Wildlife Prairie Park, also known as the Hazel & Bill Rutherford Wildlife Prairie Park, is located in

Peoria County, Illinois Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

, in central Illinois, approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of downtown Peoria. The Park has species native to Illinois in its natural habitat. The Park consists of several playgrounds, the Wildlife Prairie Park Railroad, an Adventure Trek tour that passes through an elk and bison pasture, a sculpture walk, and a variety of native Illinois wildlife, such as white bison, wolves, bears, otters, bobcats, coyotes, eagles, and more. The Park offers hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, and an 18-hole championship-level disc golf course as recreational activities. Many of the Park's artificial elements were constructed by hand and with recycled materials in an effort to reduce their negative environmental effects years before it was commonplace to safeguard the environment. The bricks on the visitor center patio and train depot, the repurposed whiskey barrels as trash cans, the resawn wood used in the buildings, and the numerous telephone poles used in the gates and bridges around the Park are all made of recycled materials. The habitats and bridges are largely hand-built. This practice has extended to on-site lodging, where guests can stay overnight in converted Santa Fe Train Cabooses and former grain bins. On-site accommodation includes contemporary cabins with porches facing the bison and elk pastures, one-room log cottages, and patios facing Caboose Lake. The Forest Park Foundation first acquired the area in the late 1960s. Wildlife Prairie Park initially welcomed visitors in September 1977 before becoming open to the public on a more permanent basis in 1978. In 2001, it was transferred from private foundation ownership to the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

and renamed Wildlife Prairie State Park. The Park was officially returned to private hands in May 2013 when it was given to a group of community members known as Friends of Wildlife Prairie Park."An Act concerning property." (P.A. 98-0013)
approved May 13, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2015. The land was officially reclaimed in 2014.

References

External links

Wildlife Prairie Park
— official website State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Peoria County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1977 1977 establishments in Illinois {{PeoriaCountyIL-geo-stub