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Parks, Recreation, & Cultural Activities
Parks, Rec reation, & Cu lt ural Ac tivities
With numerous parks and recreational hotspots, Mendota has a lot of opportunities for fitness and nature lovers. Mendota maintains 325 acres of parkland, including 71 lakeside acres. Lake Mendota Park and Lake Kakusha are in the northwest section of town. Spanning 68 acres, Lake Mendota offers game fishing and has a pier that provides handicap access. The park features playgrounds, Frisbee golf, a volleyball court, baseball and softball diamonds, soccer fields, and picnic grounds with grills and shelters. Nearby Lake Kakusha, a wildlife refuge, is comprised of 104 acres. It also has spots for picnics, game fishing in the lake, and plenty of secluded areas for relaxing and enjoying being in a beautiful natural setting. Snyders Grove Nature Area is 98 acres and sits two miles southeast of town. With three other city parks, Apple Orchard Park, Strouss Park, and Blackstone Park, Mendota has plenty of spots for people to spend some time individually or with a group in the great outdoors. Apple Orchard Park and Blackstone Park both have playground equipment and picnic shelters. Blackstone Park also has public tennis courts. Strouss Park has a swimming pool, basketball hoops, baseball and softball diamonds, playground equipment, and picnic areas with shelters and grills. For young athletes, Little League offers a multi-team program for girls softball and boys baseball for ages 6 to 12 and a senior league team program for 15- to 16-year-olds. Other sporting opportunities are there as well, including youth soccer, youth wrestling, and junior tackle football. For those looking to stay active and fit, the Mendota Y offers additional athletic opportunities, such as group fitness classes, health seminars, and health screenings in conjunction with OSF Saint Paul Medical Center. They also offer personal trainers for individualized workout instruction. For children, the Y provides a youth summer recreation program called Adventure Camp, a day camp, after-school program, basketball, volleyball, and NFL flag football. Six sanctioned bowling alleys are located in the Mendota Elks Lodge, offering league and open bowling for members and guests. Three miles west of the city, the Mendota Golf Club has an 18-hole course with reasonable rates for non-members. They offer league play for men and women and a clubhouse offering a pro shop, food service, and bar. For a unique recreational opportunity, the small, nearby community of Triumph is home to Waltham Curling Club, which operates a three-lane curling court or ice field that can be rented for private use from December through February. With several Illinois State Parks in the area, Mendota residents enjoy exceptional recreational amenities. Starved Rock State Park has miles of hiking trails that wind through canyons and atop bluffs. There are also camping, fishing, boating, and picnic areas in the 3,200-acre park. Nearby Buffalo Rock State Park provides a panoramic view of the Illinois River from its high bluff. Families come to picnic, view the live buffalo, and stay at the lodge that is open year-round. Matthiessen State Park showcases spectacular geological formations and canyons, and Canal State Trail provides opportunities for hiking, biking, and even snowmobiling.
OTHER CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AND ACTIVITIES INCLUDE THREE MUSEUMS:
THE HUME-CARNEGIE MUSEUM contains an extensive photographic collection covering more than 150 years of the area’s history, Wild Bill Hickok memorabilia, items fashioned by various Mendota industries, and changing exhibits dealing with Native American items, local sports, and military displays.
UNION DEPOT RAILROAD MUSEUM, located in a restored part of an 1888 depot, contains an HO train layout showing 1930s Mendota in life-like detail, and outdoor rolling stock, including the CB & Q #4978 steam locomotive.
THE BREAKING OF THE PRAIRIE MUSEUM is housed in a replica barn with glass walls for open viewing and is also comprised of another building – a prairie chapel.
There is a 2,000-seat gymnasium at Mendota Township High School for viewing of sporting events. The high school also has a 524-seat auditorium for not only school productions and symphony, jazz and choral concerts, but productions put on by the Mendota Community Theatre Group and musicals by 3M Productions, a group comprised of talented residents, representing Mendota High School, Mendota Education Association, and the Mendota Community Theatre.
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