There is a Dam free 67 mile stretch on the lower Rock river, starting in Sterling and ending in Moline. Over the holiday weekend, I completed this paddle with a group. We found islands to camp on, and would paddle 21, 24, and 22 miles in 3 days. This was not a float trip.
We started in Sterling/Rock falls, just past the dam at Lawrence park. Our endpoint was Ben Williamson park in Moline, which is 2 miles upriver from the Mississippi. While we would have loved to have gone all the way to the end, there's a series of two dams in Moline, and we didn't want to push the trip to include an extra portage. Let alone on the final day after doing three 20-mile days in a row.
Water flow was solid, 1-2 mph at all times. This section did not have much bad wind, even though it is fairly open at this point. There are small towns along the way (like Prophetstown, Erie, and Cleveland that made for good water stops. There isn't much in the way of rock formations out this far.
Towards the end, as you come into the quad cities, does boat traffic pick up. In general, it was very quiet and remote. Overall, it was a great long weekend out on the water
We started in Sterling/Rock falls, just past the dam at Lawrence park. Our endpoint was Ben Williamson park in Moline, which is 2 miles upriver from the Mississippi. While we would have loved to have gone all the way to the end, there's a series of two dams in Moline, and we didn't want to push the trip to include an extra portage. Let alone on the final day after doing three 20-mile days in a row.
Water flow was solid, 1-2 mph at all times. This section did not have much bad wind, even though it is fairly open at this point. There are small towns along the way (like Prophetstown, Erie, and Cleveland that made for good water stops. There isn't much in the way of rock formations out this far.
Towards the end, as you come into the quad cities, does boat traffic pick up. In general, it was very quiet and remote. Overall, it was a great long weekend out on the water
RSS Feed
