Cave-In-Rock
Lodge:
A bank of the Ohio River provides the setting for this historic 200-acre
state park in the Shawnee National Forest. The restaurant and lodging
in Cave-in-Rock State Park takes its name from a large natural cave
used as a hiding place by pirates who preyed upon river travelers after
the Revolutionary War until the 1830's.
Today the
contemporary setting features four duplex cabins with eight suites, each
accommodating up to four people. The suites have baths, a recently installed
satellite TV system, kitchenette (no cooking facilities), dining area,
wet bar, bedroom, and private patio deck overlooking the river.
The family-style
restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, including Southern
specialties such as catfish.
Amenities
include a nearby nine-hole golf course, playgrounds, and picnic shelters,
as well as class B camping and class C tent sites. Outdoor activities
include hiking, fishing, boating, bicycling, golfing, picnicking, antiquing
and bird watching. Garden of the Gods is less than a 30-minute drive from
the lodge.
Located
within Cave-In-Rock
State Park, the lodge is 55 miles Southeast of Marion off
Interstate 57. Travel Highway 13 southeast to Highway 1, then south to
the park. Lodging is available seasonally from April to mid-December.
Reservations may be made by writing Cave-In-Rock Lodge, P.O. Box 336,
Cave-In-Rock, IL 62919 or by phone (618)289-4545.
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 Eagle
Creek Resort & Conference Center: Located on Lake Shelbyville
in the Eagle Creek State
Park provides luxury resort facilities, including 128 rooms and
10 family suites. Rooms feature full baths, TVs, telephones, and views of
the countryside and lake area from your outdoor patio. Eagle Creek Resort
features both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, 18-hole golf course, mini-golf
course, tennis courts, gift shop/pro shop, pontoon boat rentals and meeting
facilities.
In addition
to swimming, golfing and fishing, you can enjoy hiking, water-skiing,
relaxing in the whirlpool and sauna, bicycling. You can also enjoy sledding
and cross-country skiing in the winter. Antique shops are found in nearby
towns as is Illinois’ largest Amish community. The Rosewood Dining
Room specializes in steaks, ribs, chicken, and seafood. The Bunker's Bar
and Grille provides hearty entrees in a casual atmosphere. Also available
is nearby Eagle's Nest Conference Retreat, featuring a fireplace, eight
sleeping rooms, kitchen facilities and wet bar.
Special
package plans are available; call for a free brochure. Eagle Creek Resort
is located in Eagle Creek State Park, about 30 miles southeast of Decatur.
To reach the resort, travel Illinois 121 to Dalton City and then take
Illinois 128 south (following signs to the park) to Findlay. The resort
is 1 mile east of Findlay.
The resort,
conference center, golf course and Rosewood Dining Room are open year-round.
For more information or to make reservations, write The Eagle Creek Resort
and Conference Center, Findlay, IL 62534 or phone (800) 876-3245 or (217)
756-3456.
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Carlyle
Lakefront Cottages at Eldon Hazlet State Park: Twelve lakefront cottages are available
for rent in the park. The rustic cottages are located on the Carlyle Lake
shoreline offering a spectacular view of  the
lake. The 780 square foot units contain a kitchenette, bar, living area,
bedroom, loft and deck. The kitchenette is equipped with stove, refrigerator,
microwave, coffee maker and sink. Other amenities include cable TV, linens,
and cookware. Complimentary boat docks for each cottage are available. Each
unit is capable of sleeping up to 6 people. For more information on prices
and availability, please call Dick Pearson at 618-594-3386 or e-mail
Cottages@midwest.net.
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Giant City Lodge is part of a wooded, 3,694-acre Giant City State Park 
located in Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois. The area was inhabited
by Native Americans as early as 10,000 B.C. with the sandstone bluffs providing
them shelter. The lodge was named for the unusual rock formations that resemble
towering buildings and winding streets of a mythical giant's town. The
facility sits on a hill, the highest point in the park, and is surrounded
by 34 cabins. The lodge is rustic, with sandstone and white timber construction,
and many of the original oak furnishings are still in use. Rooms feature
full baths, TVs, telephones and forest views.
Other amenities
include an outdoor swimming pool, children's pool, stables, gift shop
and a meeting room capable of accommodating from 60 to 150 people.
The Bald
Knob dining room features a rough-hewn ceiling with brass chandeliers.
It is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is known for its "all
you can eat" family-styled fried chicken.
Activities
in the area include hiking, horseback riding, boating, and fishing for
bass, crappie and bluegill. The park also offers a handicap accessible
trail, but it does have steep drop-offs with no rails.
Giant City
Lodge is 12 miles south of Carbondale off Illinois 13 on Giant City Road.
The lodge
and restaurant are closed from mid-December until the first weekend of
February. For reservations please call us @ (618) 457-4921.
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Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center: Located on the shore of Lake
Michigan and in the most visited state park, the resort offers 92 guest
rooms, including four luxury suites. Rooms feature a full bath, TV, telephone
and a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan and the state park.
The resort
features a full service restaurant and lounge, complete banquet and catering
facilities, meeting and conference rooms for up to 400, Jacuzzi, health
club, gift shop and game room.
The scenic
location on Lake Michigan attracts more than 1 million visitors each year,
and with the hotel located right on the beach, every sunrise and sunset
is an event worth experiencing.
North Point
Marina, a full service marina, containing 1,500 slips is located nearby.
Recreational opportunities include hiking trails, walking or jogging on
the more than 3 miles of beach, and an 18 hole golf course nearby. Just
minutes away is the Six Flags Great America theme park, Gurnee Mills outlet
mall and Temple Farms, home of the famous Lippizzan stallions.
For more
information, write Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center, #1 Lake
Front, Zion, IL 60099, or phone (847) 625-7300, or call Illinois Beach
State Park at (847) 662-4828.
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 Pere
Marquette Lodge & Conference Center: Pere
Marquette State Park is situated just outside Grafton on 8,000 wooded
acres of land bordering the Illinois River. The spacious lodge's rustic
Great Room features a beamed ceiling and a massive stone fireplace. There
are 50 lodge rooms and 22 natural stone cabin rooms. Each room features
a full bath or shower, TV, telephone and views of the park or river.
The elegant
dining room seats 150 people and offers a choice of family-style dining
or a la carte menu selections for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch.
Catfish, prime rib and grilled breast of chicken are favorites. The lodge
features a 2,900-square foot conference center, which breaks into four
separate meeting spaces and can accommodate 300 people.
Other amenities
include an indoor swimming pool, sauna, whirlpool, exercise room, video
game room, tennis courts, playground, stables, cocktail lounge, gift shop
and marina with courtesy docks.
Activities
include fishing, hiking, boating, horseback riding and picnicking. You
can play chess on a life-size board as well.
The lodge,
conference center and restaurant are open year round. Pere Marquette Lodge
is located five miles north of Grafton on Illinois 100. It is approximately
25 miles northwest of Alton. Reservations may be made by writing Pere
Marquette Lodge and Conference Center, Route 100, Grafton, IL 62037 or
by phoning (618)786-2331.
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 Rend Lake Resort & Conference Center: Located in Wayne
Fitzgerrell State Park in Southern Illinois, this waterside resort offers
105 first-class rooms and cabins. All rooms feature balconies or decks with
beautiful lakefront and/or park views. Some rooms have fireplaces and others
have sleeping lofts. Cabins are outfitted with refrigerators (there are
no cooking facilities, however). All lodgings has phones, TVs and full baths
with showers.
Other amenities
of the resort are an outdoor swimming pool, children's pool, tennis court,
playground, nearby 27-hole golf course, a conference center which can
accommodate up to 400, trap shooting, field dog trial grounds, convenience
store and gift shop, gas for boats, courtesy boat docking and rental of
paddle, fishing pontoon boats, and bicycles.
Windows Restaurant
on Rend Lake serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with causal outdoor dining
on the deck. House specialties include pork chops, catfish, steak, excellent
homemade salads and desserts, and kids' menus. Activities at the resort
and the 19,000 acre lake include hunting, bird watching, swimming, boating,
sailing and fishing (especially for crappie and largemouth bass).
Rend Lake
Resort is easily accessible, just off Interstate 57, south of Mt. Vernon.
The complex is open year-round for your enjoyment. For reservations write
Rend Lake Resort, 11712 E. Windy Lane, Whittington, IL 62897-9718 or phone
1-800-633-3341.
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Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center: Located on the Illinois River between LaSalle-Peru and Ottawa, Starved
Rock State Park is one of the state's most visited sites. The 2,700-acre
park has 18 canyons and more than 15 miles of hiking trails. 
The native stone and log lodge at the park has 72 guest rooms. There are
an additional 22 cabin rooms, some with wood-burning fireplaces. Each
room has a full bath, TV (except Pioneer Cabins) and telephone, and many
have a view of the bluffs. The lodge also features a lobby and indoor
pool complex. The Great Hall is decorated with outstanding Native American
artifacts, rugs and artwork, and features a beamed ceiling and giant fireplace.
Besides the
indoor swimming pool, other amenities include a children's pool, whirlpool,
saunas, outdoor sunning patio, gift shop, lounge, boat ramps, canoe rentals
and horse rentals.
Activities in
the park area include camping, hiking, playing tennis, bicycling, fishing,
boating, horseback riding, picnicking, and wintertime cross-country skiing,
sledding and ice skating. In spring, waterfalls make a splash in the park's
18 magnificent glacier-carved canyons, while winter transforms these same
falls into magnificent ice sculptures.
The family-style
restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Specialties include a spectacular
Sunday brunch, kid's menus, prime rib, baked chicken, steaks, seafood
and pasta. The Starved Rock Cafe provides lighter fare. Six conference
rooms are available. The largest meeting room can accommodate 200 people.
The lodge is a popular location for weddings, banquets and business retreats.
Starved Rock
Lodge is located within Starved Rock State Park, 10 miles west of Ottawa
and Interstate 80, 4 miles south on Illinois 178. The lodge, conference
center and restaurant are open year-round. You may make inquiries or reservations
by writing Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center, P.O. Box 570, Utica,
IL 61373 or by calling (815) 667-4211 or 1-800-868-7625.
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White Pines Inn:
White
Pines Forest State Park, located in northwest Illinois near the Rock
River Valley, is rich in Native American History. You can view moss-covered
limestone bluffs and ford Pine Creek on a scenic drive through White Pines
Forest State Park.
The
renovated log cabin inn, crafted from stone and timbers, is nestled under
majestic white pines. There are 25 one-room guest cabins, all with fireplaces.
The main lodge contains a country gift shop with local artwork. Accommodations
feature private baths, TVs, telephones, air conditioning/heating and forest
views. There are two "Sweetheart" cabins, with fireplace, love
seat and stocked beverage refrigerator.
Other
amenities include a conference room with seating for up to 300, special
banquet menus, wedding and reception facilities, catered picnics and a
dinner theater.
The
restaurant, with timbered ceiling and knotty pine walls, serves a "Paul
Bunyan breakfast," and is well known for homemade soups, breads and
desserts.
Activities
include bank fishing on Pine Creek, picnicking, hiking, volleyball, pitching
horseshoes and, in winter, cross-country skiing and sledding.
For
more information or reservations, write White
Pines Inn, 6712 W. Pines Road, Mount Morris, IL 61054, telephone (815)946-3817
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The inn and restaurant
are closed late-December through February. Thank you.
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