Belvidere, Illinois – Seeing America One Town At A Time »

This Image is of Main Street in Belvidere, IL

Since beginning our full-time journey to discover the country, we have found something to appreciate in every city and town we have passed through. We hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed discovering them!

No person, business or attraction has paid us for an endorsement.

Population: 24,932
Founded: 1835
Average income: $27,657
Average price of housing: $202,628
Median age of the population: 36
Website: https://www.ci.belvidere.il.us/

Geographically Belvidere is a small town located in the central northern border of Illinois. We also visited Poplar Grove, a small community outside of Belvidere.

Home Base: The Campground

For us, a campground is not our destination. Our RV is self-contained. Rarely do we use campground services or amenities. We are explorers, not campground reviewers! We stayed at the Pine Country RV and Camping Resort in Belvidere, Illinois. It is a Thousand Trails park with most sites reserved for members. There are a few transient sites. Our assigned site was #95. It was a 30 amp site. The site was level on packed dirt and grass. We asked to be moved to a 50 amp site. Staff was accommodating. We moved to site #18. It was a crushed stone site at a slight slant. To be level, our front passenger side tire was off the ground by a couple of inches. The campground was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly. Our back in site was wide enough to have the Jeep sit side to side with our RV and still be off the road. There was good cell phone coverage (Verizon) and a good open southern sky for our satellite.

Downtown

We are always drawn to quaint, unique downtown areas. Belvidere is a town known as the Illinois City of Murals. For four days in June 1997 over 300 “walldogs” (mural painters) painted 6,000 square feet of murals in Belvidere! Beautiful art work! There were few empty store fronts in downtown, but sadly many of the shops were not open when we were there (Saturday afternoon).

Food and Drink

Poplar Grove: We ate Mexican food at Arturo’s in Poplar Grove, a small community just north of Belvidere. The food was hot and fresh. Our burritos were so big we took half of it home and it made a full meal the next day!!! Small, locally owned is always the best!

Attractions

The murals were amazing in Belvidere. In total there were about 20 murals of all sizes and shapes. Just walking around town was a pleasure.

Image of Frank Lloyd Wright's Pettit Chapel in Belvidere, IL.

Belvidere: The architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed two buildings in Belvidere. One is the Pettit Chapel. It was built in 1899. The chapel is located in the center of a cemetery close to downtown Belvidere. It is open to the public and still used for services today. Wright also designed a private home in Rockford, about 20 minutes from Belvidere. It is called the Laurent House. You can drive by.

Belvidere: The Boone County State Fair was in town the weekend we were in Belvidere. It is a local tradition in the area. We didn’t go, but from the number of cars parked in the fields surrounding the fairgrounds, it seemed like it was well attended!

This airplane hanger is the Poplar Grove Wings and Wheels Museum just outside of Belvidere, IL

Poplar Grove: By far one of our best experiences traveling was meeting Betty, the volunteer at the Wings and Wheels Museum. She was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the artifacts in the museum. She was helpful but never intrusive. We learned more about early aviation from Betty than many books and museums we have been to in the past. The building was rescued from demolition in Wisconsin. It was brought to Poplar Grove and assembled on a large tract of land. There are both paved and grass landing areas for small and vintage planes. About the time the museum was being reconstructed and landing strips put in, a housing development was added. It sold out in 4 months to aviation enthusiasts. Many houses also have plane hangers and they can then taxi out to the strips and be airborne in minutes of leaving home!!

Fun Facts from the Wings and Wheels Museum

An image of a photograph and description of the first stewardess in 1930.

We had no idea the first stewardess was actually a nurse. In early aviation, the co-pilot would take care of the needs of the flying public. A nurse, who felt this would be a good job for her, brought up the idea that a nurse would be better able to take care of the public in the event of an emergency in the air, that the co-pilot should be with the pilot!

At the Wing and Wheels Museum outside of Belvidere, a 1905 Cadillac is on display with natural white rubber tires.

We never knew that rubber for tires is actually white. The black color is added, as well as other chemical additives for hardening. There is a 1905 Cadillac at the Wings and Wheels Museum with the original white rubber tires!

“Autocamping” has been around since 1910!!!! Who knew! As more people had cars, they would travel and pull over in their cars to spend the night. Prior to cars, people traveled by passenger rail. The car gave people the opportunity to chart their own course, not just where a rail would carry them.

Summary

We were only in Belvidere for a few nights. We didn’t get a chance to see everything we wanted to see, or explore everywhere on “our list”. It was an enjoyable visit. Also see our Easy How to Guide For Exploring

Your partners in travel,
Kathryn, Dave and Lucky
RVing Nomads

It’s a lifestyle

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If you haven’t checked out our Special Places & Recommendations page, please do so. If you are in these areas, you may find these places as enjoyable and rewarding as we did!