Things To Do In White Plains

 National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium: Bringing to life the history, culture and ecosystems of the Mississippi, this attraction on the waterfront in Dubuque combines a history museum, science center and a state-of-the-art aquarium. There are so many facets to the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium that half a day could breeze by in no time. You can learn about riverboats on the great river, visit an historic train depot, step aboard a preserved steamboat, discover the natural diversity of the Gulf of Mexico, touch the back of a stingray or be dazzled by a 4D presentation. You can also see the Mississippi live from space, learn about the story of the river as a waterway, see river otters up close, gauge the astonishing extent of the Mississippi’s watershed and find out about the importance of the river to Native American culture.

Mines of Spain Recreation Area: You can trace the very beginnings of the state of Iowa at this 1,400-acre state park, south of Dubuque. Mines of Spain Recreation Area is on the rugged and lofty patch of land, once owned by New Spain, where the Quebecois explorer Julien Dubuque (1762-1810) was granted the right to mine for lead in the 1780s. Dubuque forged close ties with the Meskwaki tribe, who had arrived in the area a few years before and who honored him in death. Today the landscape is littered with the sites of former trading posts and villages, as well as rock shelters that have stood the test of time. There are more than 15 miles of trails at the state park, leading up to vantage points posted atop the limestone bluffs. High above the Mississippi there’s a solemn monument for Dubuque, which we’ll talk about a little later.

Dubuque Arboretum and Botanical Gardens: Out on Dubuque’s northwestern outskirts is a breathtaking set of gardens, growing more than 13,000 individual plants from around 700 varieties. This attraction is on 50 expertly landscaped acres, and is staffed by a small army of volunteers, making it the largest volunteer-run botanical garden in the country. You can visit year round to admire a mosaic of different spaces, including a Japanese garden, an acclaimed hosta garden, English knot garden, formal rose garden and Children’s flower and vegetable garden, to name a handful. The best time to come is of course spring and summer, when there are concerts on Sunday evenings.

Fenelon Place Elevator Company: A wonderful piece of late 19th-century heritage in Dubuque is this narrow-gauge funicular railway, helping people up the slope at the end of 4th Street since 1893. This is in fact the second funicular on the site, and the current Fenelon Place Elevator replaced an earlier funicular in 1882. Measuring 296 feet long, with a vertical difference of 189 feet, the railway is partly powered by counterbalance, with both cars starting at opposite ends of the track. There are services 8am to 10pm, April through November, and you can take in sweeping vistas of downtown Dubuque and the Mississippi at the top.

Eagle Point Park: Undoubtedly one of the most spectacular public parks in the Midwest can be found in the northeast of Dubuque. On just over 160 acres, Eagle Point Park rests mostly on a bluff high above the Mississippi and Lock and Dam No. 11, first opened in the 1930s. At this height you can see for miles across parts of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The park was created in the early 1910s and was served by the Union Electric Company streetcar. Today, a multi-use trail follows the route of the old streetcar line, from Shiras Avenue. The 1930s brought a series of lasting WPA (Works Progress Administration) projects in the Prairie Style made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright.