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Where in Illinois can you go running or hiking, canoeing, fishing for trout, camping, hunting or scuba diving -- all against a backdrop of breathtaking natural beauty? Kickapoo State Recreation Area near Danville in Vermilion County - easily accessible via I-74.
Kickapoo State Recreation Area is an Illinois state park on 2,842 acres (1,150 ha) in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Located between Oakwood, Illinois and Danville, Illinois, this park is easily accessible through route I-74. It is 28 miles (45 km) away from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and 95 miles (153 km) from Indianapolis. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the name Kickapoo originated from the Kickapoo village that once existed near the junction of the Salt Fork and Middle Fork branches of the Vermilion River. After Europeans settled in the area and displaced the Native Americans, the Europeans began to dig wells to harvest salt from salt springs, called salines. In the early 20th century the land was then strip-mined for coal. Kickapoo State Park was the first park in the United States to be located on strip-mined land. The state of Illinois purchased the Kickapoo State Park Area in 1939 with donation money from Danville residents and the land has since recovered from the extraction of these resources.
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The Vermilion County Museum and Fithian Home are part of a small campus highlighting the history of Danville and Vermilion County, Illinois. The grounds feature The Vermilion County Museum, Fithian Historic Home, plus various exhibits throughout the grounds including a Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibit.
Historic 19th century theater with live entertainment and museum of many famous Danville residents including Dick Van Dyke, Gene Hackman, Donald O'Connor, Bobby Short, and Helen Morgan. The theater also contains a gift shop of unique and often local items.
formerly Danville Public Library
A local museum about the soldiers, wars, and battles that have a tie to Vermillion county. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A park next to a 1,000 acre lake open year round. Open to power boating (unlimited HP), jet skiing, and water skiing. Excellent wildlife viewing (including bald eagles) and fishing.
A national veterans cemetery managed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. In 1897, Congress authorized the establishment of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Danville. The next year, a small plot of land was set aside as a burial site; it was subsequently designated a national cemetery in 1898. In 1901, the present cemetery was plotted and the remains of those buried in the old cemetery were reinterred at the new site.Danville National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The Soldiers Monument at Danville National Cemetery was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1917.