6 Quirkiest Illinois Towns To Visit In 2025

The wind blows differently in Illinois. Sure, Chicago's wind is strong but standard, so the farther you are blown from the Windy City, the stranger Illinois appears. Do not resist these winds of change. Illinois's quirkiest towns need to be visited, especially in the latter half of 2025. From June to October, you can count albino squirrels, eat horseradish pizza, play tug of war over the Mississippi, and bike 36 miles while eating donuts. While "quirkiest" is arguable, the following Illinois towns are definitely weird and definitely worth visiting during the rest of the year.

Olney

Only in Olney can you count white squirrels as part of a yearly celebration and an important environmental survey. In 2024, an average of 81 albino squirrels were spotted in this small Illinois city during White Squirrel Count Days. Over 100 volunteers spent three Saturdays in October counting the off-colored critters, a tradition dating to 1977, when biologist John Stencel began to track the health and population of the squirrels that mysteriously appeared around 1902. There are a few hypotheses for their origin, most of which involve townsfolk releasing captive white squirrels into Olney's woods. Their population reportedly peaked at 800 in 1941, but has severely declined due, in some part, to free-roaming cats, which led Olney to ban off-leash felines and incorporate cat counts into the survey (130 average cats in 2024). 2025's White Squirrel Count Days are set to run on October 4, 11, and 18. You can join volunteers from several states and even dress up. In between searching for real white squirrels, search for painted white squirrels in the Walldog Murals. Naturally, Olney's motto is the "Home of the White Squirrels."

Collinsville

Horseradish, ketchup, and gelato mix weirdly and wonderfully in Collinsville. This city, which neighbors St. Louis, Missouri, is called the "Horseradish Capital of the World" for its world-renowned horseradish crop. As such, Collinsville has hosted the International Horseradish Festival since 1988. 2025's edition is scheduled for Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7. Activities include a 5K run, car show, cornhole tournament, horseradish root toss, and horseradish pizza eating contest. Be one of ~25,000 participants at the Horseradish Fest before seeing the "World's Largest Catsup Bottle," a 170-foot tower that honors Collinsville's catsup-bottling past and centers an on-again, off-again July event called the World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival. If looking for even more Collinsville flavor, visit again in September for the Italian Fest, a two-day celebration of Italian heritage and food featuring everything from grape stomping to gelato eating.

Port Byron

Ever wanted to play interstate tug of war? Visit Port Byron, Illinois, or LeClaire, Iowa, for the Great River Tug Fest. Each August, residents of both riverside communities throw a 2,700-foot, 680-pound rope over the Mississippi to tug for state pride. Since the competition began in 1987, Illinois has reigned supreme. In addition to climactic tugs, the Great River Tug Fest features carnivals, vendors, crafters, food trucks, live music, pageants, kids' activities, and other sporting events over the course of three days. Mark your calendar for August 7 to 9, 2025, and plan to see other unique interstate attractions like the Buffalo Bill Museum on the Iowa side and Tuggers on the Illinois side. The latter is a restaurant that caters to tuggers. Refuel there after conquering man, rope, and river.

Arcola

Located in Illinois Amish Country, Arcola boasts plenty of Amish-based or Amish-inspired attractions like the Kauffman Amish Furniture Outlet, which has the "largest selection of locally made Amish furniture," and the Broomtown Cafe, whose milk, meat, and eggs come from local Amish farms. "Broomtown" is not random; it is Arcola's nickname coined by historic broom corn production. Arcola is so wed to that unique crop it hosts the Annual Broom Corn Festival, which runs in September and features a parade with the broom- and lawnmower-pushing Lawn Rangers drill team. Not only that, Arcola is completing a Broom Palace where people will be able to celebrate broom corn on a daily basis. Other quirky Arcola-area sights are the Aikman Wildlife Adventure and the "World's One and Only Hippie Memorial."

Staunton

You have probably heard of the Tour de France, but what about the Tour de Donut? Each July in Staunton, IL, cyclists race for 30-some miles over rolling terrain while gobbling donuts. Along the route are two donut stops where cyclists can earn a five-minute time credit for each donut eaten. Donut consumption is not required. In fact, last year's top 12 finishers ate zero donuts. But, in addition to prizes for the fastest times, festival organizers offer prizes for the most donuts eaten (Yasir Salem devoured 28 and still finished in the top 250 in 2024). 2025's tour is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, and, to honor its 36th anniversary, it will cover 36 miles. Those who cannot ride that far can join a 12-mile race with one donut stop.

Staunton's Tour de Donut is so popular, averaging 1,200 attendees, that it spawned similar races in several other states, including Ohio, whose Tour de Donut has been running since 2007. Choose Staunton in order to join/watch that sweet event as well as visit Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, a collection of harelooms off Historic Route 66. Routes are wild in this compact Illinois community.

Metropolis

Take a guess at what is quirky about Metropolis. Want a hint? It is not a bird. It is not a plane. Yes, it is Superman, whose likeness fills this Ohio River city. Though the "Metropolis" in Superman comics does not derive from Metropolis, IL, that did not stop officials from building a Superman statue out of three tons of bronze, a Superman museum housing 70,000-plus Super-items, and nicknaming their city the "Home of Superman." Moreover, Metropolis annually hosts the Superman Celebration during the second weekend of June. This year's edition is set to run from Friday, June 13 to Sunday, June 15 and feature celebrities from the Super-verse. Headlining is Dean Cain, who played Superman in the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

The present year is nearly half over, but, as luck would have it, Illinois's quirkiest towns come alive in the second half. Spice up the first weekend of June at Collinsville's International Horseradish Festival. Fly into the second weekend at Metropolis's Superman Celebration. Ride into July at Staunton's Tour de Donut. Tug at August via Port Byron's Great River Tug Fest. Sweep into September at Arcola's Broom Corn Festival. And get squirrelly in October at Olney's White Squirrel Count Days. Better leave soon to catch all those unique IL events.