Arcola (Illinois)

Arcola is a city in Central Illinois with a population of 2,927 as of 2020. The city is mostly surrounded by farm land and is roughly a 40 minute drive from Champaign-Urbana. Visitors will get a sense of small town Midwest as they walk or drive down the streets of Arcola. In the countryside surrounding the city houses the largest Amish population in Illinois with many small shops operated by Amish craftsman in and around the area.

Get in

By car

Most visitors to Arcola can drive into town from the north from Champaign and from the south on either US highway 45 or I-57. Illinois Highway 133 allows access to Arcola from east and west.

By plane

Arcola is not serviced directly by an airport. The closest airport is Willard Airport 28 miles north in Champaign.

• 1 Willard Airport CMI ^IATA has flights to and from Chicago and Fort Worth daily. The airport also houses multiple rental car companies to travel around the local area.

Get around

Like most Illinois towns, Arcola is easiest to maneuver via car. Many of the roads in town also have sidewalks that allow for walking around the city center and some residential areas. There are no widespread public transit that services the city.

See

• 1 Hippie Memorial, N Oak St (from E Main St, turn north on N Oak Street. Memorial is to the left). Claims to be the only memorial to hippies in existence. Created by Bob Moonmaw to honor the artists and free spirits of the Hippie Movement. (updated Mar 2022)

• Arcola is somewhat famous for the Lawn Rangers, a "precision lawn mower drill team" that marches in formation with brooms and lawn mowers while wearing cowboy hats. Every year since 1980 the Lawn Rangers have marched in the Arcola Broomcorn Festival Parade. The event, held every year the weekend after Labor Day, honors Arcola's position in the late nineteenth century as a center of broom corn production. This unique custom was publicized by humor columnist Dave Barry, who marched with the Lawn Rangers in 1995 and has written columns about them.

Do

• 1 Moore Memorial Park, Kelly Moore Dr. Sunrise-sunset daily. A nice park that has a two baseball fields, a playground, basketball court, four tennis courts, and a soccer field. (updated Mar 2022)

Buy

• 1 My Favorite Things, 124 E Main St, ☏ (217) 268-3576NOCC. Mon-Sat 9AM-5PM. A gift shop near the center of town. (updated Mar 2022)
• 2 Friends In High Places, 116 W Main St, ☏ (217) 268-4851NOCC. Tue-Thu 11AM-7PM Fri-Sat 11AM-9PM. A Cannabis boutique (updated Mar 2022)

Go next

In the countryside near Arcola is a prominent community of Old Order Amish, the largest in Illinois.

Routes through Arcola

Urbana ← Tuscola ←	N  S	→ Effingham → Mount Vernon
Champaign ← Tuscola ←	N  S	→ Effingham → Paducah