Welcome to Spring Lake Park

Spring Lake Falls (Chris Frandsen)

Located 1.8 miles northwest of Streator, Illinois, scenic Spring Lake Park is 37.2 acres of natural land owned by the City of Streator.  The park contains two creeks, a sandstone formation waterfall, a trail system, and flora and fauna typical of central Illinois. The people of Streator invite you to enjoy hiking, bird watching, fishing, horseback riding, dog walking, photography, and the abundance of vegetation and wildlife in the park’s varied terrain. The park is home to deer, wild turkeys, beavers, squirrels, snakes, frogs, butterflies and birds of all types.  A towering cottonwood tree is arguably one of the largest in the state, well over 200 years old.

Spring Lake Park is 30 minutes or less from Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen State Park, Buffalo Rock State Park, and the Illinois Michigan Canal State Trail.  It is easily accessible from Interstate 39, Interstate 80, and state routes 18 and 23.

A Google map may be found at:  http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&ie=UTF8&ll=41.130056,-88.85253&spn=0.026442,0.056562&z=14

What’s Happening at the Park

Campground Host Program
Free Camping in Exchange for Park Hosting

Spring Lake Park is introducing a resident host program following the model used at state and federal parks. In exchange for free camping, resident hosts will serve an average of 35 hours per week, including holiday and weekends, to greet visitors, answer questions, monitor for compliance of park rules and regulations, and provide light maintenance (i.e., check restrooms, collect trash).  Host individuals or couples must be at least 21 years of age, provide their own hardtop camping unit, own their own camping equipment, and show proof of insurance.  A minimum stay of four weeks is required.  The resident host program will be in operation from April 15, 2009, through October 31, 2009.  For information, contact Lois Guyon at 815 343-3774 or laguyon@ilstu.edu.

The Pawelczyk family — Joe with son, Zachary, (foreground) Heather with dog, Corona, and two sons Joey and Jimmy -- are the park's first resident hosts. (Photo: Doug Larson)

Please see the You Can Help! page
for items that will be needed for upcoming projects.

We Want to Hear From You!

We’d like to hear about your experiences visiting the park.  If you have comments to share or problems we could address, drop an email to Doug Patterson at dbp44@yahoo.com.

We also invite you to visit the following sites:

City of Streator
Streator Tourism