Jacksonville, IL Outdoor Activities

The pedal pioneers at Boschertown Grand Prix Racing have been facilitating high-speed adventures on one of the largest tracks in the Midwest for more than half a century. In the early days of racing, the course served as a venue for the homemade karts of avid individuals, but now houses a herd of go-karts, sprint-karts, and super-karts that eliminate the possibility of unfair home upgrades such as engines outfitted with nitrous or the flux-capacitor of a 1981 DeLorean. Drivers as young as 10 reach speeds of up to 17 mph in a standard kart; racers 16 or older helm 24 mph sprint-karts; and drivers 18 or older take control of 28 mph super-karts. Wheels roll over hairpin turns, banked corners, straightaways, and opponents' rights to call themselves "Greased Lightning" as drivers dominate laps around the 5/8-mile track.

Artisans fashion their handcrafted wares before visitors' eyes, strolling minstrels entertain passersby with song, and knights suit up for their next jousting match. Such sights are commonplace in the wooded 16th-century village of Petit Lyon, where the award-winning Renaissance St. Louis hosts its annual St. Louis Renaissance Faire. Renaissance St. Louis opts not to set its festivities in England or atop a napping dragon like so many fairs before, but rather in 16th-century France as homage to the city's French-exploration roots. At Petit Lyon, volunteers costumed as villagers, noble courtiers, and peasants chat with guests, while nearby swordfighters and jugglers entertain visitors with their standup routines. Meanwhile, the town's king and queen host special audiences with youngsters, who can greet critters in the petting zoo or explore the Viking camp's longboat display. Along with the St. Louis Renaissance Faire, Renaissance St. Louis continues educating the public with its St. Louis Pirate Festival, regional events, and travelling exhibits.

Sun Valley Golf Course stretches over a 200-acre neck of Lincoln County and treats players to an 18-hole tour of its gently rolling hills and valleys. Though players often find themselves awed by the course's scenic countryside setting, they're just as likely to recount later how they fared when faced with its most unique feature: hole five, a 720-yard par 6. To slay this lengthy monstrosity, players tee off from an elevated tee box, then must work uphill past creeks at 200 yards and 260 yards and a large tree in the middle of the fairway to reach the elevated green. Architect Gary Kern included the highly unusual hole, known affectionately as "The Beast," as a way to stand out from the courses that distinguish themselves by allowing only croquet to be played on their greens.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 course
• Total length of 6,607 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 69.8 from the back tees
• Course slope of 124 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard

Buried in the woods, 15 single- and two-story log cabins line a path leading to a secluded frontier fortress. Masked combatants armed with Tippmann 98 paintball guns ponder the path's obstacles before slinking forward to meet their opponents. Along Bing Field Paintball & Airsoft Park's three wooded fields strewn across 35 acres, players sneak into sniping positions in the Frontier Field's two-story log cabins, the Vietnam Field's two-story guard tower, or the World War II field's two-story hidden U-boat. Four speedball fields––air ball, barrel, concrete, and spool––accommodate paintball players on the other side of the wooded park. Paintball and airsoft packages grant visitors up to seven hours of play, which they can break up with refueling sessions spent scarfing down refreshments while gossiping about opponents' love lives at an onsite concessions stand.

At Discover Powered Paragliding, pilot Michael Mixer positions aspiring paragliders on proper flight paths with instructional voyages and a complete line of BlackHawk paramotors. Michael’s expertise is the result of seven years of flying ultralight planes, and he continues to fine-tune his skills by taking off on an engine-assisted paraglider at least three times a week. The gliders—tricycle-like contraptions that can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour—allow Michael and a tandem pilot to ascend up to 18,000 feet in the air. Flights depart in the calm air of early morning, as well as two to three hours before sunset, giving passengers the opportunity to admire bursts of color on the horizon and steer clear of the migratory pathways of feral fighter jets.

Since Paragliding Unlimited launched its first client in 2003, owner Jiri Sindler and his team have maintained a sterling safety record for their motorized version of airborne sailing. The crew teaches power paragliding, in which a motorized fan and a tank of recycled political bluster give lift to the featherweight craft. Once it has ascended more than 10 feet, its large wing catches the wind and buoys you into the sky. Drivers sit upright in "trikes," their legs extended in front of them as they work the two brakes and the throttle.

The school both belongs to and is recommended by the U.S. Powered Paragliding Association. Instructors will jump tandem with beginning students and immerse experienced pilots in six-day intensives, keeping fliers of all levels safe by capping classes at four students (they prefer a ratio of 1:1 or 2:1). At the accompanying shop, gliders browse clothing, new Nirvana equipment, and used gear. Flights lift off from Gateway Airpark in Pierron, Illinois, which the team selected for the staff's friendliness to paragliders and their ability to twist their bodies into the shapes of passing clouds for realistic trainings on the ground.