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    Vander Veer Botanical Park

    4.8 (12 reviews)

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    Birds pond
    John H.

    A small park. I visited the grounds and never went into the buildings. A pleasant stroll and great place to sit and watch the "duck pond." You can find a rose garden and a fountain with formal flower plantings. The perimeter has handsome historical homes.

    Ginger M.

    Van Der Meer botanical gardens are gorgeous especially in summer! So peaceful and pretty for a stroll indoors and out. Don't miss the beautiful tree lined stroll up to the fountain and maybe see a black squirrel or two (we did)! I liked all the "around the world" gardens, flora from China, Australia, and other regions. It was unique and lovely.

    Swings, nature statues, spinning disk
    Ariana G.

    Great park no matter what you're looking for. Duck pond with a walking trail loop, playground, large field, and a conservatory. There are 2 parking lots as well as street parking. The playground is brand new and great for young kids ( 2-5 yo) . There is a large fountain at one end that isn't meant for play but always has kids in it!

    Stone Fountain
    denise k.

    A really lovely oasis in the middle of the city. You can drive completely around the perimeter of the park, but you really should get out of you car to take the walkway down the center to enjoy the beautiful canopy of trees over cozy seating areas with benches and flowers. At one end of the walkway is the stone fountain, and at the other end there is a play area and a pond. A lovely place for a picnic.

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    Photo of Brittany S.
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    6 years ago

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    1 year ago

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

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    3 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Vander Veer Botanical Park

    Duck pond with a walking trail loop, playground, large field, and a conservatory.

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    Black Hawk State Historic Site

    Black Hawk State Historic Site

    4.7
    (7 reviews)
    5.5 mi

    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...

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    Rock River
    Rock River
    Pioneer Cemetery
    Pioneer Cemetery
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    Woods
    Sylvan Island

    Sylvan Island

    4.8
    (4 reviews)
    3.2 mi

    This was a nice place to take a break in my road trip! I was skeptical as I followed my navigation…read moreinto a rather industrial area-could there really be a park and an island there? And as promised, a little parking lot and a park sign popped up as I rounded the corner. There were a number of other cars parked in the lot, but there was ample parking. I walked along the river, and then crossed the bridge to the island. There's an display right as you enter the island, and it has information about the history of the area and the island as well as information about the wildlife present. There's also a map displaying the various trails. I did the factory trail, which takes you through the Republic Steel ruins. This connected with the Loading Dock trail, which I used to connect back to the bridge and leave the island. It was cool to see the ruins, however it is marred with graffiti. It would be a cool place for a photo op otherwise.

    We took the dogs here for a morning walk with family members. It's a very nice area, somewhat…read moretranquil through the trees. Nice scenic overlooks of the backwaters. We had to do a few laps on the perimeter trail to get our steps in, will likely weave through the different trails next time. There are a few areas with graffiti and one area with a lot of broken beer bottles. Someone always has to ruin a good thing. Several locals we talked to said they've never been. I recommend giving it a try.

    Photos
    Informational displays
    Informational displays
    Remains of the factory
    Remains of the factory
    Informational display

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    Informational display

    Vander Veer Botanical Park - parks - Updated August 2026

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