Places to
Go
At SIU and in Carbondale, there is no end to
the many diverse and interesting places you can visit! From
coffeehouses to state parks to Japanese gardens, SIU and Carbondale have
something for everyone. For more information, you can visit the
website for the Carbondale Convention and
Tourism Beaureau or the
Carbondale Now website.
Quick Links:
- On Campus
- In Carbondale
- Around Carbondale
On Campus
The campus of Southern Illinois University has many places considered to
be student "hot spots". Here are just a few:
SIU Student Recreation Center:
The Student Recreation Center, or "The Rec" as many students call it, is the
central location on campus for students' physical fitness and exercise
needs. The Recreation Center features an indoor pool, a climbing wall,
weight training facilities, a two-level track, raquetball courts, a martial
arts room, and more.
SIU Student Center:
The SIUC Student Center is one of the largest
student centers in the United
States without a hotel. While you're at SIU,
it's your home away from home
and the center of activity on the campus.
They offer many services to
students, and provide many excellent study areas.
Kumakura Japanese Gardens:
The beautiful
and serene Kumakura Japanese Gardens, named
for
Nobuo Kumakura, the mayor of Nakajo,
Japan,
are located behind the north end of Faner near
the Old Baptist
Foundation building and the Coal Research Center.
University Museum: The University
Museum
showcases a wide variety of exhibits, ranging
from work of local
artists to geology to artifacts.
Campus Lake:
SIU Carbondale campus
houses its very own lake. Campus Lake
offers
fishing, boating, beach volleyball,
and a walking path that completely
circuits
the lake.
Shryock Auditorium:
The major campus auditorium.
Considered the largest auditorium in
Southern Illinois.
Shryock has been the host for scores of plays, musicals,
concerts, and other performances through the years.
It is located near Anthony Hall just north of the
Student Center.
SIU Arena: The Arena hosts many
events,
including concerts, basketball games, speeches,
specialty shows, and
more.
Morris Library:
The official SIU Campus Library.
One of the largest research libraries in the Midwest.
Kleinau Theater: The theater for the Department
of Speech and
Communication and the College of
Liberal Arts.
McLeod Theater:
The theater for the SIU Theater Department.
Located at the Speech and
Communications Building.
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In Carbondale:
If nothing on campus suits your fancy at the moment, the city of
Carbondale has many places students can visit. For example:
*William M. Marberry Arboretum: This 24-acre
park
has more than 6,000 species of trees, plus shrubs, wildflowers
and
assorted wildlife. You'll also find many historical
sites here, including
sandstone slabs walked on
by President Abraham Lincoln and two unmarked
graves
from the Civil War, and stones from a Shawnee Indian Counsel fire.
Call 618-529-4147
University Mall: Located on the south side
of Route 13 near the intersection of Route 13 and Giant City Road, the
University Mall houses a movie theater, specialty shops, a coffee shop,
video games/electronics shops, an arcade, and more. Many students go
here to socialize and shop.
*Carbondale Historic Town Square: Twenty-five historic
buildings edge Carbondale's nostalgic Town Square. When Daniel Harmon Brush,
Carbondale's founding father, filed the original 56-acre plat of Carbondale
in 1852, almost ten acres were left open in the center of town and were
deeded to the Illinois Central Railroad to be used for “railroad purposes
only”. Throughout the 1800's and 1900's, this area became known as the
“public square” and it was both the central focus of the town and its
business center. A walking tour map/brochure is available upon request from
the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau,
or from the City Hall/Civic Center.
*West Walnut Street Historic District: Carbondale's West
Walnut Street Historic District was granted designation as a registered
National Historic District in May, 1975. Fifty-four historic residences are
located in the district. While some of the homes date back to a time when
Carbondale was founded (early 1850's), most date back to the early 20th
century. The homes in the district are private residences and are not open
to the public. One exception, the Hundley House, is located at 601 W. Main
Street and is an exclusive gift shop.
"The Strip": A small section of northbound Route 51, known
as "The Strip", is a part of Carbondale frequented by many students.
Lined with a wide variety of restaurants and businesses to suit nearly every
taste, The Strip is a bustle of activity on weekends. The Amtrak
station is located on the north part of The Strip. This is also the
location for an SIU clothing outlet and two bookstores that cater to the
textbook needs of SIU students.
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Around Carbondale:
Jackson County offers many opportunities to indulge in the great natural
beauty of the region. A few key places to visit are:
Touch of Nature
Environmental Center: Located off of Giant City Road, the Touch of
Nature Environmental Center offers services to the campus and community
including recreation, environmental education, experiential learning,
academic support, outdoor recreation therapy, and conference services.
*Bald Knob Cross:
One of the most visible and most famous of Southern Illinois' attractions,
the 111-foot cross tops Bald Knob Mountain near Alto Pass in Union County.
When illuminated at night, it can be seen for miles. The road winding up
to the cross is an adventure in itself, and the view from the top of Bald
Knob is spectacular year-round. Thousands attend the Easter sunrise
services that have been conducted annually since 1937. In 1951, the Bald
Knob Christian Foundation Inc. began efforts to place a permanent shrine
on Bald Knob Mountain, the highest point in Southern Illinois. Ground was
broken in 1959 and the cross finished in 1963.
*Crab
Orchard National Wildlife Refuge: Worth visiting any time of the year,
this 4,000-acre refuge is especially beautiful in the fall when the geese
return for
the winter. Every Sunday in October, wildlife enthusiasts drive
through sections
of the refuge normally closed to traffic, watching for wild
turkeys, coyotes, foxes
and bobcats. Deer are most often sighted early in
the day or late in the evening.
Thousands of visitors enjoy the view from
observation towers along Illinois 148
in Williamson County.
*Devil's Backbone - Devil's Bake Oven: Devil's Backbone is an
unusual rock ridge that runs along the Mississippi River at Grand Tower in
Jackson County. Another unusual rock formation called Devil's Bake Oven is
at the north end of the park. Pitted with caves, the Oven once harbored
river pirates until a U.S. cavalry troop drove them away in 1803. The park
also was the site of an Indian massacre in the early 1800s. The foundation
walls of an old house still stand atop Devil's Bake Oven. According to
legend, the ghost of a young girl who died of a broken heart lingers among
the ruins and is sometimes seen on quiet, moonlit nights.
Giant City
State Park - This park tells a geologic tale
315 million years
old. Pennsylvanian bedrock called Pounds
sandstone is the basis for the
park's unusual rock formations.
Early settlers said the rocks looked like
the streets of a "Giant City."
*Kinkaid Lake: Kinkaid Lake, 5 miles northwest of
Murphysboro, is a 2,650-acre spring-fed impoundment built in 1968. It has an
average depth of 29 feet, although the area near the spillway on its
southernmost tip is about 80 feet deep. The Kinkaid-Reed's Creek Conservancy
District oversees affairs of the lake, including quality of the water
supply, which is regulated at the water plant on the east end of the lake.
Kinkaid Lake, known nationally for its fishing, is the only Southern
Illinois lake where muskie can be stocked successfully. The wooded area
around the lake is also known for excellent deer, wild turkey, rabbit, quail
and squirrel hunting. Kinkaid Lake has hiking trails around the lake,
camping facilities, and a 300-slip marina on the east end. The spillway is a
beautiful natural rock waterfall, quite popular for sunning & swimming, and
the pool formed by the runoff from the spillway has produced some record
size bass & catfish. Lake Murphysboro State Park sits adjacent to the east
end of Kinkaid Lake and offers hiking, fishing, and camping. For more
information about Kinkaid Lake, call 618-684-1722.
*Shawnee Saltpetre Cave: Nature's own amphitheater,
Illinois' largest bluff shelter features strange rock formations, a roaring
waterfall, picnic tables, nature trails, travel trailer parking and the use
of paddle boats and canoes. Leisure travelers enjoy this family oriented
attraction, which is often used for concerts, reunions, weddings, movie
shoots, and special occasions. Located 6 miles south of Murphysboro, on
Illinois Route 127.
*Cedar Lake: This 1,750-acre lake in the western half of
Shawnee National Forest is about six miles south of Carbondale between U.S.
51 and Illinois 127. It has 40 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 60
feet and provides largemouth bass, spotted bass, bluegill, sunfish, crappie,
channel catfish, bullheads, carp, walleye, yellow bass, suckers and drum.
There is a 10-horsepower limit.
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* Information taken directly from the Carbondale Convention and Tourism
Bureau website: http://www.cctb.org
