weldon springs state park

wonderful park with a spring fed lake. The 2 mile hike around the lake is a moderate hike that takes you past, Great blue Herons, Green Herons and turtles. A refreshing spot away. Beautiful Veteran Memorial that you can hike to 1 mile or drive to, 1/2 way around the lake.

A beautiful and quiet park located in central Illinois. Something for all ages whether it's camping, hiking, fishing, picnicking or visiting the Veterans Memorial.

The gently sloping trails of Weldon Springs wander through the woods on the perimeter of a meandering lake. There are many vistas of the lake, plentiful fishing docks, several playgrounds for children, camping facilities for both tents and RVs, a veteran's memorial, and much more. Those interested in history will enjoy walking and standing where such famous Americans as President Taft, Billy Sunday, Carrie Nation, and Helen Keller once stood. The spring-fed lake hosts fish, geese, and ducks, and other small wildlife can be seen in the woods. Weldon Springs is the perfect place to relax and unwind from the stress of a busy life.

Good little fishing spot I was told. I got skunked. The was very pretty. 4 stars. One of the 1st parks Illinois like to shut down to save money.

Weldon Springs is a pleasant, spring-fed lake, surrounded by an access road and hiking trail with occasional park benches, picnic tables and modest attractions like the Veteran's Memorial, a playground for the kids, and a marina during summer busy times.This is a very subdued park, with plenty of songbirds, waterfowl and small animals frequenting the trails.Having a pleasant barbecue at one of the picnic tables under the trees is a delight on a hot day. I've never seen the park crowded so it's always a good bet that you'll find nature a-plenty.The City of Clinton has a variety of volunteer groups that cleanup, fixup and maintain the park and it is a very nice place to spend quality quiet time.Don't know about the fishing or boating, but it looks like it might be fun.Seems they also have sledding on one of the hills in wintertime, but I've never been there after a snowfall.I recommend this park!

The campground is small but nice, for the most part the sites were level but small. The campground host was very friendly and saw him cruise the campground a lot making sure everything was okay. The shower house was clean and had hot water. The water hydrant was close but the water we filled our camper with seemed to be a rust color. The park had nice trails and we really liked the Veterans Memorial the gem of the park it was nicely done. Overall we would return.

We had a nice drive through the park. Having visited before, we had already seen the Veteran's Memorial and lake. They have pavilions, picnic tables, and areas appropriate for kids to play. It's a small but nice place to visit. Didn't see much color on this trip.

We took a hike that circles the lake and winds around for two miles. Along the way we saw several birdhouses. Later we learned that there are over 80 birdhouses that are maintained to provide homes for bluebirds. Another pretty spot in this park is called Veterans Point. It is there to honor all veterans. The first thing we noticed were the fifty “Flags of Freedom”. These are only flown on seven holidays and we were lucky enough to visit on one of those holidays. They have many beautiful touches tin this area. One of them is a sculpture that has “Freedom is not Free” inscribed on the base. We enjoyed our walk and everyone we met was very friendly.

Just a couple of hours from Chicago, St. louis, or Indianapolis is the Weldon Springs State Park. This is an old park. It was a site for Chautauqua lectures at the end of the 19th century. It has not lost its appeal. great camping sites, hiking trails, and fishing. In mid-summer, you can paddle boat around the lake. I grew up here and didn't appreciate what a jewel this park is until I started seeing it through the eyes of my friends who came to visit. Take a day or two to enjoy the best of the midwest.

My husband & I have always liked cooking out at Weldon Springs. One of the things we always liked was it doesn't close till 10:00p.m., and no one ever came around to bother us. But now we think the Park Rangers should patrol it more often. We were cooking at one of their sites on November 8, 2013, And the time had already changed, so it got dark earlier. When we first got there- there was already a car parked there. (Could have been a white Ranchero with a topper on the back.) But we didn't see anybody, so we just figured they were walking on the trails & would eventually come back & leave. So we started cooking. It got to be about 7:00p.m. & we were almost done cooking, but it was really dark & getting colder. The only light we had was the campfire & 2 little lanterns. We had gotten in the car to warm up while we waited on the food. Then all of a sudden 2 men- probably in their early twenties- came up out of the woods. They came & leaned against their car, (our car was right next to theirs), and they just stared at us in our car. We couldn't hear what they were talking about. I didn't want him to, but eventually my husband got out to check on the food & put the last thing on the grill. I stayed in the car, I was scared. My husband started bringing our stuff to the car to put it away. Then I turned on the headlights so we could both see what was going on better. Then I noticed one of the men put the bandana around his neck up over his nose & mouth- all I could see was his eyes. My husband went to the back of the car for something, and another older man came out of the woods & they all followed my husband. I couldn't see a thing & was about to panic when I saw my husband beside the car door again. I said, "Get the rest of our stuff & LET"S GO!" He said, "Our food is still up there." I told him I didn't care & they could have it. So he got the last thing- them still watching him the whole time. He got back in the car & I pulled away as fast as I could. I'm sure they thought he would go back after the food. And I think it was smart that I never got back out of the car., I could have had a gun or something. I didn't- but they didn't know that. Anyway, We will not be cooking after dark any more. It really is a nice park to enjoy in the daylight though.

I love spending time here, walking the trails, spending time at Veteran's point and the old school house! So much to do! The camping is great too!

This park was much bigger than I expected with lots of roads leading to different parts of the park, albeit with minimal signage telling what those parts were. There wasn’t any sort of information center, there also wasn’t any admission fee. I found a parking lot with an information kiosk so I was able to take a look (and a photo) of a park map and plan my walk.I liked the way the park and trail are planned out. You can rent little rowboats near the parking lot and cross the lake that way - there were many little docks along the shore where people could tie up their boat then walk up to a nearby picnic area. There were also restroom spaced along the trail which was a pleasant surprise. I parked next to the lake and set off on the Lakeside Trail. From the parking lot the lake didn’t look too big, as I walked I discovered the lake kept going and going with lots of little inlets. Happily most of the trail was tree lined and shady with an occasional welcome breeze because it was unseasonably warm for September.Nice place to be outside enjoying nature. Looks like it would be fun for families. I was there on a weekday in September and there weren't very many people there so it was very peaceful.