Fall activities help students relax
October 7, 2005
During the upcoming fall months, the Champaign-Urbana area provides many places for University students to enjoy the cooling weather and the beautiful scenery of Central Illinois.
Students have the options of relaxing in the tree-lined campus arboretum, camping alongside the lakes at Kickapoo, traveling through a giant corn maze in Rantoul, or picking apples and pumpkins at Cutis Orchard.
“The area around the U of I really provides a lot of activities to do as the seasons are changing,” said Stephanie Saunders, junior in Education.
The location closest to campus to appreciate the beginning of autumn is the Arboretum just south of the FAR dorms at the corner of Florida and Lincoln Avenues. It is home to four gardens: the Welcome Garden, the Idea Garden, Hartley Selection Garden and the Japan House.
“The arboretum is a nice area for students to relax and be outside,” said Diane Anderson, supervisor of the trail maintenance of the Hartley Selection Garden. “You can just wander. It should be visited by students every fall when the leaves start changing.”
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There are still hundreds of annual flowers in the Hartley Selection Garden, and they will be there until the first frost of the year. The Idea Garden in the northwestern corner is also another place to go during the fall, said Anderson.
Another attraction in the Central Illinois area is the Kickapoo State Recreation Center in Oakwood, Ill., just 30 to 40 minutes west of Champaign. The lake area provides many activities like fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping, and horseback riding.
“Although you can’t swim in the lake, it is a lot of fun,” said Judy Weaver, office coordinator at Kickapoo. “The area is a reclaimed strip mine, so it is very hilly and pretty. The surroundings are still very green, but the colors will be changing soon.”
Weaver said the most popular activity for students is camping. There is anywhere from an $8 to $15 charge to camp. There are two major campgrounds with 184 sites in the vicinity. About half of the sites have electrical hookups and there are a limited number of walk-in or non-vehicle access sites.
Canoeing is also popular because Kickapoo has 22 lakes and access to the Middle Fork River.
“Canoeing was really relaxing and the scenery was beautiful,” said Adina Rubin, a sophomore in LAS, who went to Kickapoo this last weekend. “There were bumpy spots, but that made it a lot of fun. It was sunny with a nice cool breeze. Pretty much it was a perfect day.”
Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul is an unknown fall attraction in the area. It is just 12 miles north in Rantoul. The ranch is currently featuring the “Cornfusion Corn Maze,” a 10-acre, hour-long labyrinth of corn.
“We provide a moonlight maze which is a lot of fun for students,” said Julie Hardy, the owner of the ranch. “They go in with flashlights and try to figure there way out in the dark of the night.”
The ranch also has a herd of Alaskan reindeer, hayrides, and a gift shop that provides warm cider and homemade items. There is no admission fee into the ranch, but the reindeer hands-on tour is $3 and the corn maze is $5.
Curtis Orchard and Pumpkin Patch in Champaign is another major attraction around C-U. Currently Jonathan, Golden and Red Delicious, and Empire apples are available for picking.
“When I went apple picking, it was so much fun. The apples were good. I can’t wait to go back,” said Saunders about her recent trip to the orchard.
There is also a restaurant open for lunch on the grounds called Auntie Em’s Kitchen that serves items like apple pie and apple fritters. They grill items like pork chops and chicken breast on the weekends.
Even though as the seasons change, the weather gets colder, there are still many activities to distract students from thoughts of the snow and freezing temperatures.
