My husband and I are going to be visiting friends in the Benton/Mount Vernon area in the middle of October. I was wondering what things there are to do in this area at that time of year. You should know that 2 people are in wheelchairs. This usually doesn't stop my husband but we have found that some things are tougher.
not much activity in this forum, so i'll try to help out a bit:
close by is rend lake and wayne fitzgerald state park... never been, but it's close...
about 1.5-2 hours south is the shawnee national forest and several state parks nestled within... good sights to check out are giant city state park, bald knob cross, fern clyffe st park and garden of the gods.... not sure how much access you'll have with a wheel chair, but it's worth doing a little research... been in this area countless times---very beautiful part of illinois...
about 2 hours north, along I-57 are the amish/mennonite towns of arthur and arcola... i've been thru there once, but they're not as impressive as other areas out east.....
Rend Lake is a pretty lake, but the primary activities are boating and fishing which may be difficult.
If you are going to be visiting for several days, you may want to take a day trip to St. Louis, which is only an hour and a half away.
There is a winery in Mt. Vernon (GenKota), and several others not far away, but I haven't tried them, so I can't recommend one over the others.
Cruise around - http://www.mtvernon.com/newtourism/index2.htm
Thanks for the help. We've stayed at the Rend lake complex before it's very nice I'm sure we'll do some activities there this trip. I'll check out the state forrest. Sounds like that and maybe a walking tour of Mount Vernon could be interesting. Again thank you for your suggestions.
