Lake Sara Pearson Peninsula Park

During the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, Lake Sara Park had an abundance of amenities with a lakefront beach, pinball arcade, water slides, and a train shuttling people from adjacent campgrounds. Lake Sara was one of the top outdoor activity destinations in the Effingham area. Over time, recreation assets were sold and the beach to fell into disrepair, resulting in an attendance drop and the poor condition of the park.

In 2017, the Lake Sara Forever Fund purchased the beach lease and returned the property to EWA Direct Control to develop the entire 30-acre peninsula into a recreational park. Farnsworth Group was tasked with developing a park master plan that outlined the vision to bring the park back to its former glory.

Lake Sara residents were consulted and engaged through public workshops, informational meetings, and web-based survey before any design work began. The input from the citizens, along with the master plan expectation from Lake Sara Forever, provided guidelines for the development of the master plan. Farnsworth Group also assisted the Fund in applying for and receiving two OSLAD grants for the park portion of the project. Phase 1 was completed in 2021 and Phase 2 was recently awarded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, with construction expected to begin in 2022