Central Illinois Gazette

Go take a hike

Posted by: Tom Kacich

Sunday, March 29, 2009 1:30 PM

Based on a few years' experience of walking Champaign-Urbana, here are a dozen routes I recommend:

– The Boulware Trail in south Champaign. When the weather is nicer and the Champaign Park District gets to dress this 1.25-mile long trail with flower beds and displays, this is a great little walk. It starts at Windsor Road, a few hundred yards west of Neil Street, and heads north almost to Kirby Avenue. Lots of good sights and smells.

– Meadowbrook Park in Urbana. This place has everything – a stream, rolling landscape, prairie, big trees, deer (walk near sunset and it's almost guaranteed you'll see them on the south end), pheasants, kids on bikes, families flying kites and, of course, its unusual sculpture park. There are even bathrooms and drinking fountains along its 3 miles of concrete trail.

– Anything through the University of Illinois campus. When I walk from home to downtown Champaign (about 4 miles) more than a quarter of the route is through University of Illinois property. I like to cut through Illini Grove with its big trees, Smith Memorial Hall and the Quad. But there's always something to see or hear on campus, no matter your route, whether it's a Marching Illini practice, students playing cricket on the South Quad, skateboarders doing tricks or someone playing music under a tree on the Quad.

– North Oak Street in Champaign. I wonder whether anyone else uses this route that parallels the east side of the Illinois Central Railroad tracks north of Bradley Avenue. It's about two miles long (one way), pretty remote and once you get north of Interstate 74, it may be a bit dicey. But it's an interesting look at a side of Champaign-Urbana that most people don't think about: the community's industrial legacy and the railroad that once was Champaign-Urbana's lifeline.

– Green Street. Here's a great way to enjoy the variety of Champaign-Urbana – from Lincoln Square Village on the east all the way to Mattis Avenue on the west. It's probably about four miles and it features big trees, neat architecture in both cities, the UI and all the high-rise construction in Campustown. Plus there are plenty of places to stop for coffee, ice cream, gelato or a beer.

– Church and University avenues, from Neil to Mattis, in Champaign. These are great blocks of streets on which to examine the variety of architecture and landscaping in old Champaign. Plus, you get to walk past the venerable Dr, Howard Elementary School, the beautiful Champaign Central High School, West Side Park and Eisner Park. Try to imagine the latter 100 years ago when it was known as West End Park and was an amusement park.

– Greenbelt Trail in west Champaign. This 1.6-mile trail runs from Dodds Park to Kaufman Lake. It's another look at a side of Champaign that you wouldn't normally see. I wouldn't recommend using the trail, especially the section under the Interstate 72 bridge, near darkness or without a companion. But the graffiti under the bridge, if it's still there, sure is colorful.

– Crystal Lake Park. OK, maybe this does count as a waterfront walk since you can cross over and walk along the Saline Drainage Ditch. Go a bit farther north and you're in beautiful Busey Woods which has a convenient wooden footpath and its own herd of deer. Go a little farther north and you're in beautiful Woodlawn Cemetery, where a lot of Champaign-Urbana history is buried.

– Armory Street area in Champaign/the state streets in Urbana. These neighborhoods in my mind are similar: big trees, a great variety of old home styles, sometimes with big yards too. For the most part these neighborhoods were developed in the early decades of the last century, when there was an enormous building boom in Champaign-Urbana.

– Roselawn/Mount Hope cemeteries, between Florida and Pennsylvania avenues, east of Memorial Stadium. All kinds of famous people are buried amid the big shade trees of winding roads here. There also are many unique grave markers.

-- Last summer we took a walk across town of about 7.5 miles from the Champaign County Courthouse to Eisner Park and back. Among the sites along the way: the Urbana Free Library, the Nathan Ricker House, the Illini Union, the new Champaign Public Library, Virginia Theatre, the Harris Mansion, Davidson Park, (Eisner Park, formerly the West End amusement park), Dr. Howard School, Champaign Central HS, the Champaign City Building and Scott Park. The best part of this walk is the tree-lined parts of Church Street and University Avenue that features the mansions of Champaign's rich and famous from around the turn of the 20th century.

-- A 2-mile church walk around downtown Urbana that includes about eight churches -- St. Patrick's Catholic, Urbana First Presbyterian, the former First Baptist of Urbana, the Unitarian Universalist, First Church of Christ Scientist, Canaan Baptist Church and First United Methodist Church of Urbana. A very pleasant walk when the trees are fully leafed.

I'll be leading a 3 1/2-mile walk around the University of Ilinois campus on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend -- May 23 -- at 9 a.m. Details to follow.

Let us know about any of your favorite walks/hikes in East Central Illinois ...

 

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