will take 61 down to St Louis. Is that how you traveled, or did you use interstate

I know a road warrior who has to attend meetings in the Quad Cities. According to him, hell would be a better place than the Quad Cities. The feeling might come from the fact it's near impossible to fly there and there's not much going on in the area (compared to other business destinations).

Because of this one very skewed view, I don't think you would enjoy the area for your vacation.

xaimimgr,

When we went from St. Louis we took
I-55 to I-155 to I-74 which drops you off in the Quad Cities, and took the same way back. Both 155 and 74 had very little traffic. It took about 4 hours, I believe, to get there. We actually live in Illinois about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis so 55 was closer for us. I have been on 61 but for some reason I didn't think it went all the way to the Quad Cities so some of the trip would probably be on state highways.

xaimimgr,

When we went from St. Louis we took
I-55 to I-155 to I-74 which drops you off in the Quad Cities, and took the same way back. Both 155 and 74 had very little traffic. It took about 4 hours, I believe, to get there. We actually live in Illinois about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis so 55 was closer for us. I have been on 61 but for some reason I didn't think it went all the way to the Quad Cities so some of the trip would probably be on state highways. I think it would be a safer bet to take 74 to 155 to 55, which is all interstate.

Hope that helps some!
Tracy

Thanks Tracy, but think we want to go thru Hannibal also. We're not spending much time in Moline. Just to the J D Pavilion. Then onto STL and Memphis, ATL, Nashville, and back to Indiana. Bro then back to Seattle.. We don't mind the state highways or back roads. Just sightseeing. gt;)

The best thing about the Quad Cities - their July 4th weekend blues festival. The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, held in the riverside park in Davenport, is one of the best in the country. We used to drive down from Minnesota every summer for it. Web site at: www.mvbs.org I think this year it includes Charles "Gatemouth" Brown and Charlie Musselwhite, just to name a couple. With three days worth of entertainment for only $30 its a great bargain - providing you are a hard core blues fan.