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.!

I love Laura Bradley Park! It holds lots of fond memories for me. There's a playground in the top…read moreand bottom section of the park! Gotta love the dog park if you have doggos. Lots of little attractions to see like the Chinese bridge. Plenty of roadways in the parks for walking and bike riding. Great place to visit year round!

Beautiful park near Bradley University. Plenty of walking areas, not really many trails, more of an…read moreopen set up. This park has a lot to offer, including a Frisbee golf course, two fenced in dog parks, sand volleyball, picnic areas and tennis courts. Plenty of free parking in multiple lots throughout the park. The dog parks include a smaller, more secluded dog park on the top and a large dog park on the bottom, separated into small and large breed fenced areas. The dog parks are often packed with wagging tails on the weekends. No fee and doggie bags are provided by the people. Each season brings something gorgeous to view in nature's little hideaway.

Beautiful natural area, nature center is very kid-centered with friendly help, small gift shop,…read morebenches and picnic tables for resting!

Review Visit: September 29th, 2013…read more I remember coming here a few times as a kid on field trips. It was awesome as kid. They taught us about animals, bugs, nature and everything else outdoorsy. Then we got to hike a smaller trail as a group. Maybe this is what caused me to be such an avid outdoors person. Coming back here after about 2 decades was a huge nostalgic trip. Nothing had changed from what I remember as a kid. I'm sure things have been changed and updated since the early 90's, but it still retained that feel and look I remember as kid. The main building has set hours, but I do believe you can hike there before they open, as long as you follow the rule of 'no hiking before sunrise and after sunset'. Don't quote me on that. Inside the building is a small gift shop. There are quite a few learning activity areas to enrich yourself on local foliage and fauna. They hold a lot of events here, so you are surely able to drop in once a week and encounter some fun activity going on. There are plenty of trails to hike. If you want a quick hike, they have short trails. If you desire something challenging, you can hike some tough trails. Just be careful, I know a few people who have wandered off the path and ended up in a business area of Peoria Heights. The last time I was there, they had a 100-mile hike challenge. It was $10-15 to sign up and you record your hiking distances in a book there. Once you reach 100 miles, you get an award of some sort. I think it was a t-shirt and a certificate. Ive been wanting to sign up for it since I learned about it. But life gets busy. :/ Parking is plentiful but be warned; its a popular place, so there is usually a good amount of cars there at all time. But you shouldn't have a problem most of the time finding a parking spot. If you are native to the area and haven't been here, do yourself a favor and check it out. If yo are from out of town, also do yourself a favor and stop by for a quick hike. You won't regret it.

Review Visit: October 28th, 2012…read more Tower Park does indeed feature a Tower. But that is for another post. Maybe tomorrow. Tower Park is home to the Woodpecker Tower and some fun playground equipment. I honestly don't remember much of the park itself as we spent most of the time in the Tower. I do remember there being a checkerboard floor which was pretty sweet. There was also your typical swing set. This is about all I have to say about the park for now. I do plan on returning with my family later this year, so I will revise/update this post with more information and photos when that happens. Thanks for reading!

Check out one of the main attractions of Peoria Heights. It doesn't seem that exciting, and it…read moreisn't. Tower Park is of course a park with a tower. However many times the tower isn't even open. Meaning there's usually not much to come and see. As for the rest of the park, it's not bad. It has some playground equipment. The park is next to a city garage and has a good amount of parking. At least that part is free. It's $2 to go up in the tower. Honestly there's not that much to see up there, mostly houses. You can see the river though. Also has a plaque dedicated to Peoria native Dan Fogelberg. That's about it. Good place to spend a few minutes in and around. It gets boring pretty fast. There are some pretty good views.

Wha a lovely stop on my day trip today! I loved observing the winter phase of the outdoor gardens…read moreas well as the permanent art pieces and sculptures. The real treat was the greenhouse space though! I really love to learn all the names of everything around me and they're all expertly labeled with large font which my group appreciated. And nice that admission is free! Be sure to leave a donation though.

Review Visit: October 21st, 2012…read more A neat little garden tucked away in the corner of Glen Oak Park. Like many things on my travel list, Luthy's was one that I never heard of until I started looking around for things to do and places to visit. Discovering that there was a botanical garden next to the Peoria Zoo/Glen Oak Park was a surprise as I had been through the area a handful of times but never noticed it before. Sure, I saw the signs along the roads in Peoria but I figured it was nothing more than a place to buy flowers. A quick Google search soon proved I was way wrong. Doing what I do best, I loaded my car up with a few people and set out to see what the Luthy had to offer. If I remember right, there was a small parking lot available to use despite the fact the gardens is tucked away in this recreational area. We approached the front entrance and headed in. There is no fee to access the gardens but donations are very appreciated. After talking to the person at the entrance, we dropped a few bucks in to a donation box and headed towards the first part. The first place was kind of a greenhouse garden. It was inside a building that facilities the growth and sustainability to a multitude of flowers and plants. I am no green thumb but the fact that they could have so many different species in a small space was impressive. Also, they had a bunch of Nightmare Before Christmas decorations up at the time of our visit. Seeing as it was 10 days before Halloween, this must be how they were decorating for that year. I'm not a big Nightmare fan but it was cool to see them use that movie to spook the place up. As we moved on past the greenhouse, we emerged in to this open area that had a bit of a trail you could follow to see most of the outside gardens. This little path was not so little once you realized how sprawling the outside area was. There were many things to see along the way as we slowly walked and took in the scenes. They had a not just flowers and plants but small sculptures and statutes scattered throughout. Similar to what you would see in the movies when there are public gardens or mansions with a garden area the size of a city block. You can see some of these in the gallery below but in the years since, they may have changed stuff around. I said earlier that I am no green thumb, so trying to describe Luthy in technical detail is beyond my capacity. Despite that, you don't need to know the difference between a dandelion and a tulip to enjoy the sheer beauty of this place. It's a combination of quaint, serene, beautiful and peaceful. Sometimes you need those things in this day and age. If you are able to visit, please do so. You won't regret it. If Peoria, IL is no on your radar due to a million reasons, check your local area to see if there are any botanical gardens to visit. I am sure they are just as lovely.

The harvest operation was shut down for the day due to a substantial amount of rain that had fallen…read morethis morning so I decided to do some exploring in the area. I came across this cool trail and couldn't believe there wasn't a Yelp page for it! So like a good and responsible Elite, I created one (tyvm, and you're welcome). Anyhow, some facts about the trail. It's 24 miles, beginning at MM "0" in Alto, and ending at MM "24" in Toulon. It goes through towns: Dunlap at MM "5"; Princeville at MM "10"; Stark at MM "15"; and. Wyoming at MM "20". The trail is well packed (being an old railroad there's a good small rock base) and approximately 6-8 feet in width - large enough to accommodate both hikers and cyclists. Dogs are welcome but must be on a leash. As noted, cyclists are welcome and in fact I encountered two riders while on my short 2 mile hike out, and 2 mile hike back. There were several people out walking too - some with their wonderful 4 legged furry friends. The first two miles I covered had a nice canopy of trees which provided a lot of shade. However I'm sure there are open areas so that in the hotter months I would recommend taking a bottle (or two, depending on how far you're going) of water along to stay hydrated. I saw a few squirrels along the way but one might also expect to see deer, raccoons, geese (in the fall), among other wildlife. There's plenty of parking in the parking lot. There's a covered picnic table, a restrooms building, and a billboard that illustrates the 24 mile route along with a brief history of the Rock Island Railroad. I enjoyed my afternoon walk and may return on a Sunday (or another rain day) to enjoy this beautiful trail. If you haven't been here you should come and check it out. Walking and/or cycling is fun and good for your health.