Oh, sure, now Illinois gets an indoor water park resort.
For the last dozen years I’ve taken my sons on various vacations, and each time the one must-have, deal-breaker condition has been a swimming pool. When they were 5 and 6 years old, on their first wide-eyed trip to Disney World, they turned to me after a scant three hours in the Magic Kingdom and asked, “Can we go back to the pool now?”
Since my charming suburb doesn’t have a public pool (don’t get me started), a little aqua-culture has been an indispensable part of our family travel. When planning our last five vacations, I’ve investigated a hotel’s pool setup before checking on anything else, such as, say, room availability. Because if the pool isn’t cool, nothing else matters.
And now that my sons are in their very late teens (one started college last month), now that the only pool accessories that interest them wear bikinis, now that hanging poolside with Mom and Dad is pretty close to their Concept of Hell–someone has built a majorly cool, four-seasons water park an hour’s drive from my house.
Not that I’m bitter.
So it’s a grudging tip o’ the hat and a where-were-you-when-I-needed-you to real estate developers and South suburbanites Joseph Hook Jr. and Keith and Susan Wolick, who conceived and built Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge, a family resort in Utica.
Why Utica?
“To me, the idea behind the Utica location was Starved Rock [State Park],” says Keith Wolick. “Starved Rock draws 2.2 million people every year. It was kind of a no-brainer.”
Thus the resort, which opened in July, sits less than a mile from the entrance to Starved Rock State Park, with its 2,500-plus acres of forests and waterfalls and myriad outdoor activities (boating, hiking and horseback riding among them). You’re also less than a mile from downtown Utica, a small stretch of casual restaurants and cute retail stores that has made an impressive comeback after a tornado tore right through the heart of town in April 2004.
Indeed, the area puts me in mind of what the Wisconsin Dells must have looked like once upon a time, before the huge resorts and go-kart tracks and haunted houses and rude T-shirt boutiques moved in.
“We had statistics on how many people from Illinois were going to the Dells every year,” says David Smiley, general manager at Grizzly Jack’s. “We went up to Wilderness Resort [a huge Dells property] one snowy winter night, and in the parking lot I think 90 percent of the cars had Illinois plates.”
Now a lot of those Illinois plates–and a few Iowa plates–can be found in Grizzly Jack’s parking lot.
Grizzly Jack’s has some cute features, such as a couple of animatronic figures in the lobby (that would be Grizzly Jack and Great Bear, and their 7:30 p.m. performances tend to fill the lobby with kids and parents), campfire story-telling on Saturday nights (weather permitting), a large arcade and a kiddie-scaled outdoor miniature golf course. And the rustic cabin theme is nicely realized, from the timber-filled lobby to the hotel-room furniture (which looks like it was built from uneven logs).
But the key question for most guests is the same question that my sons would have asked: What about the pool?
The water park
The water park at Grizzly Jack’s is pretty darn impressive. Housed in a separate building attached to the main lodge, the water park is 147,000 gallons of liquid fun. There’s a lazy river that actually moves fairly briskly (nothing lazy about it), a little play island, a children’s slide that empties gently into a shallow toddler’s pool and a good-sized hot tub area.
The wave pool is awesome, a zero-depth entry pool that gradually gets five feet deep. When it’s calm, it’s a nice area in which to paddle around. But every 10 minutes a horn sounds, signaling the start of wave action. There are straight waves that merely cause you to bob around a little, and then there are diagonal waves (called diamond waves, because they crisscross) that really churn.
And there are two water slides, which begin four stories above pool level. The 240-foot body slide is good and fast, but the 330-foot tube slide has been tricked out with state-of-the-art, programmable graphics that project pictures of sharks or bears–or, for the more timid, balloons and such–as you slide through.
The water park isn’t as big as some of the ones you’ll find in the Wisconsin Dells, but it’s plenty big. And Grizzly Jack’s refuses to sell day passes; the water park is for hotel guests only.
I tried to talk my sons into joining my wife and me on a trip to Grizzly Jack’s. The only reason they didn’t laugh in my face is they feared making me angry enough to force them to attend. In retrospect, their treasonous behavior was justified; Grizzly Jack’s is definitely aimed at younger kids.
So, as a sort of precursor to our impending status as Empty Nesters, my wife and I journeyed to Grizzly Jack’s sans the no-longer-wee ones. (Hey, a weekend away is a weekend away.)
We invited a couple of adult friends to join us for a day (the room I’d booked entitled me to a few extra pool passes), and one did. So there were three of us, relaxed and child-free, bobbing in the hot-tub area a few Saturdays ago.
And we weren’t the only childless people there. Off in the waves were two very young adults who only stopped holding hands to snuggle. Near us in the hot tub, another couple was having a louder-than-they-thought discussion about their fellow lodge-mates.
“There really aren’t a lot of upscale people here,” said the male, apparently unaware of what an incredible snob he sounded like. “It’s just regular Joes, but somehow they scrape together the money to come here.”
Well, gosh, ’twere a good huntin’ season, and we sold enough squirrel pelts to bring the young’uns to a swimmin’ hole what ain’t got no snapping turtles!
True, the guests weren’t clad in designer duds, but that’s not to say they didn’t own any. When packing for Grizzly Jack’s, the Armani suits and Gucci bling stay in the closet; shorts and a T-shirt will get you through most social encounters. At dinner one night I noticed that I was the only person not employed by the resort to bother with long pants.
And though they’re not giving away the rooms at Grizzly Jack’s, the prices are within regular-Joe reach. I paid $194 for my room, which had two queen beds and a queen sofa sleeper and theoretically could sleep six. (Summer rates were considerably higher–$318 for the same room. Fall rates are even lower, but you will pay a premium for the prime weekends.) If you can swing a mid-week, rooms run as low as $128.
During the summer, there was a two-night minimum for weekend stays, but that rule has been relaxed for the off-season, though you’ll still find it in place for Columbus Day weekend and next weekend–Oct. 8-9–which is the weekend of Utica’s Burgoo Festival. (Don’t snicker; the event draws thousands and Grizzly Jack’s is more than 80 percent sold out already.)
Coming attractions
Up next for the resort, aiming for a New Year’s Eve opening, is Grizzly Jack’s Enchanted Forest, an indoor amusement park that will feature 10 carnival-style rides (bumper cars, tilt-a-whirl, carousel), midway games, mammoth TV screens and more in a building across the parking lot from the main lodge.
“It’s going to have a forest theme, and the lighting will give the midway a nighttime atmosphere,” Wolick says. “Of the 10 rides, only one requires riders to be 48 inches or taller; the rest of them a 5-year-old can ride.”
Unlike the water park, the Enchanted Forest will be open to the general public, although Lodge guests will get a significant price break (Wolick is thinking 50 percent).
Will Utica become to Illinois what the Dells has become to Wisconsin?
Haunted house and go-kart track operators, the ground floor is now open.
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IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge is approximately 3 miles south of Interstate Highway 80 on Illinois Highway 178 (exit 81). The lodge is about 95 miles southwest of Chicago.
WHERE TO STAY
If you want to play in the water park, you must be a guest at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge. Within the main building, there are 92 hotel rooms in various sizes, the most common being the Family Suite, which sleeps up to six ($179). Cabin suites, which have bunk beds for kids, also sleep six ($209). The three Deluxe Family Suites will hold up to eight ($299), and for smaller parties there are King Suites ($189) and Whirlpool Suites ($229). (These are fall-rate, weekend prices; weekday prices lower. Prices higher for holidays; summer rates are highest.)
Our family suite was serviceable, a long rectangular room with two queen beds and a queen sofa sleeper. The bathroom was small but included the usual amenities, including a hair dryer, plus a small (about 4 cubic feet) refrigerator and microwave.
Deeper into the property are some 100 vacation villas, two-story homes that sleep up to 10 ($299); a complimentary shuttle transfers guests from villa to lodge. The resort has started building 48 log cab-ins, which have three-levels and can sleep up to 18; some cabins should be available by Thanksgiving.
The closest competition for Grizzly Jack’s is Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center, a 1930s stone-and-log building located within the state park. The hotel’s 94 rooms contain either a king bed or two double beds; junior suites can sleep up to five. Rates range from $95-$115 year-round. The lodge has an indoor pool, kiddie pool and hot tub.
And some national hotel chains (Holiday Inn, Days Inn) have properties in Oglesby and Peru, which are minutes away.
WHERE TO EAT
There are several places to grab a bite at Grizzly Jack’s, but the only full-service restaurant is Jack’s Place, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu is straightforward American, and prices are very reasonable (only two entrees more than $20). The chef needs to scale back his creative urges; what should have been a simple trout amandine was smothered with an overly sweet Amaretto butter. A filet “the way you like it” had been marinated, without warning, in a vinegary sauce that pretty much wrecked a fine piece of meat. The corn chowder, loaded with sweet corn niblets, is very good. The dining room is lit so brightly you might find yourself squinting. Service is geared toward families with young kids, which means the kitchen churns out the food in a hurry. The adjacent bar is a good place for just-us-grownups to unwind; if only it didn’t close at 10.
Downtown Utica has a few restaurants as well; we stopped in for lunch at Duffy’s Tavern, a charming little joint at the corner of Mill and Canal Streets (Mill Street is also Illinois 178). Among the myriad Irish touches and bric-a-brac are vintage photos of Utica and other memorabilia; they don’t dub this “A Museum in Itself” for nothing. This is also home of the Duffy burger, a damn fine half-pounder served with your choice of toppings and very good fries. We also had a very good chicken salad sandwich that I’d swear was hand-cut, and excellent fish-and-chips, which my Irish friend ordered only on condition that Duffy’s could provide malt vinegar. Which they did.
WHAT TO SEE/DO
Utica also has a handful of antique shops that are fun to knock around in, and do stop in at August Hill Winery (106 Mill St.) across the street from Duffy’s. You can sample a number of Illinois-made wines, which the store also sells by the glass and/or bottle. We found a couple of bottles we liked enough to take home, along with an artist-made wine rack that called to us.
The area abounds with outdoor activities, among them hiking, fishing, boating, horseback riding and biking. And though Starved Rock is the more famous, Matthiessen State Park is only a mile or so away–and the place to go to check out the Illinois Dells–and yes, we have `em.
LaSalle Speedway features stock-car racing. There’s the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center, where you can watch boats traveling through Starved Rock Lock. And there are historical points of interest nearby. Thoughtfully, Grizzly Jack’s Web site (listed below) offers easily navigable links to all these things and more.
INFORMATION
Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Lodge, 2643 N. Illinois Highway 178, Utica; 866-399-FUNN (3866); www.grandbearlodge.com.
Starved Rock StatePark,Utica;815-667-4726;www.dnr.sta te.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/i&m/east/starve/park.htm.
Starved Rock Lodge & Conference Center, in Starved Rock State Park; 800-868-ROCK (7625); www.starvedrocklodge.com.
–Phil Vettel
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GRIZZLY JACK’S GRAND BEAR LODGE
24,000
Size of water park, in square feet
3,600
Size of arcade, in square feet
240
Rooms, villas and cabins
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pvettel@tribune.com
