A Wildlife Oasis in Illinois You Can Stay At

It wasn’t easy to make the decision to go on my first trip after the pandemic started. I am high risk and had been good about sheltering at home and only staying around people within my pod. I hadn’t even seen my family, with the exception of a few, short, outdoor visits with my mom, who lives nearby in an assisted living.

I was definitely ready to get out for a bit and, when researching outdoor activities in the outskirts of Peoria (I was going there to see my puppy, who wasn’t quite ready to go home), I came across the perfect place for a safe getaway.

Wildlife Prairie Park is in Hanna City, Illinois, about three hours from Chicago. It’s a tremendous 1,800 acres that offers a ton of outdoor activities for all ages and abilities. It also happens to have an unusual selection of accommodations,

My friend, Joan, and I met with Brad Windsor, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sam Himegarner, Director of Hospitality, at our accommodation for the next two nights. We were one of the first to stay in a new Legacy Cabin.

The cabins have everything needed, for a family to stay for a few days, or even a week. There’s a full kitchen, large living room (with flat screen cable tv), two bedrooms, and a full bathroom.

The most special thing about the cabin is the backyard. You can sit on your patio and sip coffee in the morning, or barbecue on the grill in the evening, while watching the bison and elk roam in the pasture.

It’s hard to believe the park has been open since 1978 and it’s not better known.

Brad and Sam took us around in a jeep to get acquainted with the surroundings, which we would explore more over the next two days.

The park has five lakes, most of which you can kayak and/or fish at. There are hiking trails that are accessible (I brought my medical scooter) and others that are for the more experienced.

There’s also disc golf, mountain biking, a 30-foot sliding board, an Adventure Trek behind the scenes tour, and, of course, lots of wildlife.

They try to keep it to wildlife indigenous to the Midwest. Among them are Longhorn bulls, a black bear, bison, elk, owls, eagles, and a groundhog, Gerdie. Brad pointed out that Gerdie has a better record at predicting the weather than Punxsutawney Phil does.

We ended the tour with plans to get together the next day and check out some of the specific areas of the park. Joan and I decided to head to downtown Hanna City and find someplace to eat.

I had read online about Gil’s Supper Club and it sounded like a good place for some comfort food. I was right.

Gil’s has outdoor and indoor (bench) seating and a very big menu. I rarely eat fried food, but when they told me the chicken had its own fryer, it sounded quite good. It was and the portion was huge. I only ate about half, saving it with the rest of my potato and coleslaw.

Joan had the fried shrimp, which she said was delicious. The menu also includes chicken and seafood combos, pork chops, tenderloin, burgers, and more. Even the kids’ menu has a varied selection.

We went back to the Wildlife Prairie Park and relaxed in the cabin before bedtime. We had a big day of exploring, and a visit to Kickapoo Creek Winery, coming up.

Hikes, Candles and Spa at the Inn at Cedar Falls

I woke up fairly early a bit confused. My morning wake up is always a look at the email on my IPhone and I stunned to find it not on my night table until I remembered where I was. I was in a cabin at the Inn at Cedar Falls with no cell phone or internet, but that was alright since we had some fun things to do.

My friend Lisa and I went up to the Inn's restaurant and helped ourselves to some yogurt and fruit (breakfast is included for all guests). The waitress tempted us with French Toast Stuffed with Raspberry Cream Cheese and we were glad she did. Next, we headed on a tour of the property with Stephanie.

Along the way we saw everything from a butterfly in one of the many flowers, to herb, vegetable and fruit gardens. The newest addition to the property is a Rooftop Garden, complete with a swing and a beautiful view of the Hocking Hills area. In addition to the cabins where we were staying, the property has 12 cottages and Inn accommodations. The cabins and cottages are prepared for everything from romantic rendezvous to family vacations (one cabin is pet-friendly, another is handicap accessible) and girls getaways, like the one we were on.

After the tour we were off to Cedar Falls for a hike. We were a bit limited since I'm still on no climbing orders from the doctors, but we had a nice walk and some beautiful views at Ash Cave, which even has a waterfall. From there we headed over to Hocking Hills Candle Works to meet Mike.

Mike and Judy opened up the Candle Shop, which now has an adjacent Christmas Store, as well as a Wind Chime Store. We were there to work with him to make our own candles. There were so many fragrances it was hard to choose. Since you can mix and match, I decided on gingerbread and coffee, a perfect combination for the kitchen.

With Mike's help, we went through the process of making a label, squeezing in the fragrance, pouring into the container with wax he had prepared and mixing it up. We left it with Mike to cool off. It is a lot of fun and something anyone can come to the shop and do.

We went back to the Inn at Cedar Falls for lunch. Everything on the menu sounded great, so Lisa and I settled on sharing two sandwiches -- Pressed Turkey with Pineapple & Swiss Cheese and Chicken Salad with Grapes. They were both good, but we agreed that the Turkey sandwich was incredible.

In the afternoon, I headed over to the Inn at Cedar Falls Spa for a Massage and Paraffin Hand Treatment. The spa is perfectly placed on a cottage in the woods, so you can relax with the quiet and calm scenery. Since I had just had a facial in Indianapolis I didn't get to try the spa's famous Paw Paw Facials. We would learn more about Paw Paws during the cooking lesson, but the Inn at Cedar Falls signature Paw Paw Facial is well-known for its properties as an exfoliator and firmer of the skin.

While I was at the spa, Lisa headed up for one of the longer hikes at Cedar Falls and made it all the way to the lake. She said it was beautiful and I look forward to checking it out myself when my back is better.

I didn't have too much time to enjoy the relaxation. We had a very special dinner planned at the Inn at Cedar Falls restaurant with Matt from Rockmill Brewery, but first we would have to learn how to make Paw Paw Crème Brulee.