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Rockford [1] is a city in Winnebago County in Northern Illinois. With a population of over 150,000 it is the third largest city in the state.
Rockford International Airport (IATA: RFD) [2] is served by Allegiant Air [3] with service to four destinations.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (IATA: ORD) [4] is the nearest full-service airport and is directly connected to Rockford by Interstate 90.
Dane County Regional Airport (IATA: MSN) [5], in Madison, Wisconsin, is about an hour and 20 minutes north of Rockford in Interstate 39/90 and is served by six airlines.
Rockford is located at the intersection of US Route 20 and Interstates 90 and 39, just 95 miles east of Dubuque, Iowa, 20 miles south of the Wisconsin border, 60 miles west of Chicago O'Hare International Airport, and 130 miles north of Bloomington.
Rockford is relatively easy to navigate by car and has little traffic congestion compared to other larger cities. Taxicab services are also available.
The three most important roads in Rockford are State Street, which runs from east to west as part of US Highway 20; Main Street, which runs south from downtown to the airport as part of Illinois State Route 2; and Second Street, which runs north from downtown to the Wisconsin border as part of Illinois State Route 251.
The Rockford Mass Transit District [6] offers bus service in Rockford, Loves Park and Machesney Park.
When traveling in the Rockford Region, you will see the rolling hills of Northern Illinois, the Rock River and many trees and forests (Rockford is known as The Forest City). Although Rockford has the population of a larger city, it has a small-town feel.
There are many original restaurants, sites, attractions and events that can only be found in Rockford.
The Riverfront Museum Park houses three distinct museums: The Burpee Museum of Natural History, home to Jane, the world's most complete juvenile T. rex skeleton; the Discovery Center Children's Museum, ranked fourth in the nation by Child magazine; and Rockford Art Museum, the largest art museum outside of Chicago. Other museums in the area include: Midway Village and Museum Center, Tinker Swiss Cottage, Historic Auto Attractions, Erlander Home Museum and Ethnic Heritage Museum. During the summer, Magic Waters Waterpark, operated by the Rockford Park District, offers families a fun way to cool down in the summer heat.
The Coronado Performing Arts Center is a historic "atmospheric" style theatre that was built in 1927 and fully restored in 2001. The Coronado offers a full season of Broadway shows, concerts and other performances. The MetroCentre, Rockford's downtown 10,000-seat arena, is home to music, athletic and exposition events. In the summer months, Starlight Theatre on the campus of Rock Valley College features classical and contemporary musical productions. The theatre has a unique mechanical roof that opens out like a blooming flower on clear nights. Rockford also has a symphony orchestra, dance company and several theatre companies.
Anderson Japanese Gardens is open May through October and was rated the finest Japanese Garden in North America, according to the Roth Journal. Rock Cut State Park is one of the largest state parks in Illinois and features camping, hiking, biking, birding, fishing, horseback riding and kayaking. Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden has over 500 different species of trees, shrubs and vines. Rockford also has a large variety of low-cost public and private golf courses. In the fall and winter, locals and visitors enjoy many apple orchards and Christmas tree farms.
Rockford hosts an annual rock concert during Memorial Day weekend called Wing Ding. Notable bands such as Buckcherry, Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, P.O.D, and Drowning Pool have performed at this concert. The concert is held by WXRX 104.9FM.
Every Labor Day weekend, Rockford hosts On the Waterfront, Illinois' largest outdoor music festival, featuring local, regional and national acts on eight different stages. The second weekend of October brings rowers from around the country for the Baird Head of the Rock Regatta, a premiere national rowing competition.
JMK Nippon has decently high quality, reasonably priced sushi. The teppan-yaki is much better than that of such chain restaurants as Benihana, and they even offer traditional Japanese dishes such as sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. This is a must-eat restaurant if business or pleasure brings you to Rockford. The owner Mas, while shy, is very friendly, as is his son John.
Go to the Potato Shak in near-by Loves Park, IL, for cheap, cheap, cheap breakfast and lunch options. Breakfast is simple to order: choose option A, B, or C. It'll only run you a couple bucks. And the best bus-boy in the city -Ace- will give you some friendly conversation.
| Routes through Rockford |
| Madison ← Janesville ← | W  E |
→ Elgin → Chicago |
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ROCKFORD, a city and the county seat of Winnebago county, Illinois, U.S.A., on the Rock river, in the northern part of the state, about 85 m. N.W. of Chicago. Pop. (1890) 23,584; (1900) 31,051, of whom 9337 were foreign-born (6690 Swedes); (1910 census) 45,401. Area, 8.91 sq. M. It is served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Chicago & North-Western, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul, the Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary ("Rockford Route") and the Illinois Central railways, and is connected by interurban electric railway with Chicago and Freeport, Illinois, and Janesville, Wisconsin. The city has a Memorial Hall, erected in honour of the soldiers and sailors of Winnebago county, and in charge of the Grand Army of the Republic; a soldiers' memorial fountain; a Carnegie library, containing 51,340 volumes in 1909; and the Velie Museum of natural history. Rockford College (non-sectarian), for the higher education of women, is ranked by the United States Commissioner of Education as one of fifteen women's colleges of the highest grade in the country; it was opened in 1849 as Rockford Seminary, and was named Rockford College in 1892. In 1908-9 it had 196 students. Rockford is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop. In and near the city there are two hospitals and three sanatoriums. Manufacturing is facilitated by good water-power, supplied by a dam across the Rock river about 800 ft. long, constructed in 1844. Among the manufactures are furniture, hosiery and knit goods, agricultural implements, foundry and machine-shop products, saddlery and harness, &c. The total value of all factory products in r905 was $15,276,129. (38.6% more than in 1900). The municipality owns and operates its waterworks; the water supply is obtained from artesian wells. Rockford was first settled in 1834, and was chartered as a city in 1852. More than one-fourth of its area has been annexed to the city since 1889.
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