Enjoying the Outdoors in and Around Illinois

Looking to show your kids some deer or just enjoy a walk with nature all around?  This park is a wildlife photographer's dream! Get up and close with the wildlife at this park.  Deer around here are still a little skittish so you can't feed them or anything, but you can usually drive right up next to them and get some great pictures.  There is also a secluded picnic area with a nice playground here at the end of the road.  Enjoy! Official website with more details is http://www.cwlp.com/lake/lakeparks/wildlifesanctuary.html

Rochester Community Park or better know as the "Princess Park" to my kids is one of our favorite parks.  An enclosed wooden castle style jungle gym to go play on, picnic & shelter area, pond close by, and tons of open space to play, what more can you ask for?  If you have young kids, just go, you'll thank me! This park also has other community events frequently like a fireworks display (sparks in the park http://rochesteril.org/sparks-in-the-park ), small fairs, etc.  For more info, just visit http://rochesteril.org/ and look under community activities and events.

If you're looking for a simple, secluded, and beautiful place to hike and observe nature near Springfield, IL, this is an ideal spot.  Dirt paths crisscross this 434 acre park next to the Sangamon river, providing some really great views.  Sit down next to the river, and enjoy some peace and quiet.  I recently had a doe and two fawns walk by as I was sitting next to the river, and have run across dozens hiking off the trails, so sit long enough or walk far enough and you might get to see them or their friends.  The entrance to this park is just inside the entrance to the Rail Golf Course.   Pick and choose your hiking style, you can walk fairly easy flat paths, or venture off for some fairly rugged climbing up steep banks.  Not quite the mountains, but you can work up a pretty good sweat here if you want to go off the beaten path a little.  It is easy to hike for 5-10 miles here if you want to get off the beaten path, this runs into Gurgen's Park which is another 270 acres. 

If you haven't been to Tanner's Orchard located about half an hour just north of Peoria, you are missing out!  This place has it all for kids, and can quickly become an annual or semi-annual family tradition that can be counted on to be remembered for a lifetime.  So what's so special that people drive from all over to get here?  Read on. Corn Maze Have fun trying to find your way through this huge corn maze.  Give a map to your little pilot and watch them take off.  They often have multiple paths, ranging from one to two miles long, so you can get a great walk in while entertaining the youngsters. Playground This place has an awesome playground.  Unfortunately you have to pay to play, but it is well worth it.  There is enough here that the kids will play until you drag them out or they fall over from exhaustion (yes, they'll sleep well tonight!).  Big hills, tractors to pedal, miniature golf, a train and school bus to climb around in, swings, slides, tether bal

Centennial park in Springfield IL is a great spot during the summer and winter alike to get out and enjoy on a sunny day with the kids.  This is a relatively new park, so there is not a lot of shade here so it can get warm during the summer and you may want to take to the cover of somewhere like Washington Park.  When snow flies you cannot find a better sledding hill anywhere near Springfield!  During the warmer months, there is an awesome playground, tennis courts, biking paths, and even a skateboard park, and the park is not heavily used so you're usually not tripping over a lot of people.  See you there! http://www.springfieldparks.org/parks/centennial.asp

If you are looking for a peaceful place to let the kids play, look no farther than Colburn Park in Loami, IL located less than half an hour west of Springfield.  This peaceful spot is great for letting the younger kids run off some energy at the playground while you or the older kids kick back with a fishing pole at the lake across the parking lot.  This offers a unique opportunity for everyone to have fun. Playground The playground here is pretty basic, slides, tic tac toe, and monkey bars, but is plenty to keep the little ones entertained for quite some time. Picnic Area There is a nice picnic area next to the playground, perfect for an enjoyable lunch or supper without breaking the bank.   Fishing What would a park be without some great fishing?  Bass, bluegill, and channel cat all call this 10 acre lake home.  Best of all, you can drop in a line while keeping an eye on the playground!  Or if you don't have the kids, go for a hike around the backside of the