One of our back to school traditions is a drivable day trip for the family to try something new and enjoy memory-making offsite before the school routine begins. High on our list of places to visit was Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL just two hours north of Springfield. There’s a family-friendly resort just a few minutes from the park, and when Jordyn and the staff at the Grand Bear Resort invited us to come visit, we knew it was time to make this happen!
We arrived Sunday evening and enjoyed a warm welcome to the resort. You can enjoy the indoor waterpark (included with your lodging fee,) and additional fees apply for mini-golf, the petting zoo and the cave arcade to keep kids of all ages occupied! They have an activity schedule with additional things the younger kids would love: face painting, movies and story time. 
Their rates are very reasonable and we easily fit three teenagers and two adults in a family room with balcony (two queen beds and a fold out sofa sleeper). The indoor waterpark is especially nice if you have toddlers and young swimmers as the kid pool and walk-in wave pool is spacious and they have a nice kid-friendly slide nearby.
The larger slides are fun, and ALL of us enjoyed going on the tube slide one and the faster one with no tube. My attempt to ride the fast slide and not get my hair wet failed, but that made it all the more memorable! There’s a lazy river and a huge pail that spills a tsunami of water a couple times an hour. There’s also a good size hot tub to unwind.
There’s an onsite restaurant for all meals and a café for quicker bites and ice cream treats.
The petting zoo was relatively new and we enjoyed seeing the mini ponies, goats, bunnies, ducks, chicks and sheep. “Nibbles” the three-month old pony immediately grabbed my skirt for a snack, which kept us laughing. Most of our time was spent at the Cave Arcade just outside the waterpark. We enjoyed battle games of Ms. Pac Man and the girls played a variety of games, enjoyed the photo booth and played enough “Deal or No Deal’” to earn tickets to take home “Clyde” the orange ghost from Pac-Man as memorabilia from our trip. I’m now on the hunt for an affordable vintage Ms Pac-Man game as the obsession has been revived from my childhood days!
Check out the Great Bear Resort for a fun and affordable weekend getaway for you and the kids . Be sure to save some time to explore Starved Rock Park down the road. It’s a must-see! Thank you Grizzly Jack’s!
Check out our post that shares our pics and a video of our time at Starved Rock.
