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Sharing the Mississippi River, the Quad Cities encompasses cities and counties in both Iowa and Illinois, and comprises a vibrant community of 400,000 people. Davenport, population 98,359 (2000 census), is
the largest Iowa city on the Mississippi River, and the largest and most robust of the Quad Cities. Other features include:
Rich with productivity.
Exceptional capacity for change.
Educationally and culturally aware.
Alive with creativity and entrepreneurship.
Progressive medical and helping services.
Providing a secure, and whole life for its people.
Expansive religious and service organizations.
Responding to resident business and global partnership.
The Quad Cities in eastern Iowa and Western Illinois is an area steeped in a rich and colorful history. It housed a major Native American
settlement and trading center long before the French voyageurs explored its shores. An early military post later housed a prisoner of war camp for captured Southern soldiers and eventually grew into what is now the oldest and largest manufacturing Arsenal in the nation.
A jumping off point for western migration, the Quad Cities now is a dynamic retail and commercial center. Its early lumber industry evolved into manufacturing and assembly operations, Drawn by the Mississippi River, steamboat and railway companies helped to forge the area's position as one of the most vital transportation hubs in the United States. In addition, the Quad Cities, historically one of the most industrious places in the world, has used it is combined resources and talent to keep pace with the demands of a changing world. The Quad Cities have evolved into one of the most diverse, high-tech economies anywhere.
One of the strongest assets of the Quad Cities is its geographic location. Positioned on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River, the Quad Cities represents a three county area and more than 35 municipalities. The metropolitan area joins Iowa and Illinois at the junction of interstates 80, 88 and 74. Some 34 million people live within 300 miles of the Quad Cities, making it the largest 300-mile market between Chicago and California. It is also a U.S. Customs Port of Entry and Foreign Trade Zone. Located just 160 miles west of Chicago and 240 miles north of St. Louis, it is a strategic trade and distribution center in the Midwest.
The Quad Cities is proud of its high quality of life. Highlights include the world-famous midsummer Bix Biederbecke Jazz Festival and Bix 7 Race which sends 20,000 runners up Brady Street hill, the Quad City Symphony, riverboat gaming, a PGA Golf Tournament, an internationally acclaimed civic center, and a multi-purpose sports center. The Quad Cities is a cultural, sports and entertainment treasure. With its rich river cities history, the area is well endowed with fine museums, arts and fascinating landmarks.
Professional sports enthusiasts have the opportunity to support three local teams. Quad Cities River Bandits baseball, Quad City Steamwheelers arena football and Quad City Mallards hockey.
Housing costs in the area are also very competitive. The Quad Cities area was recently named the 21st most affordable housing market in the country, according to the National Association of Homebuilders.
Reasonably priced housing in friendly, low crime neighborhoods, best in the nation schools, quality health care, and a wide variety of cultural, entertainment, sports and recreational attractions combine to make the Quad Cities a great place to live and work.
The Quad Cities offers a range of quality sites and buildings for commercial and industrial users. Its local governments and the two states are "business friendly" and offer aggressive relocation assistance programs for companies seeking to expand or relocate to the Quad Cities.
Golf
The Quad Cities is on of the few communities that can boast a major stop on the professional golfers' tour. For a week in July some of the most recognized names in professional golf play for a share of a more than million purse at the John Deere Classic PGA Tour. The pros often say one of the reasons they like to visit the rolling, tree-studded fairways of the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill is the warmth and friendliness of the tens of thousands of Quad City spectators. The Quad Cities offers outstanding golf opportunities at very affordable rates.
Many Quad City motels report groups of visitors coming to the Quad Cities strictly for "weekend golf getaways", sometimes playing as many as four or five different courses in two days! The Quad Cities has 20 public golf courses covering a wide range of golfing experiences: from easy (translate that as flat) "executive" nine-hole courses to more challenging courses.
Biking
The Quad Cities offer the nearly 50 miles of beautifully scenic, off-street bike trails. In fact, there are five major bike / walk / jog / rollerblade trails in the area:
The park-like Duck Creek Parkway meanders roughly west to east for just over 13 miles alongside its name sake through Davenport and Bettendorf. Along the way there are dozens of wonderful spots to pause for a picnic or to just relax and listen to the creek gurgle across a rocky shoal.
The Great River Trail (Iowa) begins at Credit Island in west Davenport and connects up with the Bettendorf riverfront trail where you're almost never out of sight of the river. The ten miles of the Great River Trail (Illinois) is part of a more than 60 mile trail that follow the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities to Mississippi Palisades State Park, north of Savanna, Ill.
The Rock Island Arsenal Bike Trail is "only" four miles long from end to end, but there are so many things to see and do along the trail you could spend half
day seeing all, like the Mississippi River Visitors Center, the restored home of Col. George Davenport, the Rock Island Arsenal Museum, the beautiful Rock Island Arsenal Golf Course and the Rock Island National Cemetery and Confederate Cemetery.
The Quad Cities section of the Hennepin Canal Parkway is part of a unique 70-plus mile greenway from the Quad Cities to LaSalle-Peru, Ill., that is owned by the State of Illinois. A five mile paved portion of the parkway crosses south Rock Island and Milan. All of the bike trails are equally popular with walkers, joggers and rollerbladers.
Hiking / Camping
There are several excellent opportunities near the Quad Cities for hiking and camping. Scott County Park, in north Scott County, and Loud Thunder Forest Preserve in western Rock Island County, each offer 1,000 acres plus of wooded solitude. Both parks offer camping, picnicking, equestrian and hiking trails. Scott County Park has an Olympic size pool and nearby Walnut Grove Pioneer Village and Glynn's Creek championship golf course. Loud Thunder has a fishing lake and the nearby Mississippi River.
Camping along the Mississippi River is also offered at Buffalo Shores Recreation Area on Iowa Route 22 near Buffalo, Iowa and at Illiniwek Forest Preserve along Illinois Route 84 at Hampton, Illinois. West Lake Park at Blue Grass, Iowa also offers a full array of recreation opportunities. Johnson Sauk Trail State Park, four miles south of Annawan on Interstate 80, offers plenty of space to relax. Trails wind through 400 acres where camping, boating, fishing, picnicking and hiking are featured.
The Rock Island District of the Corps of Engineers maintains campgrounds at Fisherman's Corner near Hampton, Illinois; Andalusia Slough along Illinois Route 92 west of Andalusia, Illinois; and Clark's Ferry and Shady Creek southwest of Davenport on Iowa Route 22. Interstate RV Park, (888-387-6573), accepts reservations and is close to all Quad City attractions. Located just off Interstate 80 at the Northwest Blvd, exit at Davenport. The park features hot showers, store, laundry, snack bar, arcade room, two swimming pools, tent sites, playground, volleyball, horseshoes and more.
Skiing
The outdoor fun doesn't stop just because it's cold. From early December through early March, Snowstar Ski Area (800-383-4002), in western Rock Island County near Andalusia, offers plenty of downhill excitement! Snowstar has two quad-lifts, night skiing lights and 13 trails, ranging from beginner to advanced, with 100% snowmaking coverage.
For even more local information, here's a
2007-2008 Fact
Sheet provided by the Quad City Development Group.
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