The Constitution Trail is a long trail winding its way through Bloomington, Illinois. This a great…read morearea for walking and riding your bike to enjoy nature. At the west end of the trail is a Japanese garden. This is a great spot to stop and enjoy a peaceful moment. There is parking in a nearby neighborhood. My husband and I enjoyed our time there and recommend the Constitution Trail.

Very peaceful place for a morning walk in the middle of Bloomington-Normal. Very nice tree lined…read moretrail.

To hike or not to hike, that is the question…read more A friend of mine had told that he enjoys going on hikes out at Robinson Park. Having never heard of this place, I decided to look it up. Much to my surprise, it was no more than 5 minutes from my job. We talked about going after work some day (we work similar hours) but decided to drop in on a Saturday so we could hike without worrying about the sun setting. I've never been out in the area but found parking to be something that fast approaches as it is off a busy road. There seemed to be a few different spots to park on one side of the road and an extension of the main lot on the other side. Jacob and I parked in the main lot and I told him to lead the way since this was his hiking territory. Once we got hiking and came upon the first map post, Jacob pointed out the trail we would be traversing, about how long it is and what challenges we will encounter. As we climbed up and down hills and crossed some bridges, Jacob would point out trees and what defects and diseases they have as he is an arborist. It was really cool to learn a lot about trees while getting lost in nature. In-between all that, we would chat about life and he would tell me about his previous hikes out here. Once we got to the end of the trail (which ended up at Camp Wakonda) and took a small breather, we headed back but taking a longer route to swing by one of Jacob's favorite spots. It's hard to capture nature's beauty in a simple photograph. This spot had a bench to sit on that lets you look out over the forest canopy, taking in the view and listen to the wind. I can see why he likes to stop here on each of his hikes. After our break, we wrapped up the hike and went our separate ways. I expected it to be a decently easy hike since I ride my bicycle 16 miles 2-3 times a week but the trail Jacob took us on really put us through our paces. There were a few steep hills that got the quad and calves burning like no other. The main park also continues on the other side of the road and that path, according to Jacob, can lead to Detweiller Park. We did about 5 miles in 2 hours and if we both didn't have stuff to do, I would've asked if he wanted to check out the other side for a half mile or so. I'm not sure if the other paths are easier but if you are looking for a challenging hike, Robinson Park is your place to be. I'm excited to come back out and try the full hikes on each side of the park.

Review Visit: March 7th, 2012…read more After a whirlwind trip in Florida, I came back to Illinois and kept up the traveling. You could say traveling is my... forte. My friend Tim and I decided to check out what Fort Creve Coeur had to offer. Never having been in the area, I parked in a seemingly random parking lot that had a walk up point to a trail. I remember there being a small monument or plinth with an inscription on it. Referring to my photos, there was also a rock with an inscription dedicated to the fort. After we spent a few minutes reading the inscriptions and surveying the area, we hit the hiking trail. What a trail it was. The trail was a lot harder than I expected due to the constant elevation changes. It was a winding and roller coaster hike. After thinking we were about to get lost, we emerged to a clearing that lead to the fort itself. The fort was closed to public access. We could only observe the inside by looking through the spacing the logs provided on the front door. The interior of the fort seemed to represent the time period perfectly; that time period being in the ballpark of 1680. Looking in to the history of the fort, it seems to have been destroyed shortly after being constructed. You can read about it below via the Wikipedia link. Following and looking in to the Facebook and website page, it seems like they host some events. I haven't had the time to attend one, but they sound fun. If the rain ever stops, I would like to revisit during a time they are open and see the inside of the fort. Once I get to do that, I will update this post with some photos from the interior. Funny story... once we got done exploring the fort and the surrounding area, we realized that there was a parking lot next to the fort. We laughed at that fact since we spent a solid chunk of time hiking up to the fort. So, do yourself a favor if you aren't a fan of hiking and locate the nearby parking lot.

Fort Creve Coeur, in Creve Coeur, Illinois, is a historical re-creation of the winter, 1680,…read morequarters of the French explorer LaSalle, who went on from this site to explore the Mississippi River and who was eventually shot by his own crew in what is now Texas. The park and re-creation are probably near to the actual fort site. The re-creation itself will be of interest not only to history buffs, but also to civil and military engineers. There is a small museum/gift shop that offers some background about the town of Creve Coeur and the surrounding area, as well as a bit on LaSalle and his expedition. More about the expedition itself and their time in the Illinois country would be very welcome. The fort itself is in a neglected condition: all the labor and staff are volunteer, and the group that seeks to preserve the fort and its history operates almost entirely on donations from visitors. The fort site-museum/gift shop is open from 10 to 5 Tuesday through Saturday. There is no admission charge, but donations are very welcome. There are interpretive events featured at the site a couple times a year. The fort's website (www.ftcrevecoeur.org) has more information on these. This is a site that might disappoint people who are hoping to have a lot of detailed historical re-creation, but for those who enjoy letting their imaginations fill in the details, a visit to the site could be very rewarding. Young children probably won't be impressed (there is playground equipment near the museum/gift shop). The site might be best for more mature children. The site appears to be pet-friendly: a father, son, and their off-leash dog were just leaving the fort when we were about to enter. The site offers camping. A state nature preserve adjoins the fort site. There is a trail through the preserve, but the trail is not well-maintained as of this writing (8/2013).

Had a good walk around this park in Normal that's in a residential area. It covers a pretty small…read morearea so it's easy to get around it. Savannah Green Park is pretty much a green space for the nearby residents. Features include a basketball court. There's also a playground, so it's good for kids. For a small residential park it's pretty okay for what it is. It's certainly not a park that has enough of a reason to come to from other parts of town. This is pretty much used by those who live nearby, like those across the street and whatever. Has a basketball court with a few baskets. You can also have a picnic in the small pavilion that has a few tables. Main feature is the playground. There's standard equipment like slides and swings. Good park for this area. It's located on Bull Street at Hull Street. This is mostly used for playing, but it can also be used for picnics, and other things.

Cute park with lots of room to run and play. Basketball court. Pavilion with picnic tables. Water…read morefountain. Updated playground equipment. Dog friendly. Fenced in. Quiet neighborhood. Not a meanie Mom hang out. Just a cute, safe little neighborhood park!

Another childhood location revisited…read more Detweiller Park is a place I have fond, if not faded, memories from my childhood. I remember coming here on a few field trips and also coming here to slide down their sledding hill. My friend Mary and I set out to hike some trails we grew up traversing and I said yes. We got there early to beat the heat and discovered about 30 games of kindergarten-level of soccer being played. Glad to see kids will have fond memories of this place as I do. Once we got parked, we headed out and hit some trails. Being super rusty with the area, we poked around here and there trying to find where and what to hike. At one point, we had an elderly gentleman walk up to us and give an assessment on some trails we were debating on hiking. We didn't really want to take this northern path that lead 7 miles away, so we took the Pimiteoui South trail about the lower part of the park, then took Dry Run trail to stretch out the afternoon before ending it too early. It was a nice leisure stroll with a friend on a sunny and breezy afternoon. The entire soccer fields, once full with kids, were completely empty. In fact, the park was nearly empty by the time we got back to the parking lot. We saw more cars drive through the park than people hiking in the park. While there are some trails, this isn't the place to come if you are looking for some dedicated hiking trails like you can get at Forest Park Nature Center but still a great place to escape to nature.

This park is soo Amazing & beautiful scenery also. Would highly recommend this park for anything…read more Lots of room to play sports and etc.!

Beautiful, spacious park with deluxe pool, shelters, grills, playgrounds, mini golf, disc golf,…read moreball field, tennis, volleyball, and pickleball courts, fishing. Access limited to State Farm employees and retirees.

Great facility! Fantastic picnic areas and shelters. The pool area is amazing with water slides…read moreand lazy river. Mini golf is always fun too. The only downside is they just don't let you bring in alcohol. :-(

This was a cute little stop with my puppy on a road trip and we loved the views and natural spaces…read morein the fall. There were excellent marked paths, lots to view and it was nice to stretch our legs and walk for a bit. My dog and I will be back again!

We stopped by the park for a quick picnic lunch on our road trip. It was very quiet considering it…read morewas a Saturday and we found a nice picnic table in the shade. The facilities looked really nice, including sports fields and a pool with water slides.

There's only 4 swings here anymore :( super big letdown. It looked really cool from the pictures…read moreand I'm not sure where all the equipment went.

Fun playground for kids, with the IL river as a backdrop-- all wooden with swings and a zip line…read moretoo! We stopped here to stretch our legs on a long road trip. I'm always on the lookout for a good place to stop with kids and let them run without going too far out of our way. Its easily accessible from i74, playground is beside the Riverplex/Children's Museum so there were clean bathrooms and lots of parking-- we even had plenty of room for our trailer.