Things to do at Lake Shelbyville
A weekend at the lake, a season of festivals, and the things around it that people drive an hour for — with each one linked to whoever actually runs it.
On the water
Lake Shelbyville Visitor Center ↗
East side of the dam, on Route 16
The Corps’ visitor center and project office: exhibits on the lake’s wildlife and history, aquariums and terrariums, a gift shop, an auditorium, butterfly gardens and a view over the water. Open daily in summer, weekdays the rest of the year.
The beaches — Dam West, Wilborn Creek, Sullivan Beach, Wolf Creek ↗
Around the lake
Three Corps swimming beaches and a fourth at Wolf Creek State Park. The Corps’ maps page has a printable map of each recreation area.
Boat rentals — pontoons, party barges, kayaks, houseboats ↗
Lithia Springs Marina, Findlay Marina, Sullivan Marina
All three marinas rent through 32 Marine. Lithia Springs has the widest fleet, including houseboats for a night on the water, and Nessie’s floating bar and grill.
Fishing — the state biologist’s outlook ↗
Lake-wide, and the tailwater below the dam
White bass and white crappie rated excellent; walleye, sauger, muskie, largemouth and channel catfish very good. The muskie that escape over the dam make the spillway tailwater a fishery of its own.
Lake Shelbyville Fishing Guide ↗
Lake-wide
A local guide service for crappie, walleye and muskie, with an accommodations list.
Trails and the outdoors
General Dacey Trail ↗
Downtown Shelbyville to Forest Park, Dam West and the dam overlook
A National Recreation Trail for walkers, runners and cyclists, built in phases since 2006 by a volunteer committee, with lake views, an outdoor fitness area below the overlook and sections fully accessible for strollers and wheelchairs.
Chief Illini Trail ↗
West shore, Lone Point to Eagle Creek State Park
An eleven-mile backcountry trail along the west shore, over rolling hills and prairie openings with the lake in view, blazed and mile-marked. Start at either end.
Wolf Creek State Park ↗
East shore, eight miles northwest of Windsor
Wooded campgrounds, a swimming beach, and horseback and snowmobile trails facing Eagle Creek across the water.
Eagle Creek State Park ↗
West shore, four miles southeast of Findlay
Camping, hiking and deer by the herd. The equestrian trails were closed when checked; the golf course is open.
Eagle Creek Golf Course ↗
In Eagle Creek State Park, Findlay
A par-72 course built in 1989 on the banks of the lake inside the state park, open year-round with four sets of tees.
Hidden Springs State Forest ↗
South of the lake, west of Strasburg
Twelve hundred acres of public woodland: the Big Tree Trail and its giant sycamore, the Rocky Spring and Possum Hollow trails, stocked ponds, hunting and primitive camping.
Hunting on Corps and state ground ↗
Lake-wide
Public hunting areas around the lake are managed by the Corps and the IDNR, including the state’s Kaskaskia and West Okaw units. The Corps and Wolf Creek State Park host an annual deer hunt for hunters with disabilities and wounded veterans each November.
In Shelbyville
Forest Park and the Chautauqua Auditorium ↗
Shelbyville, at the back of town toward the dam
The city’s signature park, with the 1903 Chautauqua — a twenty-sided wooden hall, the largest of its kind still standing and on the National Register — plus the Sunken Garden, Crystal Lake, ball fields, disc golf, a skate park and the dog park. The back of the park opens onto the Dacey Trail.
Link goes to: Enjoy Illinois listing
Family Aquatic Center ↗
Forest Park
The city pool: water slide, frog slide, wet playground, sand play area and concessions, summers.
Link goes to: Enjoy Illinois listing
The courthouse square and Lincoln ↗
Downtown Shelbyville
The 1885 courthouse anchors a historic square ringed by shops and offices. Lincoln practiced here on the Eighth Circuit and debated Anthony Thornton in Shelbyville in 1856; the "Let’s Debate" statues stand in front of the courthouse.
Boarman’s Roxy Theatre ↗
East Main Street, downtown
A restored single-screen movie house on the square, showing first-run films since it reopened in 2003.
Willow Ridge Vineyards & Winery ↗
North of Shelbyville
A Tuscan-style winery outside town with a terrace, a fireplace and live music, and the launch site for BalloonFest.
Shelby County Fairgrounds ↗
Shelbyville
Home of the county fair and 4-H fair in summer, and horse events through the season.
Around the lake
The Little Theatre on the Square ↗
Harrison Street, on the square in Sullivan
Professional theater since 1957 in a 1924 movie house — by its own account the only professional theater between Chicago and St. Louis — with a summer main-stage season and year-round programs.
Wyman Park ↗
Sullivan
The park Albert Wyman’s will paid for: picnic grounds, ball diamonds, tennis, disc golf, a skate park and Wyman Lake, and the home of Sullivan’s Fourth of July.
The Goat Tower ↗
On a farm outside Findlay
A thirty-one-foot brick tower with a spiral of two hundred seventy-six steps, built in 1998 for a herd of goats after its builder saw one in a wine magazine. Viewable from the road; the one thing in the county nobody expects.
Link goes to: Enjoy Illinois listing
Thompson Mill Covered Bridge ↗
Over the Kaskaskia, two miles northeast of Cowden
Completed in 1868 and the narrowest covered bridge in Illinois, on the National Register since 1975. A state historical marker stands beside it.
Vahling Vineyards ↗
Stewardson
A family vineyard and winery south of the lake with five acres of grapes and fruit wines.
Illinois Amish Country ↗
Arthur, northwest of Sullivan
The Amish settlement around Arthur: furniture makers, bakeries, buggy roads and the shops along Vine Street.
The calendar
Dates are the organizers’ own for the year shown. The Shelbyville Chamber keeps the running list for the town; the Corps posts lake events on its page.
Third Saturday in January
Candlelight Walk on the Dacey Trail ↗
Dacey Trail, Shelbyville
A luminary-lit winter walk on the trail with bonfires and hot cider, run by the trail volunteers.
May 8–9, 2026
Chet Kingery Memorial Bluegrass Festival ↗
Chautauqua Auditorium, Forest Park
Two days of bluegrass in the Chautauqua.
Third Saturdays, May through September, 2026
Makers & Growers Markets ↗
Johnstown Mall lot, Shelbyville
A morning market of local growers and makers.
Summer
July 1–4
Sullivan Fourth of July ↗
Wyman Park, Sullivan
Four days at the park: a noon parade on the Fourth, contests through the afternoon, fireworks at dusk.
July 4, at dusk
Fireworks over the lake ↗
Launched from Ramp Point, Dam West
The Corps’ show over the dam, with the Chamber’s parade, concessions and inflatables at Dam East and Dam West and a community picnic the next day. Watch from Dam West, Dam East, the visitor center or the overlook; parking fills, so the Corps lists overflow lots.
July
Findlay Walleye Festival ↗
Findlay
Walleye served daily, a car show, a garden-tractor pull, a beer tent and a Saturday parade.
Summer
Three days in August
Windsor Harvest Picnic ↗
Picnic grounds, Pennsylvania Avenue, Windsor
Billed as the longest-running festival in Illinois, past its hundred-and-twenty-fifth year: the pork chop and fish dinners, the parade, a 5K, and a free country headliner each night.
August
October 9–10, 2026 (Columbus Day weekend)
Scarecrow Daze ↗
Downtown Shelbyville
The whole town decorates to a new theme every year — homes, businesses, the square — with a parade, car show, quilt show, music, a beer tent and kids’ games.
October 9–11, 2026
Touchstone Energy BalloonFest ↗
Shelbyville airport and Willow Ridge Winery
Hot-air balloons over the lake the same weekend as Scarecrow Daze, launching from the winery on Friday.
November 20–22, 2026
Deer Hunt for People with Disabilities and Wounded Warriors ↗
Lake Shelbyville and Wolf Creek State Park
The thirty-sixth annual hunt, hosted by the Corps and the state park; applications through the Corps.
Saturday after Thanksgiving
Christmas in a One Cow Town ↗
West Main Street, Stewardson
A lighted parade, tubing on Heifer Hill, a snowball arena, a Christmas train, live llamas and a petting zoo, put on by the volunteer group COWS.
Mid-November through December
Festival of Lights and Festival of Trees ↗
Forest Park, Shelbyville
A drive-through light display built entirely by volunteers — the Victorian Village, Santa’s Shop, the North Pole, Bethlehem, Candy Cane Lane — with the Chautauqua lit as a carousel, and sponsored trees filling the park alongside.
Every entry was checked against the organizer’s own site or agency page on September 11, 2026. Dates and hours are theirs to set; confirm before you drive. We list these because a visitor who knows the lake is a better buyer, not because anyone paid.