Carbondale Vacations, Carbondale Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Carbondale Vacation Guide

Carbondale is primarily know as the home of the Southern Illinois University Salukis. Some have also been known to call it "The capital of southern Illinois." As of the year 2000, the population of Carbondale was 25,600 which is about the same as the student population at SIU. Carbondale is about 100 miles or about 2 hours south of Saint Louis, Missouri.

In the area you can also find many nature areas such as Giant City State Park and the Shawnee National Forest. The terrain is very different here than in other areas of Illinois which is mainly flat farmland. In addition to the usual farm fields, and lakes we also have large rock formations and forests--some even on campus. There are numerous bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River Valley and a great place to hang out in the water at the "spillway." Carbondale is just north of Cairo, IL which is the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The Fall colors are also vibrant and the weather is much better than Chicago in the winter.

Many students come down just to visit or party on "the Strip" (a whole bunch of college bars on US HWY 51) and end up sticking around.