“ There is more land in Shawnee National Park , but we have the most per person in the state ,” Vermilion County Conservation District Education Supervisor Lara Danzl said . “ We are fortunate to have many state areas like the Middlefork fishing area , Kickapoo state park and there are the county parks that we run with Kennekuk County Park , Forest Glen Preserve , Lake Vermilion County Park and Heron County Park and that doesn ’ t even mention the parks in Danville .”
“ Literally thousands of people come into our parks and experience so many things from the new rail trail bridge to the mountain bike trails in Kickapoo and hiking and fishing ,” Cooke said . “ Every park is different . You can play disc golf and experience a wonderful arboretum , you can ride horses in our parks and go canoeing down the Vermilion river . What we can do is amazing .”
The VCCD made major strides in
improving major attractions , including the Kickapoo Rail Trail , which has added new parts in the last few years , including the opening of the trestle bridge last year .
“ The bridge opened in late 2021 and a stretch in Oakwood opened in 2019 ,” Danzl said . “ The original railroad bridge was built in 1921 and it has coal rivet construction and there is not many structures left in the world with coal rivets . The bridge had 300,000 pounds of steel from Pittsburgh .
“ You can start in Oakwood or start on the east end where the trestle bridge is located . There is a parking lot off of U . S . 150 on top of the hill by the Middlefork River . The parking lot has a restroom people can use and it is on the west side of the bridge . We are trying to discourage people from parking alongside the Vermilion County Fairgrounds road and we want people to utilize the parking lot . There is a small parking lot north of Oakwood City Hall on 106 south Scott St . What we have left is picking it up in Oakwood can continuing west to the county line . Right now , there is a one-mile stretch that begins at Ogden and goes to the Champaign County line .”
Danzl said that the programs that she runs for children during the summer and during the year can help families understand and appreciate the outdoors .
“ I don ’ t consider it work because I think it is so much fun to be able to offer different programs ,” Danzl said . “ Our summer camp programs were great and they were all filled . We get to be innovative and anytime we get to show natural resources and when we do these classes , it shows that we are all connected to the natural world . We get so busy with our lives and everything seems so instant and we forget that we are part of our own world and we have to make sure that we take care of it and make sure that people know about that .
Danville Stadium drew excellent crowds for the summer baseball season featuring the Danville Dans .
30 OUR COMMUNITY — 2022