Since today is dawning a bit warmer than the average March morning, I thought I'd give a bit of information on local parks I've found great for taking the kids to go out and play at. There are a handful of them in the area, each very clean, safe and fun.
I've already talked a bit about Pleasant Ridge Park in Fairview Heights as a popular sledding destination. Although we've enjoyed the sledding, I think we've derrived most of our fond memories from walks in the woods of this 95-acre wonderland. It's especially beautiful in the Spring and Fall. Summer in this area brings with it a bit of poison ivy, so if you venture out during the warmer months, you'll have to wear long pants to ensure you don't get it on your legs.
Another park in Fairview Heights is Longacre Park. It's got a HUGE playground that's aging, but still lots of fun for the kids. It's used so much that what normally splinter-ridden wood hand-holds have become very smooth through wear. There's a beautiful lake, sand volleyball, baseball, soccer and a very relaxing, very popular walking/running path that's 1.5 miles.
Moving to O'Fallon, there's a host of parks. The names are O'Fallon Community Park, Hesse Park, Rock Springs Park, Thoman Park, St. Ellen Mine Park, Family Sports Park. Our favorite is the playground at the O'Fallon Community Park in downtown O'Fallon. The playground there is one of those newer coated metal monstroties that probably cost better than $100,000. (NOTE: that is just a guess!) O'Fallon has provided a great map for the parks.
Shiloh, just south of O'Fallon, has a new park as well, the Shiloh Community Park. There's another park in Shiloh as well, but we've found the SCP to be more easily accessible to us. It's on Frank Scott Parkway and has baseball and soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts and a pretty nice playground for children ages 5-12.
One of my favorite Belleville parks is Foley Park. Now to get to this one, you have to drive a bit (unless you live on the south side of Belleville or in Smithton, IL), but it's worth it in my opinion. It's located in the middle of farm land and has a wide-open feeling. I love to go there and work from my car when it's not too hot or too cold. There's a number of old strip mine pits that have been turned into fishing holes. I'm not a fisherman, but judging from the volume of people fishing, I'd guess it must be good.
There are many more parks in Belleville, but I like Foley the best! It doesn't show up on the city's website, but comes under St. Clair County Parks. The address is St Clair County Foley Park, 5119 Douglas Rd., Belleville, IL 62220.
If you're thinking of relocating to Scott Air Force Base, or for information on communities, schools or homes for sale in O'Fallon, Belleville, Shiolh, IL and other communities that surround Scott Air Force Base, please go to www.RelocateToScottAirForceBase.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment