A Castle Built for Make-Believe in Southern Illinois

A giant sleeping dragon, a castle full of turns and trap doors, and a groundskeeper’s worth of wizards, knights, unicorns and griffins give this southern Illinois park a notably different rhythm from an ordinary playground. Children do not just run from one piece of equipment to another here. They climb into a fantasy world and start making up the story as they go.

The privately owned park was created in memory of Jeremy “Boo” Rochman, whose love of Dungeons & Dragons helped shape its medieval, creature-filled design. It is both a memorial and a place for unstructured play, with enough odd corners and oversized figures to keep a family wandering longer than planned.

The setting works nicely for mixed ages. Small children can settle into knights-and-princesses play, older kids can treat the castle as a maze, and adults with a fondness for fantasy games may find themselves looking more closely at the details rather than waiting on the sidelines.

The castle is the center of the adventure, and it is built for movement. Its interior and exterior connections include stairs, tunnels, bridges, multiple levels, elevated spaces and battlements. Instead of being a backdrop to admire from a bench, it gives children somewhere to go next.

Winding staircases lead toward new rooms and levels, while rope-and-plank bridge sections add a little drama to the route. The layout has a maze-like quality, with passages joining spaces in ways that invite another lap through the structure.

Hidden doors, trap doors, nooks and crannies keep the exploration lively. A child can disappear around a corner and return a few minutes later with news of a route nobody else has taken yet. Even after a long stretch of play, there can still be another opening to inspect.

Adults can wander the castle, too, though its narrow passages, stairs and climbing features are primarily suited to children and may be awkward for larger adults. This is not a conventional playground with a lineup of swings and slides; its appeal is the castle’s more improvised, quest-like sense of play.

The giant sleeping dragon is one of the grounds’ signature sights and a frequent destination for children. It is large enough to become a fixture in the day’s invented adventure: perhaps a beast to wake, a creature to guard against, or simply a dragon worth climbing back onto after another run through the castle.

That repeat visit is telling. The dragon is a visual landmark, but it also gives the park a tangible play surface—something children can return to while the rest of the group continues scouting the castle.

Around it, the grounds are populated with more fantasy figures: winged creatures, griffins, unicorns, fairies, wizards, orcs, archers and other medieval characters. Some offer a place to sit or pose, while others seem positioned to be discovered on a slower circuit through the landscaping.

The sculptures are worked into flower beds, greenery and landscaped outdoor areas rather than arranged like an indoor exhibit brought outside. A wizard or mythical creature can appear along the walk as a small surprise, which gives the grounds a scavenger-hunt quality.

It pays to look twice. Some of the best moments here are not necessarily the largest ones, but a figure glimpsed beyond a patch of greenery or an extra detail noticed after the castle has already taken most of the attention.

Dragons, wizards and stonework castle features also supply plenty of natural photo stops. A family can make a quick circuit in about an hour, but children who settle into the play tend to stretch the visit considerably.

There is no script to follow. Children can run, climb, search, invent a mission and assign themselves roles as the day unfolds. One group may be defending the castle, while another is hunting for a secret passage or negotiating with a unicorn.

That open-ended format gives the park an easy multigenerational quality. Adults can take pictures, stroll among the figures, help a child look for another route, or join the game outright. Dungeons & Dragons fans may appreciate the references, but no knowledge of the game is needed to enjoy the setting.

Return visits have their own rewards because the grounds do not reveal every sculpture, passage and small feature in one sweep. The castle especially encourages a second look; a route that seemed obvious on the first pass may lead to a different corner once someone decides to try another stairway.

Shady trees and picnic areas make the grounds workable for a longer family stop, and the park has also accommodated birthday gatherings and community events. The setting can be enjoyed at a wandering pace even when nobody is racing through the castle.

The grounds remain visually engaging beyond the busiest warm-weather days. Fantasy figures and landscaping can be enjoyable in cooler weather as well, including around the Christmas season and during light snow.

For travelers moving through southern Illinois or pairing the stop with nearby outdoor time, the park offers an unusual break from a drive: free admission, an open-air castle, and enough details to turn a simple stop into a few rounds of make-believe.

Admission is free, with donation boxes on the grounds to help support the privately operated park. A small office or house across the street has offered park shirts for sale.

The park is enclosed by a fence, with gates on opposite sides. Restroom facilities are portable toilets rather than a permanent public restroom building.

Because the experience is outdoors, conditions matter more than they would at an indoor attraction. Warm-weather visits near dusk can bring insects, and the castle’s stairs, tunnels and narrow passages are not wheelchair accessible, though a disabled parent can enter the park to supervise children.