Among the nicer parks in Champaign. Hessel Park isn't too big but it's still big enough. It has…read morelots of athletic facilities including for baseball and tennis. Even has a fountain. There's also a trail that goes around it. Big enough park for many activities. It has some pretty good athletic facilities. The local youth leagues have games and there's also kids just playing for fun too. Hot summer days are cool here. It has a big sprinkler area in the middle. This is a good place to take kids to cool them all off. For adults, there's areas for grilling. The pavilions are popular for holidays. Good park for almost everyone. It has a good amount of parking around it. There's a big water area for kids, there's sports, and there's a few trails.

Really nice Champaign park! Nice kid's equipment 2-5 and…read moresome stuff for the older kids Really nice splash pad in the summer Multiple tennis courts Lots of open space BBQ's and shelters for reserve

Very nice little park with tables and grills! We enjoyed the playground. I'm sure we'll be back…read morenext time we visit.

I used to come to this park often when I lived in Champaign, IL. Some friends and I used to play…read morebaseball in this park. I also brought my girlfriend to this park to talk about what was bothering her. Before moving to Champaign, IL I used to come to this park often. Later when I had moved away to another town I came back to this park with my new puppy before going on to move back into my parents home for awhile. Years later I brought a new girlfriend to this park to show her where I used to park to think things over. I also showed her a tree that had grown into a huge shade tree. I told her that many years ago it was only a sapling not much taller than me.

Nice park, Lots of kids around…read moreSolid sections of play equipment Best for 2-5 year olds

Another one of my favorite parks in Champaign. There's a tennis court, playground, and a really…read morenice (and new) trail for running or bikes. It's just a really pretty park and it's usually never too busy. Good stuff!

I have never hiked at a prairie before and I am so glad that I chose this place for my exercise…read more Very well maintained park with lots of trails. The wildflowers alone will bring me back to this beautiful place.

The Buffalo Trace Prairie is a system of trails that are on the far western edge of the Lake of the…read moreWoods Forest Preserve. To be sure, there is much more to Lake of the Woods than just Buffalo Trace. The easiest entrance is located just north of Exit #172 off I-74 in Mahomet, on the left across from the botanical garden and before you get to the Early American Museum. Can't miss it. The trails run all through this medium-sized forest preserve and are perfect for jogging, biking, or dog walking. There is one major asphalt trail that runs E-W and several smaller trails that are really just places that they mow the prairie down every week or so. The asphalt trail is a little more than a mile long, and connects to a trail that is 5 mi in total. The intertwined grass trails are much longer all told, but since there are so many, you can customize as long or short of a walk as you want. The terrain is rolling hills, and the biome(s) are a pleasant transition from prairie to woods. None of the trails that I was on were at all challenging or in disrepair. I would suggest that if you intend to take the grass trails, take a good long look at the map before you leave the trail head, or bring one along. Thankfully, there are not really that many people making use of this park, which is cool. If you make use of the trail map, the trail in the far south of this park (by the highway) actually dead-ends and does not connect back to the parking lot, as is indicated on the map. Not a big deal, just a lil back-tracking. I needed the exercise.

I loved the wooden playground here when I was growing up. They've recently remodeled the…read moreplayground and while I'll miss the one I grew up with, I am happy to see my daughter enjoying the new one. I love how many benches there were for adults. It's always crowded when we come which is great, our daughter makes friends to play with while she's here and has a great time. I really enjoyed the walking trails too, the sculptures are really cool. Bathrooms were locked and the water fountains were off. There were port a potties though.

This is one of my favorite walking trails in Urbana.. scenic & peaceful. I try to come out here as…read moreoften as I can especially when the weather is perfect.

Went here with the granddaughter who's almost three and it was perfect. Although the nature center…read morewasn't open, there's a raised boardwalk trail that's about a half mile loop through a heavily erode wooded area. The boardwalk was perfect because it rained the night before. We went around twice and the second time had a deer watching us from about fifty yards away. The granddaughter loved it!

We had a family event here the other night and our kids and parents loved it. The staff were…read moreincredibly friendly and accommodating, making sure we split our attendees into groups so as to keep the numbers down for each station. This allowed our families a more intimate experience at each learning station the staff provided. The kids were able to see snakes, turtles, and owls up close and learned all about them. They also did a craft project which was a huge hit. I can't say enough good things about the staff and how they helped us organize the event. The center itself is a wonderful place with so much to do. They have a soon-to-be-open natural playground next to the center as well as a variety of running/walking trails in a variety of distances. If you haven't been here, you're truly missing out.

Booked online a few hours before our arrival. The pictures looked nice and inviting. Didn't…read moredisappoint. What a nice welcome upon arrival. I think an owner, wife greeted us. Explained the rules. After that another camp worker, sweet friendly woman escorted us to our spot. I had ordered fire wood online but, when she was bringing us to our site, there was "extra" from the previous campers. Long day of driving ended with a nice relaxing late afternoon/evening. P.S. bonus-nice little gated, Clean dog run. Thank you so much for everything. What a great night. Dogs got exercise, bon fire, cold peanut butter stout. Cheers until next time. I'll be back!!

Great campground, Beautiful lake to walk around, level sites, clean facilities and a warm welcome…read more Its our 2nd stay while passing through.

I love this park, probably because I grew up across the street from it. It's huge, open, and it's…read morenever too packed so you can basically have the whole thing to yourself. The playground is also really nice for kids and I recall the trees making some awesome flashlight-tag spots. Memories!