Centennial Park — Attraction in Swansea

Centennial Park is a hidden gem in Swansea, IL. It's tucked into a neighborhood just a block from one of the busiest intersections in town and is a natural getaway from traffic. St. Clair County has made recent improvement efforts in the park building a pavilion, gazebo, and natural play area. They even host wildlife talks monthly throughout the summer, I hope to make it to one soon.

The park is full of long trails cutting through the middle of town, but the trees are so dense, you can't even tell you're in town. Richland Creek runs through the park and Centennial boasts a large bridge that is popular for locals' professional photos- weddings, family photos, senior pictures, prom, etc. There's also a pond behind the creek.

In my most recent visit, I spent some time reading the placards along the walking trail and learned about the history of the land where the park stands today. In addition to history, there's quite a bit of information on the wildlife that reside in the park. The pond is the perfect place to view wildlife. I've seen a white heron on the water there before and always turtles on some logs.

Centennial Park is connected to the bike trail that runs from Shiloh to...

This park is a massive off-leash dog park, but it wasn't marked or advertised as that, so please be aware before you visit, especially if you've got small children. We visited today with our kids, not realizing it wasn't a standard city park, and had multiple encounters with off-leash dogs. One of the dogs ran up and growled quite aggressively at my son, and we stood still waiting for it to lose interest/walk away. There was no owner anywhere in sight. As the dog went one direction, we turned and walked the opposite to give it space but it reversed and was running after us. It wasn't an enjoyable encounter at ALL, and again -- no owner in sight. On our way out, one of my children stepped (and slipped) in a massive pile of dog waste.

The park is, frankly, a lovely little spot, but it needs to be better marked so that people know they're in a dog park. I would not have visited had I known this wasn't a typical park. And as nice at it is, and it is nice, it's not necessarily a good place for people with small children, dog phobias, or allergies. But for sure take your pups here! The ones we encountered all seemed to love it (just please clean up after them for the sake of the...

This park, with its bridge over Richland Creek is as much a part of my childhood, 50 years ago, as Santa Claus. Then it was called Brewery Pond. Its storied past is the stuff of legend. Now it is an innocent, lovely walking path where I have walked with my wife, and with my daughter when she was 12, twenty years ago. Spoke with my uncle, soon to be 85–he said he and my dad swam there many time during childhood, just like my generation (the 60-year-olds) did. People made up spooky stories about it, the usual, no bottom (we went down 30’ and hit a bottom, but that wasn’t direct-center so how deep is it?), that secret tunnels connected it to a pond in a cemetery, etc. Someone did drown there when we were kids though— it was in the newspaper. The tree where we made a little fire to warm up (& swinging rope hung from it for summer swimming!)had its last campfire and collapsed, smashed through the ice. I believe a child ice-skating with his father was killed. The End. Long live Brewery Pond! Video inspired by Brewery Pond by a Poet/grad student & her musician...