Funks Grove Nature Spaces — Attraction in Illinois

One of the first things that you look for when you pull into a place right off the highway in the middle of the country is a bathroom, the bathroom at this place was disgusting absolutely positively disgusting. Had I been the one driving I would have left immediately so I had to wonder around a little bit and see the rest of the place. I must confess for the most part it was boring as could be. We didn't have any children I would imagine that some little children who were starved for a natural experience might have found below play areas interesting. Unfortunately one of the first things was skin and it was unnerving. In North Carolina the most part I just found this experience quite boring. Ever there was one bright spot there was a lovely little area surrounded by windows that was designed for bird watching. It was comfortable enough and the views were fantastic. That was a Serene lovely little party and I sat there for quite a few minutes and enjoyed it a great deal it made the time that I spent there not a complete loss. I would never go back even if they were giving...

This is such a nice place. We went for my daughter's scool field trip. It's a little bit small, but the kids loved getting into the creek, getting muddy and there is an awesome climbing tree but a little too intimidating for my 9 year old. If you don't have kids with you I can imagine it would be very peaceful because the trails are really nice. They have turtles and a viewing room for birds. You can see almost every kind of bird fly in and out of the garden. They have a pavillion for having lunch and bathrooms to use in the main building. My only issue was that the bird viewing room has no AC and it was a 90 plus degree day! It was so hot in there that I was literally dripping sweat and felt dizzy. So be aware of that room if you go...

This used to be Sugar Grove Nature Center, one of the finest nature centers in Central Illinois with great trails and a tremendous nature center area. It probably had 2000 visitors for its fall program and had innumerable other programs during the year.

Unfortunately, it was run into the ground by a board that didn’t have a clue what they were doing and they have closed down the nature center and restricted other access. They had dozens of volunteers and now presumably none now except a few people aligned with the board members.

The Illinois Attorney General declined to intervene unless forced to, although the intentions of donors were not followed. The Attorney General was also tone deaf to the damage to the...