Fall Adventures in the Quad Cities
The fall season brings new colors to the trees as Mother Nature dips her paintbrush into the vibrant reds, golden yellows, and brilliant oranges for the Midwest. Spend a scenic weekend in the Quad Cities enjoying the beautiful colors along the Mississippi River. Find out when the peak color will be happening in the Quad Cities using the National Weather Service's Fall Color Update for Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.
A Quad Cities favorite, the Celebration Belle riverboat, offers a wide variety of Mississippi River cruises this fall. The Fall Foliage Cruise sets sail during September and October. Sit back and enjoy the big and bold Mississippi River for a four-hour cruise filled with beautiful fall scenery. You can choose from all-day cruises, two-day trips, and lunch cruises. Be sure to book your reservation now for any one of the amazing Mississippi River cruises that the Celebration Belle provides. For more information and to make reservations, contact 800-297-0034 or visit celebrationbelle.com.
The Riverboat Twilight also offers two-day cruises and a one and a half-hour sightseeing cruises through the end of October. The cruises depart from LeClaire, Iowa, and go to Dubuque during the two-day cruises. Passengers stay overnight in Dubuque at a hotel. The next morning, go to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium before returning back to picturesque town of LeClaire—home of the History Channel’s American Pickers. For more information and to make reservations, contact 800-331-1467 or visit riverboattwilight.com
The Mississippi River’s water trails are great for seasoned paddlers. For those looking for calmer currents, the Rock River is a fun alternative, too. The Sylvan Slough is a beautiful backwater of the Mississippi River in downtown Moline that’s removed from the main channel and great for all skill levels. Learn more about QC water trails here.
Land-based beauty
Enjoy the Mississippi River from a different point of view by riding a bike alongside it. Residents and visitors alike can pedal their way down the paved paths near the Mississippi River. The Quad Cities is a portion of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail, which spans 6,800 miles across the country. It's also part of the Great River Trail, covering more than 60 miles of Central and Northern Illinois. There are many other trails to choose from, like the 10.5-mile Duck Creek Trail in Iowa. Biking around the Quad Cities is a great way to become familiar with places to see and eat and drink in the area or just to see the scenery.
Watch a first-person perspective of biking in the Quad Cities here!
For off-trail adventure, the Quad Cities has many designated mountain bike trails maintained by the Friends of Off-Road Cycling. Sylvan Island in Rock Island, Illinois, is great for quick, easy rides. It is of moderate difficulty with few hills, but enough of a single track-type ride to keep it interesting. An 11-mile trail is in Scott County Park in Long Grove, Iowa, and it starts at Pride Lake. There are a couple different loops for riders to follow. Sunderbruch Park on Davenport’s west side has about seven miles of hiking and mountain biking trails from green to black diamond levels of difficulty. Illiniwek Park in Hampton, Illinois, is one of the newest of the FORC trail systems with the greatest elevation changes and greatest flowing corners in the area.
Slower-paced activities
At the Black Hawk State Historic Site there are four miles of hiking trails through the forest that you can explore anytime during daylight hours. See how one of our bloggers explored this ancient forest that was once home to the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes.
Scott County Park, with 1280 acres, is the largest in Scott County, Iowa. Scott County Park has twelve picnic areas and shelters with tables, grills and/or fireplaces accessible. It offers a baseball field, playground equipment, a radio-controlled airplane site, nature trails, an equestrian area and five unique camping areas, including cabins and some deluxe “glamping” cabins. You can also explore the Dan Nagle Walnut Grove Pioneer Village.
With more than 1,000 acres, Loud Thunder Forest Preserve in Rock Island County offers the visitor a variety of recreational activities including camping, equestrian and hiking trails, picnicking, boating, boat rentals, fishing, cross country skiing, or just enjoying the outdoors.
Get the best view in the house at the I-74 Bridge Glass Oculus. Use the pedestrian access points in Moline or Bettendorf to stand smack-dab in the middle of the Mississippi River and take in the beauty of both sides of the river.
Go for a drive to see the fall foliage
Driving on tree-lined highways along the river is a great way to see the million of different fall colors in Mother Nature’s palette. The Great River Road parallels the Mississippi River on the Illinois side and the Iowa side and winds its way through the Quad Cities on its way from Minnesota to Louisiana. Green and white pilot wheel highway markers show you the way along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway that showcases the dramatic landscape of the Mississippi River.
Visit the historic Iowa riverfront towns of LeClaire and Muscatine just outside the Quad Cities. On the bluffs of the Mississippi River, each town has breath-taking views overlooking the river and unique downtowns to explore.
Round out the weekend with a trip to a pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect jack-o-lantern and pick some apples to eat on the way home. Find our list of the perfect pumpkin patches in the Quad Cities.
All this makes autumn the perfect time to fall in love with the QC.