To some people, the summer is beautiful.

The sun shines.

People smell the freshly mowed grass.

The birds chirp.

Children’s laughter can be heard on nearly every block.

But some people are not so lucky.

They are the ones cooped up at work or in class and think there is no way to have fun in Charleston during the summer.

Be one with nature

Fishing is one activity that allows people to bond with nature. Fishing rods and reels can be purchased for $20 from Wal-Mart or local bait shops.

A residential fishing license can be purchased online for $13. It can also be bought in person at Wal-Mart, Prairie Outfitters Inc., or at other fishing and hunting shops.

A fishing license allows people to fish in any public lake, pond or stream for free. Lake Charleston and the Embarras River are examples.

Fox Ridge State Park also offers public fishing water, but in order to use the property, a reservation is needed.

A reservation can be obtained by calling the Illinois Natural History Survey at 217-345-6490.

Biking offered

Not everyone likes to fish, so another option is mountain biking. Currently, there is one off-road trail and one paved path in Charleston.

The off-road trail is nearly a two-mile loop that winds and dips on a path running alongside Lake Charleston. The entrance of the trail is located at the end of McKinley Ave., just past the water treatment plant.

The paved path is located on the north side of Charleston, and it runs east to west alongside Madison Ave.

Disc golf located nearby

Disc golf, which is located closer to Eastern’s campus, has a variety of different discs and is available on the market.

Positively 4th Street Records offers many of the different styles and distance ranging discs such as putting and approach discs, to distance drivers and fairway drivers.

The price for one of these frisbees starts around $9 and could run someone nearly $20.

Eastern’s disc golf course offers nine holes that are great for first timers or experienced throwers.

The course is located on the southwest side of campus, just to the south of the baseball and rugby fields.

Brad York can be reached at 581-7943 or at bayork@eiu.edu.