Illinois Travel Guide 2008 - (Page 10) Top to Bottom: A picturesque villa at the Fabyan Estate and Forest Preserve, one of the furry frontier residents at Wildlife Prairie State Park, a dizzying waterfall canyon at Starved Rock State Park in Utica Utica Ottawa Hanna City Lewistown Peoria ILLINOIS RIVER ROAD SCENIC BYWAY Take the same route as the early French explorers on this 290-mile scenic byway that begins in Ottawa and ends near Havana, following the banks of the Illinois River along the way. The byway parallels the Illinois River Country Nature Trail, a chain of more than 100 nature sites in the Illinois River Valley that offer outdoor fun ranging from hiking and biking to bird-watching and crosscountry skiing. Do some exploring of your own at these scenic spots: • Hop on the I&M Canal Trail near Ottawa, where you’ll discover 60 miles of picturesque hiking, biking and snowmobiling trails that follow the historic route of the I&M Canal. • At the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center in Ottawa, watch tugboats navigating through the Starved Rock Lock & Dam and see displays on the I&M Canal. The center is a great place to spy bald eagles in the winter. • Explore sandstone canyons and breathtaking waterfalls at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, voted one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois. Hike the trails, join a guided horseback ride, take a trolley tour or hop aboard a Belle of the Rock paddleboat tour. Starved Rock also offers fall colors and winter eagle tours. • Head for the RiverFront in Peoria, a complex of shops, art galleries and restaurants. Take a sightseeing cruise on the old-fashioned Spirit of Peoria sternwheeler that cruises the Illinois River. The RiverFront is also the site for some of Peoria’s biggest festivals. • The Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown is one of the leading on-site archaeological museums in the U.S. See excavated sites and artifacts that piece together the 12,000-year history of the American Indian in the Illinois River valley. LINCOLN HIGHWAY Established in the early Rochelle 1900s, the Geneva Dixon Lincoln HighFulton DeKalb Aurora way was once the most famous road in America. Spurred on by the demands of an increasingly mobile public and Detroit carmakers, the Lincoln Highway became the country’s first coast-to-coast automobile highway. The Illinois route begins in Lynwood (a suburb of Chicago) and ends in the Western region of the state in Fulton. Check out these highlights: • Catch a performance N SO GIL at the Paramount Theatre HEW MATT in Aurora, a grandly restored Art Deco movie palace that presents touring Broadway shows and international music, dance and comedy acts. • Stroll the streets of Geneva, where you’ll find charming restaurants and shops housed in turn-ofthe-century storefronts right on the Fox River. Geneva’s sprawling Fabyan Estate and Forest Preserve features a beautiful Japanese garden and a historic Dutch windmill. • Look for the mural in DeKalb depicting early travelers on the Lincoln Highway. Then make tracks to the Barb City Motorcycle Museum (the name is a tip of the hat to barbed wire, which was invented in DeKalb), which displays an extensive collection of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. • In Rochelle check out the mural of etiquette expert Emily Post, who traveled across the country via the Lincoln Highway. Feel the roar of trains as they rumble by at the Rochelle Railroad Park, where some 100 trains pass along the double tracks each day. Be sure to browse the gift shop that sells model trains and railroad-themed souvenirs. • View the Lincoln Highway exhibit at the Dixon Welcome Center. Then tour the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home and Visitors Center. The home has been restored to its 1920s appearance and is one of the stops on the Ronald Reagan Trail. • The Illinois Lincoln Highway ends in Fulton. Here you can tour De Immigrant Windmill, an authentic operating Dutch windmill that grinds grain. Buy stone-ground flour and Dutch souvenirs in the windmill’s gift shop. enjoyillinois.com KAREN HIRSCH BRUCE CLIFTON • At Wildlife Prairie State Park in Hanna City, near Peoria, see native Illinois animals such as wolves, bison and black bears. Check out the Pioneer Farmstead with its friendly farm animals and stay overnight in a renovated caboose or lakeside cottage. 10 ILLINOIS. MILE AFTER MAGNIFICENT MILE. http://enjoyillinois.com
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