Allerton Park

PLoP is hosted at the Robert Allerton Park and Conference Center, near Monticello, Illinois, USA. This conference center is a one-of-a-kind meeting place with an unique ambiance maintained by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Allerton House

Away from the distractions and noise of city life, conference participants will enjoy luxury surroundings in a 100-year-old Georgian-style mansion with gleaming wood floors, marble fireplaces, elegant furnishing, and breathtaking views of the surrounding, meadow, reflecting pond, and woodlands teeming with birds and wildlife.

The site is home to native flood-plain forest and upland woods, as well as numerous formal gardens.

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When to arrive

BootCamp participants should plan to arrive Sunday morning. This will be for new pattern authors or first time PLoP attendees. It will start at 2:00 pm at the Allerton Conference Center.

Attendees can plan to arrive Sunday, 22 October, and depart Thursday, 26 October.

Please confirm the detailed schedule to determine the exact date and time most convenient for you to arrive.

How to get to Allerton

The nearest International airports are Chicago O'Hare (airport code ORD), Indianapolis International Airport (airport code IND), and St. Louis Lambert airport (airport code STL). O'Hare is the more commonly used one.

From ORD you can directly fly to Champaign-Urbana Willard airport (airport code CMI) on American Airlines (only). This is a little less than an hour flight from ORD. You can also fly to Champaign-Urbana Willard airport from Dallas/Fort Worth International (airport code DFW).

From ORD you can also get to Champaign via bus, train, or rental car. The following outlines a few options.

Train

  • AMTRAK has service between downtown Chicago and Champaign.
    Choose the Illinois Terminal for your final destination.

Bus/Shuttle

  • Peoria Charter (private bus company) serves many different locations including both Chicago airports (O'Hare and Midway), Union Station in Chicago, and a number of Chicago suburbs. Pick up is available from the MULTI-MODAL FACILITY (MMF) at the O'Hare International Airport with multiple drop-off points on-campus at Champaign Illinois. Passengers take the free Airport Transit System (ATS) train service from Terminals 1-3 and 5 to the MMF. We recommend being dropped off at the Illinois Terminal in Champaign.
  • Greyhound (private bus company) has daily service between Chicago and Champaign. Pick up is available from downtown Chicago with drop-off at the Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign.
  • Express Air Coach (private bus company) has a daily service non-stop between O'Hare International Airport and Champaign. Pick up is available from Bus Shuttle Center Terminal 5 (Door 5E lower level) at the O'Hare International Airport and two drop-off/pick-up points on-campus, Altgeld Hall and the Armory. We strongly recommend the Armory.

Ground transportation between Willard airport or Champaign Illinois Terminal and the Allerton Conference site is included in the registration fee. Attendees are requested to specify their travel schedule in the "Travel Information" portion of the registration form. A PLoP volunteer will be contacting the attendees a week before the PLoP conference starts to finalize their travel arrangements. A local bus/taxi company will transport the attendees from the airport to the conference site.

If you drive or want to see an area map, check out the Directions to Robert Allerton Park.

General information about the park can be found at Robert Allerton Park and Conference Center.

Nearby Hotels

For those not registering to stay at the Allerton House there are some nearby hotels. Here are some suggestions:

Because of the football game and Homecoming weekend, if you require a hotel before Sunday (October 22) you will probably need to look in surrounding towns such as Rantoul, Decatur, Bloomington, Matoon, Charleston, Danville, and Tuscola.

Additional Information

If you need more information or have some question, please contact the chairs.

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