Touching down at Decatur Airport in Decatur places you close to cities like Springfield, Champaign, and Bloomington, all easily reachable. Decatur sits in the heart of the Illinois prairie, a city built on corn and soybeans, where Abraham Lincoln first settled in Illinois and the Chicago Bears played their first season as the Decatur Staleys. It is unflashy and grounded, with a big lake and a surprising amount of parkland.

Standout things to do around Decatur: - Visit Scovill Zoo and ride the little train along Lake Decatur - Boat, fish, or walk the shoreline of Lake Decatur - Hike the trails and visit the nature center at Rock Springs Conservation Area - Learn about Lincoln's early years at the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial - Tour the Hieronymus Mueller Museum, a quirky tribute to a local inventor - Catch a show at Millikin University's Kirkland Fine Arts Center - Explore the Children's Museum of Illinois with the kids - Sample Amish baked goods and furniture in nearby Arthur

Decatur is within an hour of most of central Illinois. Springfield, with Lincoln's home and presidential museum, is 45 minutes west, Champaign-Urbana and the University of Illinois are 50 minutes east, and Bloomington-Normal is about an hour north. The Amish community around Arthur is 35 minutes south, and Allerton Park in Monticello offers formal gardens and woodland trails a half hour away. Order a horseshoe, the open-faced sandwich buried in fries and cheese sauce that central Illinois loves, and spend an evening watching the sun drop over the cornfields. Decatur is a quiet base with plenty around it.