Joe Glik Park is a new park with pavilions and ponds, slightly rolling terrain, and recently…read moreplanted trees. As they mature, the landscaping will look really nice, especially with planned improvements. In the meantime, JGP has the widest concrete paths I can remember in any park I've visited, like the concrete guys were hurting for business, and offered a double wide, two-for-one deal. I imagine it offers a smooth surface for skaters, though I haven't noticed any here on my rare visits. Most importantly for Onyx H. and her little buddy Ruby H., this place is dog-friendly. There's a fenced dog park on the northeast side, and at least one doggie-bag dispenser. That doggie-bag dispenser can be most important when the stock of plastic bags in your pocket is exceeded by your pet's desired number of pit stops. JGP is a perfect place for a short winter walk with your canine companions.

A hidden gem in Edwardsville. Found this when I was desperate for a place to walk our dog while in…read moretown. Beautiful setting, ponds, fountains, trees, pavilions and wide walking paths. We will be back!

Glen Carbon (valley of coal) is an old mining community, hence the name "Miner." MP has at least…read morethree pavilions, trees for shade in the summer, and hills for sledding in the winter. It's right next to the lovely Glen Carbon library. Nickel Plate Trail, part of Madison County's extensive system of bike trails, runs along the west edge of the park. In preparation for my wilderness backpacking trips ('04 and '06), it was the turnaround point for my training hikes w/ 45 lb. backpack. Since I live in E'ville, that means the trip outbound was downhill, and, unfortunately, the trip inbound uphill. Miner Park was (and remains) a pleasant place for a water break before the journey home.

No real trail. Nice disc golf course. New playground area. Pretty lake with new bridgesread more

Great little park with several playgrounds for the kids. They also allow fishing in the "lake" and…read morehave ducks/geese running about. Don't forget to stop at the Aldi's on the corner to get a loaf of bread to feed them from the bridge if you want.

Township Park is a wonderful park to take kids and family to for a beautiful day out! There is…read moreplenty of space to run and place plus they have lots of play ground equipment to keep everyone busy! I don't like you can't bring pets, but I do understand to a point also. It's a great community park!

The best park for kids I've ever seen. Someone posted a bad review saying there weren't any…read moreswings, but I saw lots of swings! My little guy loves going to this park! It's a true gem for this area. Also, there is lots of area to play ball, throw a frisbee or fly a kite! It's fun to take a blanket and have a picnic in the grass, but there are lots of picnic tables too.

City park complex for Troy. Football fields, skateboarding park, a nice pond, and more. We've come…read morehere three times for Independence Day fireworks, and think the 30-minute show is more than adequate. To borrow a word from my Yelpin' friend Jackie W., this is small-town "Americuh," and it's good.

From the owner: Tri-Township Park District is a public park located in Troy Illinois. We have several picnic…read moreshelters, over 2 miles of walking/biking trails, lake for fishing, petting zoo and various other activities.

We enjoyed a visit to the largest archaeological site in the U.S…read more Quick visit advice: Park at the visitor center or across the street at Monk's Mound (if there are any spots in this smaller lot). Walk to and up Monk's Mound, which is the largest. I recommend reading the signs about the history of the mounds. Background: I visited just after finishing a book called "America Before" by Graham Hancock. He extensively covers the geoglyphs (mounds) across the Americas and describes their site-line survey complexity. They are basically dirt mound versions of Stonehenge, and line up with solar events during the equinoxes. The amount of precision from an ancient hunter-gatherer society is absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend a read before visiting.

We were in the area so we had to go check this place out, right? The history along should garner…read moreinterest. Pulling up, my kids were not amused. "What's with the big hill dad?" Oh kids... I mean it does look like just a big hill but... As a history buff, I thought it was kind of cool. We climbed the stairs to the top (great work out, a couple folks were doing just that) to get a view of the area. Not much at all is built up around this area, the small town that it is located in is barely a blip before you enter the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is actually pretty remarkable how rural this area is being only miles outside of St. Louis. Anyways, I tried to get my kids to understand that the people that built these mounds did not have Bobcats, dump trucks, or any huge equipment. We are talking woven baskets and such. Still not impressed. At least we stood on the top and say we have been there. I suggest you do the same. Check it off the list and say you once stood on one of the tallest pre-Columbian structures in North America. Can't say that every day!

I was taking part in the Jingle Hike which gets you outside exploring parks in the area. It was a…read morelittle hard to find this place, but what a delight was you do. It is a 1 1/2 mile walk around the wetlands and you get to cross the wetlands on a bridge. You are surrounded by water lilies. Check it out.

Extremely poor service. I brought my bike in for a tune-up under my plan and they suggested I get…read morea new chain, which was fine. I picked the bike up and withing 25 miles the rear tire shredded on one side. I returned to the shop and was told this was just normal "wear and tear" and had nothing to do with the tune-up. I asked if an examination of the tires was nto something done in a tune-up, and they promptly told me that they have no way of knowing when a tire will shred or become unusable. The shredding was considered "a coincidence". I equate this to taking my car into the shop and know they will look at all the vital parts (tires included) and make recommendations on them. They seem to know what the remaining life span of a tire is I ended up having to buy a new tire and tube, which they would not even give me a discounted price on. They also mentioned that the tune-up plan I had purchased should have never been sold with the bike (not sure what that was all about...). I have been to many of the other bike shops in town and they are knowledgeable and thorough. These folks seem to be in it just for the money. Don't go here unless you really are in a bind. Go to a place where they know what they are talking about.

Very expensive, very bad at fixing bikes. I spent a lot of money for them to mess up my bike.read more