Hey incendium -- CONGRATULATIONS! on your acceptance... I am not from the area but did spend some time out & about around the campus on interview day. There seem to be a lot of really big open-space parks, one of them is literally across the road from the vet school and my husband and I saw several people walking their dogs, on and off-leash in that park. I think it was part of campus, it had these little plaques with information about the different trees in the park, as well as a Japanese house and garden that is apparently open for tours in the warmer months (heh).
Also, we went off behind campus a little ways and found a big park run by the Urbana Parks district, it had a playground & bbq area, as well as a bunch of walking trails, both paved and "soft" and a sculpture garden! This park was really cool, we walked around for about 40 minutes, and saw a whole family of mule deer, rabbits, and what I think were blue jays? That's a lot of animals in less than an hour, and it was at about 1pm too! It did seem like the city-run parks are less dog-friendly ie: no off-leash anywhere and dogs only on the paved paths, but with all the wildlife I understand.
Anyway, I thought the open spaces & parks in the area were probably it's best feature (although downtown looks like it has some v. nice restaraunts and bars and I hear it's like a mini-Chicago in the summer w/outdoor cafes etc...)
now, off to try to check my status page from my work computer! Hope that info helps!
