My favorite place in the world. Breathtaking and beautiful! Full recharge place mentally.read more

This location has a beautiful scenic view of other states, bluffs and well manicured wide green…read moregrass walkways. Be sure to walk East from the main McKeague overlook (the one with with the Summer/Winter and true North/South markers), on the grassy path over to the next view of the Mississippi River and more flower, foliage and butterfly's.

Beautiful view of the Mississippi River. Lots of spaces for a picnic. Lovely tree lined drive into…read morepark. Beautiful wild flowers.

Our stay at the Bellevue State Park has been great (minus the gnats) ... many thanks to our…read morecampground hosts for an impeccably clean shower house and bathroom... very much appreciated! We will be back!

The first thing I will say is you cannot beat the price. $5 per night weekdays/$10 per night…read moreweekends. The second thing is I would think twice about staying here for any protracted period of time, nor would I recommend it to families. My point of view may be driven a bit by my staying here for ten days while I was between homes. In retrospect, I would have opted for the great motel I ended up in after those 10 days. The actual physical appearance of the park is OK, albeit a bit "wetland," or swampy. Bugs were bad, but I was there in early July, so that was expected. Otherwise staying over the July 4th weekend allowed me to enjoy (?) the cultural aspects of the place, which were a bit Dukes of Hazard meets Steven King meets William Faulkner. Lot's of noise, traffic, nosey non-campers, even in the wee hours, which is supposedly prohibited. Since the park is not monitored by any staff or rangers, it's a pretty laissez-faire, kind of park. And that would include theft. While away briefly from my tent, I had a number of camp supplies taken. I then understood why The big "Crime Stoppers" sign is posted at the entrance. (see pics.) Just hope your cell service works there while you're being accosted. The proximity to Monroe is a good thing, too, with no services available. By the way, bring your own firewood. While they are supposed to have it, they never did during my stay. The Americinn in Monroe allows you to use the pool/showers for $5.00. There is a good laundromat in the town center. And great restaurants with good food in the Monroe Square. So, camp here at your own risk, and if you do, lock up your valuables (even a small propane stove) and choose site numbers 16 or 19. Both have good views and are far from neighbors.

GREAT camp site not known to a lot of folks. It's volunteer run, and you pay on the honor system…read more Just pull up, fill out the small registration, put your money in the box, and away you go!!! Upsides........ 1. The place is usually empty. A group of 6 of us went and we had 3 big campsites, in a secluded area, all to ourselves! 2. The stars......OMG the stars. The last time we went you could just make out the Milky Way. 3. This is real camping without showers, with one exception, they DO have a port-o-potie close to the sites. Hands down, the 3 times we went, it was the cleanest, best smelling port-o-potie I have ever used. They always have a roll or two of TP stocked inside. When I say best smelling, I'm not joking. It smelled like perfume and flowers! And not like the "smells-like-perfume-and-flowers-to-cover-up-the-horrible-poop/pee-smell', it was extremely pleasant! 4. One night, a truck pulled up at our site. He volunteered for the campsite. He let us know a storm was coming in, and it would probably rain in the morning. He wanted to ensure we would prepared. We made precautions and put everything we had out in the car. Sure enough, it poured rain in the morning. He drove up with this truck to ensure we were OK. 5. They have a cute park with a pavilion area. They have jungle gyms and it's next to a lake/river. The benches are under the pavilion so you're protected from the elements and we often see big groups/families laughing, grilling, eating, and drinking. Downsides.... 1. No showers.....this doesn't concern me any, but I wanted to give fair warning to the people who need showers when they camp. 2. Shortage of fire wood. Next to a big shed on the campsite there is a sign for fire wood pick up. Again, on the honor system, people are suppose to pick up some wood, and place money in the box on the shed for it. I think people get a bit greedy with the wood as it's ALWAYS empty! We drove around looking for wood and came upon an Amish farm. The man that lived there sold us some wood. Note....there is a town approx 1/2 hour away that has a full equipped grocery store. Every time we go camping, we stop to get what we need for our trip. They typically even have fire wood for sale! AND BRING LOTS OF WATER. You will need water for cleaning, drinking, washing up, ect. If you love camping off the beaten path check out this campsite. It's awesome!

The trails are phenomenal. Especially the equestrian trails. Love going out and riding in the…read morewoods. Need to get out and start hiking with the dogs

This is a park directly across the river from central Galena. You can get there via bridge over the…read moreriver - or there's parking on the east side of the river. There's a hill from the main entrance on the east side of the river to get to the top - with great views of central Galena. This is such a nice park. There are paved walkways that take you through the park There are a number of benches with various views. There's a gazebo, a statue of Grant, historic cannons/howitzers, a water fountain, a playground for small kids, and a basketball court. Can be a good place to just relax or to stroll. To stroll the whole thing - while reading the signs - took 45 minutes.

This is a good-sized park that wears many hats. It has a gazebo, where I'm sure many a ceremonial…read moreevent has been held. There are basketball courts, so people of all ages can play. There's a playlot for little ones and their carers. A fountain is part of the landscaping and probably provides some meditative white noise for people just here to relax and be. There are also several historical monuments; after all, named after favorite son Ulysses Grant, you'd expect as much. I was a bit surprised that there are two cannons here... not what I was expecting! Probably not loaded, though. There is access to Main Street on the east side of the river by using the pedestrian bridge. The lettering on the side of the park with its name was destroyed a few years back, and a Boy Scout troop repaired it. That's really cool that the local troop worked with the community in this way.

Steve was an amazing guide. Knowledgable, helpful, a great morning of fishing with a handful of…read morekeepers. Was a great outing and definitely will recommend to anyone and will be going again soon. Thanks Steve.

Full disclosure: this is my brother-in-law's business, but when you first talk with Steve you will…read moreimmediately know he treats all his clients like family. We fished on the Mississippi River primarily for walleye because they are fun to catch and excellent to eat. Steve is a professional walleye tournament competitor and has a lifetime of fishing knowledge and experience he shares with his clients to make their fishing trip successful. His boat is a 19-foot Ranger that has every option available to successfully fish any technique required by the conditions. Steve knows where the fish are and what to use. And if the fish aren't biting he always has another method or another spot to try. Steve's entire focus is his clients catching fish and having a fun fishing experience. He makes sure each client's rod is fully rigged and continuously positions the boat to get bait in the right spot. On this day we caught several walleye, some big ones we couldn't keep because they were in the slot (20-27 inches), and enough keepers (15-20 inches) for an excellent fish dinner. Steve filets the fish in seconds once back on the dock and beautiful slabs of tasty meat are ready for cooking. Check out his website and give Steve a call for fishing experience you will want to do over and over.

The park is a little hard to find, but it is well worth it. It was well groomed and there were…read morethree distinct different Dog Park parks. One for large dogs one for small dogs and one for a special need dogs.

Wowzer! Best dog park award in the country! Well made dog park in Galena, IL. Fenced in. Includes 4…read moredifferent dog areas: a small dog park area, a big dog area, a special needs dog area for training or dogs like mine that do not play well with others, and a wild "natural" dog area that is completely fenced in. I recommend wearing good hiking shoes in this area, as you kinda have to forge your own path through the thick bush. I was able to do it in sandles but I wouldn't recommend that. My Beagles are hunters and love this kind of a park...and since I'm a wild child I probably would do it barefoot if i had to, since these dog areas are rare and always make my heart sing. Good quality doggie bags provided, some shade and a picnic table in each area. The water fountain is in the common entrance area of the three parks, so that was a little different, but it was thought out well and works fine. There's a porter potty for humans and a small parking lot. It's within a forested area and away from houses or traffic. I think it was built on $62,000 of donations and that in itself is pretty cool!

This is a superb tubing experience. My kiddos worked here back in the day and it was so fun to come…read moreback and experience a family tubing trip again.

If you don't think about how much cow poop is probably in this river, Pec Time Tubing is the…read moreabsolute best tubing experience in Wisconsin. For only $13, and about an hour's drive from Madison, you can spend an entire summer day in the sun on the water. When you check in, you are taken by bus to the river. The guide helps you tie your rafts together and sends you on your way. Bring your coolers, snacks, beverages, and some friends that you don't mind bring tied up with for 3+ hours. The current moves you along, and when the trip is done, your guide is there to take you back to the main site where you can change and clean up and head out on your way. The staff is so wonderfully helpful and accommodating. I'm not a super outdoorsy person, but I absolutely love this tubing experience.