Good park that's one of the best things about Bloomington. It of course has a zoo, the most notable…read morething about it. Miller Park is also a place for other recreational activities such as shooting hoops and walking. Has a playground to entertain young children. There's also a lake that has a cool bridge that makes for classic scenery. An interesting history about it. It's the largest park in the city to be sure. The park is best known for the zoo. Actually it has an interesting history itself. The zoo has its own business page on Yelp. As for the rest of the park, there's other stuff worth exploring. There's a pretty big lake. Go take a walk across the stone bridge. The park also has a mini golf course and softball fields among other things. Also check out a preserved steam locomotive. There's also a pavilion for those wanting to have a picnic. Has lots of activities throughout the year including festivals and fireworks. It's located east of Morris Avenue and south of Wood Street. They also have entertainment such as outdoor theater.

Great place to walk or relax. Has a splash pool for kids, a pavilion for events, paddle boating on…read morea lake, a stocked lake for fishing, trails to walk around, picnic areas, a gazebo, a baseball field, a monument to war veterans, a monument to firefighters, lots of open fields both in the sun, and shade, and easy access to downtown Bloomington. We went to the zoo, and then we spent two hours just exploring.

Camp host was so very rude. Wanted to make sure I knew he was the Boss. I come here 3 to 4 times a…read moreyear. WILL NOT BE BACK. Terrible place. All water sources are not potable. Only one place to fill water. DONT STAY HERE!

An absolutely beautiful drive any time of year. If you want to hike there are shorter and…read moreaccessible trails to follow for really lovely views.

I've been going to this campground my whole life. great staff clean campsites swimming hole is…read moregreat in the summer plants/trees are always trimmed and kept up. Bathroom is clean water is hot.

We couldn't be happier with the accommodations of this park. Everything is as expected from the…read morewebsite. Water hook us are sparse so bring the extra long hose and a splitter. Clean lake and shower facilities. Staff is so friendly and knowledgeable of the area. We came down the weekend before the "season" began. Had our pick of sites, quiet, and very impressed with the trails within the park. Our new favorite home away from home!

For those who know me understand that being outdoors in nature is my A#1 Happy Place. Whether it be…read morebiking, hiking, camping, kayaking/canoeing, skiing, boating, or just chilling in a park swaying in a hammock, it is the place to be for me. So, when we consider options that are a reasonable drive from Chicago, there are actually quite a lot. My go-to has been and maybe always will be the crown jewel, SRSP (aka, Starved Rock) as it's a short drive about 1.5 hrs away and puts you smack dab in the middle of *nothing else that looks like Illinois*...except for maybe Giant City in Southern IL in the Shawnee National Forest. But that is about a six hour drive so much less doable. Others include Palos Forest Preserves (best MTB in the area), Water Fall Glen, Saw Wee Kee, Galena, S. Wisconsin, NW Indy, SW Michigan, etc...again, there is way more beauty in nature in our region than you would expect, you just look for it. So when we wanted to check out a new place to us, we came across Kankakee County and the Kankakee River State Park in particular. In short, such an unexpected gem and while it's no SRSP, it does deliver for good hiking in nature running along, you guessed it, the Kankakee River. It's near Bourbonnais where our beloved Chicago Bears do their training camp...well, used to up until recently where they now train at Halas in Lake Forest. In short, if you are looking for a quick getaway adventure in the great outdoors of nature, make this an option, you won't be disappointed.

Potowatomi Camp: What a beautiful, quiet campground, neat, well kept, with a good size shower…read morehouse, and wooded areas separating the sites. The bike trails were awesome. The river views were picturesque. They had parks and swing-sets, pavilions, a nice suspension bridge and river overlooks. 10/10 would come again.

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.

This is my favorite place to come for a nice hike, especially in the fall! Check the website for…read moretrail closures because we just went and more than half of the trails were closed, so it was super packed with people on the open ones.

Starved Rock State park leaves your rocks starving for more hiking…read more This park had plenty of trails that were well preserved. Easy to walk through. I had no trouble finding parking. There were bathrooms whether portable or the nice one at the visitor center. Excellent vista points. Great options for families or the adventurous hikers.

Midewin is worth the drive from Chicago -- 90 minutes…read more The visitor's center is closed during the pandemic. We followed the signs and went there, thinking we'd find the trailheads. We didn't. We eventually found a man moving grass who recommended we drive north to the Iron Bridge and park there. That was good advice. Not only is there parking, pit toilets, and picnic tables, but the trailhead, and connections to several trails. I recommend everyone start at the Iron Bridge trailheads. We did not see the bison, but we did enjoy a few hours of walking on flat trails. We admired the prairie grasses and flowers, reveled in the sunshine and breeze on this cool day, and just loved every minute we were there. Hikers, remember to wear a head covering. You are on the prairie, after all. Officially, this is a national park, and I brought my national parks pass, but we saw no rangers at all. Nobody checked for park passes or any kind of entrance fee.

If bison, wildflowers, wildlife, & pastures are your thing, you've come to the right place. I'm…read morefrom Ohio and it was my husband's idea to come here. He saw it on a map and said, that's something we've got to do because we live less than 6 hours from it and it's got National in the name... We were not disappointed. I noticed that most people come here for the bison viewing, and that was nothing short of spectacular. However, there are so many trails in addition to that that make this place all the more worthwhile! I especially enjoyed the history, this park was the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, and when you walk some of the trails, that becomes apparent in the sense of abandonment that it gives you. However the peaceful ponds and gorgeous wildlife found along the way makes the hike both interesting and fulfilling. The hikes are not strenuous unless you hike in the heat like we did. There are no inclines or anything. You'll be out in the prairie or into the shade of the woods, but more of the former. Just be aware if you hike in the heat, to bring lots of water and sunscreen, as the sun seems to be more brutal in the open plains. The park gave us plenty to do in our 3 days in the area and it was a unique park for us in the sense that it was a prairie and not woods or mountains or beach...when have you ever hiked a trail through a prairie? Try it, you won't be disappointed.

Great place to fish, relax and enjoy the great outdoors!…read more The lake is not far off historic Route 66 and an easy drive. There are several areas to fish from the bank or you can launch your boat. The fishing/boating areas around the lake are well marked and feature other appreciated amenities. The park areas are clean and well maintained, and free! We caught Bluegill, Shad, and Rock Bass. Also saw a few snakes, frogs and turtles. Open dawn to dusk.

This property is beyond beautiful and well maintained just wished it was open to the public more…read morethroughout the year instead of just hunters and fishers

Review Visit: October 11th, 2014…read more Rollingbrook Park is just many one of many parks in the Bloomington-Normal area. My dad and I came here during a day of exploring and was greeted with a nice park. It has your typical playground and spacious grounds. But this one has a pretty nice tennis court. So if you get the urge to play, there is a place to play in Blo-No area. I really don't remember much about this park aside from the cool tennis courts. Definitely one to check out if you are park exploring!

Large playground with many disabled friendly pieces of equipment. There are trees very close so…read morethere's shade over some part all the time. There are also nine pickleball courts and three tennis courts

Stopped by here for some tourism on my way back from a visit to Champaign as I wanted to enjoy the…read moreweather some more and felt like taking a different route than normal home. I was surprised at all the different places to visit including the Route 66 Hall of Fame, Pontiac Oakland Museum, etc. Outside of this were were plenty of murals, the Route 66 shield, and plenty of other public artwork. I was able to enjoy a great day here without spending a lot of money.

I stopped here on my mini Route 66 road trip because I'm so done with C19 and not really being able…read moreto go anywhere in a year. On tablet the town looks like it's a destination stop and get a hotel room with the museums, restaurants etc but it's really just a drive through stop on Route 66. The town is a nice small Midwest town with very friendly people I noticed everywhere. The reason that Pontiac Il is not a destination Route 66 stay over night town is the 4 museums are very small and three are all in one building with the 4th around the corner and realistically you can take your time and do all four in an hour. I stayed on a Sunday and to my surprise all the nicer steak menu restaurants are all closed so my nice dinner was not going to happen, I had to go to a bar/restaurant 12 miles away for a steak dinner. Overall it's a nice Route 66 stop but it goes very fast with the attractions and it should be a pass through on a Route 66 road trip.