looks like i'll be in peoria for a couple weeks next month for work.

any good places to eat?  anything to do?

i'll have a rental car and will have weekends off.

debating if i should fly to ORD and drive or fly direct to peoria.  

TIA.

I'd just fly direct to Peoria and skip dealing with the Chicago traffic. Are you actually working/staying in Peoria or a different nearby town?

Depends on what you like to do but it's probably going to be middle of winter weather by then so pretty limited as far as outdoor stuff goes. There's tons of restaurants, bars, shopping, bowling and such. Avanti's is good food and reasonably priced. Paradice casino in East Peoria, probably some events at the Peoria civic center.

If you have a rental car, head 45 minutes east on I-74 and check out Central Illinois Shooting Sports.  They have a really nice shop and indoor shooting range with range rental firearms as well.  One of the managers there is also a member here.  Maybe they can chime in later and set you up with a fellow Arfcom'er discount or something.

As to Peoria, it's been a while since I've been there, but The Rhythm Kitchen down on the riverfront was a pretty good place to eat and had live music, but that was a couple years back.  You might want to check out the Peoria Civic Center calendar and see what, if any events are going on downtown.  East Peoria also has a riverfront casino and they may even still have the East Peoria Festival of Lights still up and displayed.

As to flying into ORD, if it were me, I'd just fly direct into Peoria if possible...unless you had additional time to do stuff in Chicago.

Alexander street steakhouse is usually pretty good.
Check out Pekin gun, interesting place if you can get past the counter leaners.
Bass pro is ok to kill an hour or two.

There is a local indoor range, The Tac Shack.

The restaurants others have mentioned are good.   I will add to the list Jim's steak house downtown, Fish House, Jonah's, and Tequilas in East Peoria.  

There is a local comedy club too, Jukebox Comedy Club if that's your thing.

The Peoria Zoo is actual pretty good as is Wild Life Prairie Park.  But you will want to check if they are open during the winter.

Another idea to kill an hour is the store The Great Escape, they are located next to Home Depot.  They specialize in pool/spa, patio furniture, and man caves.  If you like billiards or poker you will be impressed.  I think others have already mentioned Bass Pro Shops.  

If you are need of new sunglasses, stop by the Maui Jim factory and retail store on Allen Rd.  

If you want to venture out a few miles

Pekin has Pekin Gun and other pawn shops on the same road.  if in Pekin check out Spudnuts Donuts.

Galesburg has Simpson's LTD for all your FUDD needs lol, and Galesburg Gun which is more modern.  Also Seminary Street with lots local shops and restaurants.

If you want to escape the city and grab some real local food, try Gil's in Hana City, its just 10 miles west of Peoria on 116.  

A little further out, but worth it for a pizza lover is Monical's in Canton IL.  Famous for their thin crust pizza.  Don't waste your time at the Peoria location.

I would double check they let an out of stater shoot without a foid first.

but if you do head SE on I-74 you definitely want to eat at Busy Corner in Goodfield, get a giant tenderloin and don't leave without getting pie or cheesecake.

Good point!  I forgot about that.  They still have a pretty good gun and accessory store though.

I'll add this to, from a friend that was just over in Peoria on the Riverfront, in case OP is looking for more to do in the Peoria area...

"If you are looking for a quick day trip I highly recommend the Peoria Riverfront Museum and Dome Planetarium! 1 price and you can go to all the planetarium shows and see the whole museum too. And if you want to spend the night go to Stoney Creek Inn. They have an indoor outdoor pool and a great hot tub!"

I've not personally been to either of those places, but my friend was just there and she really liked these places.

Big Al's

Used visit Peoria five or six times a year when Ruppman handled calls for a couple of our product lines. Big Al's was always on the list, unless our quality director flew us down in his Baron.

I'm in Peoria for work most days, would be happy to try to meet up for dinner if you wanted.
I'm certainly not up on the fine dining, but can get you into some good bar food or pizza.

Did you fly into the big airport, or the small one on the north side?

PIA

Met Sammy Hagar in the FBO when some hellacious storms shutdown O'Hare, Midway, and others, we already knew we weren't taking off. Within an hour there were dozens of commercial flights landing. There was a group of us watching the planes land and one of the FBO guys walked up and told us Sammy would be landing soon and to not mob him.

I always liked Peoria, cool little town.

perfect, thanks.

appreciate the offer.

i'm still firming up details/dates for the trip.

copy that, will fly into periora.

staying in peoria but working in the area.  

If you like hockey I used to enjoy a Riverman game at the civic center once in a while.  Don't know what it's like these days with Rona restrictions though.

Not to hijack the thread, but I may be doing some work in Peoria as well.

Are there any shotgun ranges where you can rent a shotgun and shoot clays (skeet or sport clays) near by?

I see there are plenty of indoor ranges to rent firearms.

I really am hesistant to bring a firearm into IL. I can’t even walk into a gun store and buy ammo without a FOID card correct? With all the stupid rules, I do not feel comfortable keeping a gun locked up in my car or in a hotel room.

Thanks

Nonresidents are legally allowed to buy ammo in IL, but many stores won't sell to anyone without a FOID as a way to cover their ass.

I would call Darnalls   https://www.darnalls.com/ranges and see if they can help you out.

But honestly I don't know why you would be hesitant.  Especially if you have a CCW permit from IN.  There have been court cases which covered that issue, and even without a CCW you aren't violating the law if the gun is unloaded and cased when you transport it.

Thanks for the reply. I will give them a call.

Yes, I am hesistant, because things are whacko right now in IL. I wish they would let outsiders apply for a FOID and CCW to simplify the matter.

This