With classes starting soon, Labor Day is going to be your last chance to take advantage of this year’s perfect summer weather. The best way to enjoy the last days of warm weather is to spend them outdoors! Though central Illinois may not seem like the ideal place to do so, there are a number of beautiful natural parks not far from Champaign.
1. Kickapoo State Park
The first state park in the nation to be built on strip-mined land, Kickapoo State Park is a natural miracle. The land used to lack any natural vegetation and animals, but brought itself back to life, creating the park we see today. Now, Kickapoo’s 2,842 acres are home to vast forests of cottonwood, cypresses, and wild cherry, 22 clear deep-water ponds, and a wide variety of amphibians, fish, deer, and small mammals. This park is perfect for relaxing hikes, swimming, and even scuba diving! Only 30 minutes from campus!
2. Ferne Clyffe State Park
3 hours from campus is Ferne Clyffe State Park. It is appropriately filled with a number of fern species, as well as other unusual plants. But the main attractions are the park’s stunning waterfalls. Ferne Clyffe offers the ideal environment for nature lovers of all kinds. Whether you’d prefer to fish, hike, swim, partake in horseback riding, or rock climb, this park has it all.
3. Kankakee River State Park
A short 90 minute drive from campus will bring you to Kankakee River State Park. The park hugs 11 miles of the Kankakee river, making for a wonderful canoeing and kayaking destination. Though not the best for hiking, it’s perfect if a leisurely nature stroll is more up your alley. Kankakee River’s trails primarily consist of paved roads, making it great for amateur hikers.
4. Turkey Run State Park
Approximately an hour away, in Indiana, is Turkey Run State Park. Home to ravines and sandstone gorges, Turkey Run is one of the best locations to enjoy natural forests and an abundance of wildlife. Sugar Creek runs directly through the park and is one of Indiana’s most popular streams for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, and more. To top it off, the park covers an area of 2,382 acres, so you’ll have something new to see every day of your trip!
5. Shawnee National Forest
A lengthy three hour trip to southern Illinois would be well worth it to see Shawnee National Forest. It is home to incredible rock formations, called the Garden of the Gods, which are open to the public to view and climb. The boardwalk through the Heron Pond allows you to observe wildlife up close. The park also has a number of labyrinth-like trails between stone walls. At the end of one of these trails is a hidden spring, definitely worth a visit!