Champaign: Gardens, Nature and Cultural History

Gardens, landscapes and cultural history add different dimensions to a trip connected to Champaign. Ideas for visits include guided garden tours by appointment, natural areas and places where history comes to life through exhibitions or archival materials. The examples below also vary in location: some are in Urbana or Mahomet, while others are along a section of the Kickapoo Rail Trail.

Gardens and landscapes

Japan House offers guided tours of its gardens by appointment. The tours cover history, design concepts and plants. If you are interested in garden design, a tour brings these topics together in a guided visit; making an appointment in advance is part of the planning.

The Champaign County Idea Garden is an 18,000-square-foot planted area in the University of Illinois Arboretum in Urbana. The garden includes a special area for children. It has also served as a venue for public workshops since 1997. Plants and garden design are therefore central not only to the garden itself: it is also connected to an ongoing program of public workshops.

The Red Oak Rain Garden focuses on native plants, with nearly 60 species growing there. The garden also serves as a venue for public workshops and events. The gardens therefore differ both in their focus and in the activities mentioned: Japan House offers tours by appointment, while the Idea Garden and Red Oak Rain Garden are associated with public workshops.

The Mabery Gelvin Botanical Garden is located within the Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve in Mahomet, Illinois, and covers eight acres. Check information about access and the garden’s size before your visit. The preserve itself covers 873 acres along the Sangamon River corridor in a hilly, wooded area near Mahomet. Comparing the two areas shows their different scales: the botanical garden is a clearly defined part of the larger preserve.

The Kickapoo Rail Trail offers a different perspective on the landscape, running through wooded areas, prairies and wetlands. The section currently open is 6.7 miles long and runs between Urbana and St. Joseph. The trail follows a rail line abandoned in the 1980s and offers a car-free connection and recreational opportunities between several communities and parks.

Cultural history and collections

The African American Heritage Trail documents more than 170 years of African American cultural history in Champaign County. The Museum of the Grand Prairie offers another way to explore this subject: it houses the Doris K. Wylie Hoskins Archive, with thousands of archival materials on African American history in Champaign County and east-central Illinois. The trail provides a time frame, while the archive brings together numerous materials relating to this history.

The Champaign County History Museum interprets the history of Champaign County through changing exhibitions. The museum also offers tours with different themes throughout the year. If a tour fits your plans, check the specific dates in advance. The exhibitions and tours provide different ways to explore the history of Champaign County.

Stages and other ideas for visits

In Urbana, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has five indoor stages, including Foellinger Great Hall. The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in northwest Champaign uses a digital Digistar projection system. If you are planning to attend a show, check the schedule in advance.

For a broader county-level overview, Experience Champaign-Urbana is the official tourism marketing and management organization for Champaign County. Alongside individual gardens, landscapes and cultural sites, there are also different thematic perspectives on the region.

Discover more destinations: Champaign, Urbana, Rantoul, Mahomet, Savoy, Whiteside County, Franklin County, Randolph.

For the broader travel overview: Illinois.