Illinois state parks

Illinois, despite (or because of) having been steamrollered by the glaciers, actually has some nice topography, which you can experience in several state parks. Not many of the parks allow "primitive" (read: real) camping, but most of them have pleasant hiking trails, some through surprisingly rugged terrain. My list is skewed somewhat toward parks which are close to Chicago.

Visit the Illinois Department of Natural Resource's Illinois State Parks Page or the Illinois Bureau of Tourism's Illinois hiking pages.

Apple River Canyon

When I saw a picture from this park on an old geological society calendar, I was shocked. I had just moved from Pennsylvania to Chicago and was still reeling from the flatness of the place. How could these rugged limestone cliffs exist in Illinois? For some reason the northwestern corner of Illinois and the southwestern corner of Wisconsin (known as the "driftless region") escaped the ravages of the glaciers. As a result this region retains its original hilly character, and the rivers have been able to carve canyons in the rocks. Apple River Canyon State Park encompasses the former site of a small town called Millville which was located within the canyon. For a while it was a stagecoach stop on the route from Chicago to Galena, but it began to die in the late 1800's when the railroad passed it by. As so often happens in these cases, a natural disaster (a flood) destroyed the town in 1892, and it was never rebuilt.

A number of relatively short (less than 5 mi.) hiking trails lead up out of the canyon and around the rim, giving good views of the river 100 ft. or so below. Supposedly there are fossils to be found, but we didn't see any on our trip. The park makes a very pleasant day trip if one is visiting Jo Daviess County, although it was a bit difficult for us to find because we approached it from the north, from the Scales Mound area. Galena (a bit of a tourist trap, but charming nevertheless) is perhaps 30 minutes drive to the west, and northwest of the park is Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois (1,235 feet above sea level!). Break out the oxygen masks!

Mississippi Palisades

Mississippi Palisades is south of Galena (but much closer to the town of Savanna, IL) near where the Apple River flows into the Mississippi. The park is in demand by car campers, so for solitude you will want to head to one of the three primitive sites in the north end of the park. Doing so actually requires something of a climb. The trails at the north end of the park are short (less than 5 mi.), but it's enough to get away from the noise and commotion of the RVs. At the south end of the park are a number of shorter, but much steeper, hiking trails, and one can walk to the edge of the bluffs (palisades) overlooking the Mississippi and look far into Iowa.

Moraine Hills

Moraine Hills is perhaps 30 minutes' drive northwest of Chicago, and like many of the forest preserves, the Botanical Gardens, and the Morton Arboretum, provides a surprisingly accessible escape into natural beauty for the city-dweller. The park has more than ten miles of gently rolling, easy trails, including a stretch along a boardwalk through Pike Marsh.

Starved Rock

Starved Rock is about two hours' drive southwest of Chicago along the Illinois River and is actually quite easy to reach. Rivers flowing into the Illinois cut almost twenty canyons through the sandstone here, creating some wonderful day hiking opportunities. In the winter the waterfalls freeze. Car camping is possible in the park's campground, but no primitive sites are available.

The Starved Rock itself has a rather grim history: in the late eighteenth century a band from the Illinwek tribe, fleeing retribution for the slaying of Pontiac of the Ottawa, was trapped on this rock by allies of the Ottawa, eventually starving to death. Steps lead to the top of the rock, where a historical marker has been placed and a small loop trail lets you look out from all directions. The park seems to be very popular (judging from the number of people we encountered and the size of the parking lot) but is definitely worth a visit.

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