Parks / Recreation / Attractions
Parks
Dixon has more parks per capita than any other town in Illinois. Many of our parks are located along the scenic Rock River including the Dixon Park District's magnificent 240-acre Lowell Park where President Ronald Reagan worked summers as a lifeguard in his youth. The Dixon Park District owns and maintains many other park and recreational facilities throughout the community and operates year 'round recreational and educational programs. The district also operates an extensive nature center.
The immediate area is home to seven State Parks and natural areas as well. White Pines Forest State Park, Morrison Rockwood State Park, Lowden State Park, Castle Rock State Park, Franklin Creek State Natural Area and Equestrian Park, Green River State Wildlife Area and, Nachusa Grasslands are all within a short drive.
Recreation
Recreation is important to area residents. We work hard and we like to play hard as well. There are many opportunities to do this including golf courses; bike trails; fishing; racquetball; volleyball; weight training; basketball; or just take a quiet walk in the woods.
The Dixon Family YMCA established in 1872 is second to none. The "Y" serves over 4,000 individuals and includes complete weight and fitness rooms overlooking Galena Avenue, indoor pool and gym, classes and programming for all ages.
The Dixon Petunia Festival is one of the State of Illinois' oldest (40 years) and largest community festivals running over the week of the Fourth of July each year. Petunia Fest annually draws people from throughout the Midwest for parades, drum and bugle corps competition, carnival, country concert, festival garden and loads of family fun. Numerous other community festivals are popular diversions throughout the year and nearly every local community has at least one.
Attractions
The area includes key tourist attractions including history and heritage, monuments and museums. So whether you are into antiques, history, prairies or farm tours our area is for you.
The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home is in Dixon and is restored to the 1920's when Ronald Reagan and his family lived there. The facility offers guided tours and a visitor center and gift shop.
- The John Deere Historic Site is where John Deere forged the first successful steel plow able to break the tough and sticky native sod and thus open up farming in the Midwest. The site has an archeological museum of the original shop and an operating blacksmith shop along with the original Deer home and a pavilion and gift shop.
- The Amboy Depot Museum is housed in the 1876 Illinois Central Railroad Depot. The 19-room museum is a fully restored depot reflecting the history of the Amboy area.
- The Mills & Petrie Memorial houses the Village of Ashton offices and the City library. It is named after a pair of Civil War veterans that "adopted" the village.
- The National Headquarters for the Historic Lincoln Highway Association (the first transcontinental highway - 1913) is located in the Historic H.I. Lincoln Building in Franklin Grove. This classic stone building of the 1860's houses the Lincoln Highway Museum.
- The Lincoln State Memorial is the only known statue of Abraham Lincoln in military uniform. The young 23-year-old Lincoln is depicted as Captain of the Sangamon County Volunteers and stands tall on the north bank of the Rock River at the site of Fort Dixon where soldiers served during the Blackhawk Indian War of 1832.
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