Southern Illinois University is the cultural and creative hub of southern Illinois, providing wide-ranging educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities for its students, faculty, staff and the public. SIU is located in Carbondale, the unofficial capital of southern Illinois. Carbondale possesses all the best of big city amenities, but maintains its small-town charm. Situated between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the southern Illinois region is colloquially known as Little Egypt. The area provides a myriad of outdoor recreational activities and is known for its scenic beauty. The Shawnee National Forest encompasses over ¼ million acres covering a large portion of southern Illinois. Other popular sites include the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Giant City State Park, Little Grand Canyon and several lakes.

SIU Carbondale is committed to offering a variety of services, programming options and unique amenties. 

• Optional and onsite conference and event planning services to assist with planning and coordination logistics, marketing and registration. 
• Ability to provide virtual and hybrid event services. Please see our flyer for more information. 
• Located just 9 miles south of campus, SIU’s Touch of Nature Environmental Center offers 10 miles of multi-use trails for bikers, hikers, and runners: https://rec.siu.edu/programs/ton-basecamp/.
• Touch of Nature’s Basecamp is located at the Student Recreation Center on the main campus and offers kayaks, canoes, stand up paddle boards, and other outdoor equipment to support your adventures while at SIU Carbondale: https://rec.siu.edu/programs/ton-basecamp/. 
• SIU has a large variety of continuing education online courses available. Please visit continuinged.siu.edu for more information. 
• SIU hosts and plans a variety of summer camps. Please visit our camp website for more information: https://camps.siu.edu/. 

Please visit our campus COVID-19 webpage for more information about SIU Carbondale's response to the pandemic and the steps our camps community is taking to continue to offer a safe and engaging environment for students, staff and visitors: shc.siu.edu/coronavirus/.