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• Top 5 places to take a walk

With summer almost in full bloom, it's time to get out and enjoy the art of a good walk. Here are my top 5 spots in CU.

Downtown Champaign

Downtown is designated by many denizens as a hot spot for dinner and drinks, but it’s also a great place for an evening stroll. Little shops and restaurants brimming with character attract customers of the like, making it a perfect place for pedestrian people-watching. The canopies of strung lights adorning many-a-beer garden add to the alluring ambiance.

The Quads

All three have their merits. I’d suggest starting near the Engineering Quad, perhaps even venturing as far north as Beckman. There are sidewalks and sculptures a plenty, flowers and fountains galore. You want thingamabobs? Head down to the main Quad on a sunny spring afternoon and enjoy the carnival-esque spectacle of jugglers, tightrope walkers, and a boardwalk of RSO booths selling goodies and/or soliciting membership. If the festivities and flyers get to be too much for you, proceed to the South Quad, where you can bask in serenity and sun. Relax, fly a kite, or play some Frisbee, free from the clutter and commotion of the main quad crowds.

Busey Woods

If you seek to escape the hustle and bustle of city and campus, try treading a trail in Busey Woods. The mulch paths and occasional bridge or bench are the only signs of human influence. Busey Woods is a nature preserve, consisting of 59 acres of woods and wildlife for your wanderment. This and other information (including how you can help with conservation efforts) can be found online at www.urbanaparks.org.

Allerton

I debated—only for an instant—whether Allerton was close enough to be deemed “local,” but I decided that it doesn’t matter: it’s such an aesthetic asset to this area, Champaign-Urbana should be proud to claim it as a top walk spot. Some favorites among its many attractions are the Fu Dog Garden, the Sunken Garden, the Sun Singer, and of course, Robert Allerton’s mansion. If you haven’t been there, put this paper down and go right now. The walk that awaits you is well deserving of the drive. Visit www.continuinged.uiuc.edu/allerton for more information about Allerton’s attractions and activities.

The Arboretum

A heavenly hideaway, right on campus. This is the perfect place to picnic or play, study or just sit—in sunlight or shade. Gardens and grassy hills, a placid pond complete with a peninsula, and of course, an abundance of trees—all different shapes, sizes, and species. You can find out more by visiting www.arboretum.uiuc.edu on the web. Better yet, just go there!

Honorable mentions: Meadowbrook Park, Illini Grove, Lake of the Woods, Homer Lake and downtown Urbana.