Free & Cheap Things to Do in Peoria

Parks & Nature

A beloved mid-size zoo inside Glen Oak Park on the bluffs above Peoria, home to over 100 species including giraffes, African lions, sea lions, and a popular African Journey exhibit. Affordable, walkable, and consistently well-maintained — one of the best value zoos in the Midwest.

Address: 2320 N Prospect Rd, Peoria, IL 61603

Tip: The African Journey exhibit and the sea lion area are the highlights — check the daily schedule for feeding times. Parking is free. The adjacent Glen Oak Park has free playgrounds, picnic areas, and the botanical garden, so combine it all into a half-day.

Parks & Nature

A beautiful free botanical garden inside Glen Oak Park with outdoor display gardens, a working greenhouse, and seasonal floral exhibits that bloom throughout the year. The conservatory houses tropical and desert plant collections alongside rotating seasonal displays. Peaceful, well-maintained, and completely free — a genuine hidden gem in central Illinois.

Address: 2520 N Prospect Rd, Peoria, IL 61603

Tip: Open 10am–5pm daily (gates close at 4:30pm). Spring and summer are the best times to visit when the outdoor gardens are in full bloom. Sits directly next to the Peoria Zoo inside Glen Oak Park — easy to combine both in one visit.

Parks & Nature

A sprawling 2,000-acre nature park just west of Peoria where over 150 native Illinois animals roam in large, naturalistic habitats — bison, black bears, wolves, elk, cougars, and river otters among them. The park also has a vintage train ride, pioneer homestead, fishing ponds, and miles of walking trails through restored tallgrass prairie. A full half-day adventure that feels nothing like a typical zoo.

Address: 3826 N Taylor Rd, Hanna City, IL 61536

Tip: Budget at least 3–4 hours — the park is much larger than expected and worth exploring fully. The train ride ($6 all-day pass) loops through the bison and elk habitats and is a highlight for all ages. Located 8 miles west of downtown Peoria — bring a car.

Arts & Culture

A combined art, science, and history museum on the Illinois River downtown, housing a permanent Illinois River ecology gallery, a fine-art collection that includes works by Peoria-born Philip Wofford and Lonnie Stewart, a folk-art collection, and the largest planetarium-and-Giant-Screen Theater complex between Chicago and St. Louis. The Discovery Garden outside is free year-round.

Address: 222 SW Washington Street, Peoria, IL 61602

Tip: Free 2nd-Sunday admission (12-5pm, museum-wide, everyone) is the budget pick — regular admission recently jumped to $20. Open Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5. Free covered parking off Water Street. Giant Screen Theater films are extra; members free.

Parks & Nature

A 540-acre Illinois State Nature Preserve on the bluffs above the Illinois River in Peoria Heights, with seven miles of hiking trails through old-growth forest, prairie restorations, and overlooks of the river valley. The interpretive Nature Center building has live native reptile and bird exhibits, a bird observation room, and a small natural-history gift shop.

Address: 5809 N. Forest Park Drive, Peoria Heights, IL 61616

Tip: Nature Center open 9am–5pm daily, year-round. Trails open dawn to dusk. Free parking. The Pimiteoui Trail and Tower Trail offer the best river overlooks.

Parks & Nature

A 2.5-mile pleasure driveway built in 1903 along the bluffs of the Illinois River — a National Register-listed linear park that Theodore Roosevelt called the 'world's most beautiful drive' after visiting in 1910. The drive is lined with historic mansions and has multiple overlooks, picnic shelters, and a 1.75-mile paved sidewalk for walking, jogging, or biking the route.

Address: Grandview Drive, Peoria Heights, IL 61616

Tip: Drive or walk the full 2.5 miles between Prospect Road and IL Route 29. Peak autumn color in mid-October. Multiple parking pullouts. Pair with Forest Park Nature Center next door.

Parks & Nature

A 13-mile paved rail-trail running from Peoria's downtown riverfront north to the village of Alta — the southern, fully paved leg of the larger Rock Island State Trail system. Built on the former Rock Island Railroad corridor, the trail threads through residential Peoria, old industrial sections, and a tree-canopied corridor only 50-100 feet wide.

Address: Downtown Peoria riverfront to Alta, Peoria, IL 61603

Tip: Free parking at the Peoria Riverfront and at multiple trailheads. Walkers, runners, cyclists welcome — no motors. Connects with downtown Peoria's Riverfront Park. The unpaved 26-mile northern section continues to Toulon.

History & Culture

A two-story corporate museum next to Peoria's Riverfront Museum, dedicated to Caterpillar Inc. — the heavy-equipment giant headquartered in Peoria since 1925. Hands-on exhibits include the cab of a 230-ton 797 mining truck (tire alone is 13 feet tall), a Track-Type tractor simulator, and walk-through galleries on the history of bulldozers, excavators, and pipeline-laying technology.

Address: 110 SW Washington Street, Peoria, IL 61602

Tip: Open Tue–Sat 10am–5pm; last entry 3:30pm. Closed Sundays & Mondays. Combo tickets available with the Peoria Riverfront Museum next door. Children always free.

Family & Kids

A hands-on children's museum inside Glen Oak Park's restored 1896 pavilion, where kids drive a real combine cab, run a waterway, shop a kid-sized market, and create in the art studio. Designed for under-tens and an easy pairing with the zoo and Luthy Botanical Garden next door.

Address: 2218 N Prospect Rd, Peoria, IL 61603

Tip: Closed Mondays; Tuesday mornings are members-only, so aim for Wednesday–Sunday. The $4 Link/WIC rate is among the best museum deals in Illinois. Same park as Peoria Zoo — combine visits.

Quirky Landmarks

A working 500,000-gallon water tower in Peoria Heights with a glass elevator that glides 200 feet up to three observation decks — sweeping views over the Illinois River valley for a $2 cash ticket. It's the only tower of its kind in the country.

Address: 1222 E Kingman Ave, Peoria Heights, IL 61616

Tip: Cash only. Seasonal: Thursday–Sunday in summer, weekends through mid-October — and check ahead, the tower was briefly closed for maintenance in early June 2026. Free telescopes on the decks; pair with Grandview Drive.

Markets & Food

Downtown Peoria's signature Saturday-morning market, now in its 23rd season — 100+ vendors of local produce, meats, cheeses, bread, and handmade pottery, jewelry, and art fill Water Street across from the Riverfront Museum, free to browse with the Illinois River as the backdrop.

Address: 200 block of Water St, Peoria, IL 61602

Tip: Saturdays 8 am–noon, late May through September 26. Arrive early for the best produce. Street parking is free on weekends; the Riverfront Museum's free Discovery Garden is across the street.