The final park we visited in 2022 was Weldon Springs State Park. It is located about 3 hours south of Chicago, or 35 minutes south of Bloomington/Normal. Many of these parks thrive on natural beauty alone: an empty trail running thru a forest in the fall, rolling prairies that go on for miles, or the palisades over looking the Mississippi River. Some will have more focus on history; many parks have old military forts and hunting lodges on their grounds, but also extensive Native American history. Weldon Springs has done a very good job of not only showcasing the lake and surrounding forest, but also keeping the local history alive and teaching anyone who is interested.
There are four trail options at Weldon Springs. We are always the most excited to do a lake loop, and this particular lake was small enough that it was within our abilities. However, we do want to also highlight the Beaver Dam trail, which is less than a mile long. They suggest going on this one if you are interested in hiking at night, due to the many frogs, insects, and owls you can hear for such a short trail.
The park was named after Judge Lawrence Weldon, who owned the property before the civil war, and was open to residents for picnics during his lifetime. He passed away in 1905, but had leased the land to develop the property so it could be used for an annual event known as the Chautauqua Assembly. This was a 10 day event held every summer, that seems to have been a retreat or a convention with many public speakers and entertainers, covering a wide assortment of topics. They even hosted Former President Taft and Helen Keller. It was also during this time that a dam and trails were built. Although the assembly only lasted 20 years, the area continues to have an impact on the residents of Clinton.
The day we went was a sunny and beautiful fall morning. We could not have asked for a nicer day to be outside. The 2 mile trail winds around the lake, and is never far from gorgeous views of the water. The only thing that we were not expecting was for the trail to rise and fall so much. The area around the lake is not that hilly, and the park is surrounded by very flat farmland. And yet, we were constantly going up, just to immediately come back down.
Despite how much the elevation changed, it was still a very manageable hike, and there were lots of people out with young kids. The trail passes the campground, which also had plenty of people there that day. The relatively short distance is very well maintained, proof that the community cares very deeply for this park.
Along this trail, you will also pass the Veterans Point memorial. A sculpture depicting soldiers from different branches of the military is surrounded by 25 tons of granite. It is inscribed to honor 1,400 veterans, but is dedicated to all veterans.
We finished up our trail, but before leaving we stopped by the old schoolhouse building . It was built in 1865, and was located in Logan county for 80 years, before being moved to Weldon Springs and restored. To this day, it is used as a visitors center and hosts many different community events, focusing on teaching local and natural history in a hands on way. The building is only open to the public on Saturday’s from 1 to 4, but this is still a very active facility that hosts many different youth groups. Unfortunately, we visited on a Sunday, and are not a part of a youth group, so we were not able to see the inside on this particular visit.
Finally, we stopped in at Door 4 Brewing in Decatur for their Sunday Brunch. The mimosa tower was tempting, but we decided to have one of their regular beers while eating our breakfast food, before heading out on the long drive back to Chicago. It is a very fun place to go, with live music, and food trucks, and even axe throwing if you’re in the mood for something different.
We both thoroughly enjoyed Weldon Springs and highly recommend that families go there. This park has one of the most extensive community programs we have come across, even compared to some more well known parks. The Weldon Springs Foundation has a very active Facebook page, usually posting daily about the different events, and it seems to have just been bad timing that the Schoolhouse was closed the day we went. Even if you go just for the day, the lake is beautiful and the trail that encircles it is pretty doable for anyone, even people not used to hiking.
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