Shawnee National Forest, Illinois 2020 and 2021

Garden of the Gods

I'm not sure that we would have discovered the beauty of Shawnee National Forest were it not for COVID. As we searched for areas within a day's drive of our home in Northern Illinois, a national forest only 6 hours away seemed perfect! And indeed it was. We've since taken 2 trips down to Shawnee- one in the Fall (October 2020) and one in the spring (April 2021). Here are my tips to help you have a great trip to Illinois' only national forest! 

Garden of the Gods

First of all the Shawnee region is HUGE. It expands across the entire southern portion of Illinois between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. We've only hit the tip of the iceberg of fun areas to explore around Shawnee. I'd highly recommend getting a good map because you could easily underestimate the space between locations. (https://southernmostillinois.com is a good place to start). You can also upload the MUVMs if you are an Avenza user. The visitors' centers were closed due to COVID both times we were there so we still don't have a great paper map but we made do with a smaller one put out by the website referenced above.

The region includes the actual Shawnee National Forest but also many other natural areas including at least 5 state parks, a state forest, a state natural area and two national wildlife refuges. There are bike paths, thru hike trails, day hike trails, rocks to climb, rivers and lakes to paddle. It's a veritable playground. The furthest west we explored was the Cache River Natural Area just south of Vienna so all my recommendations will be there and East. Next time we will head over to the western areas. 

I'll split my recs into camping, hiking, biking, paddling. 

1. Camping. 

The first trip we stayed at Pharaoh Campground near Garden of the Gods. It was great, very few sites, no electric (we like that as bigger rigs tend to stay away), mostly tent campers, just a few RVs (also our preference- we like to think we are tent campers with a bathroom). We stayed at Pounds Hollow the 2nd visit which was also great and was very quiet though I suspect it gets quite busy and loud in full season. We were a the end of a loop on the lake side, and the lake wasn't yet being frequented (too cold) so it was lovely. All of the national forest campgrounds are first come first serve. Even on the shoulder season, it was quite busy and both times my husband drove ahead of us on Thursday and ended up getting the last sites at our desired campgrounds. In the summer, I imagine it would be very tough to roll up on a Thursday and find a site- probably okay if you came on a Monday or Tuesday. However you can reserve sites at the state parks in the area so that's worth looking into if you need a reservation. We drove through Bell Smith Springs campground and it was so-so. My impression of Lake Glendale is that it is huge and loud. There are a couple dispersed sites at Tower Rock. There's a great facebook group where you can search for more camping insight.

2. Hiking. Three great easy and high reward hikes are Garden of the Gods, Rimrock, and Jackson Falls. 

Garden of the Gods is a must see. It's shocking that this is Illinois. There are cool rock formations to climb on and trees far as the eye can see from the cliffs. Keep track of your kids- there are lots of steep drop offs. I'd go so far as to say it's worth giving a little speech about not getting near edges you can't see the bottom of, holding hands with an adult and following all instructions. I'm generally a free range parent but there is potential for tragedy here. But it's very manageable with anticipatory guidance. 

Rimrock is a lovely trail that you can make as long or as short as you want. There is an upper area and a lower area. The lower area connects to a pretty extensive trail system and you could make this a child friendly through hike from campground to campground if you were so inclined. I was again stunned that this scenery was in regular old Illinois! The kids loved the stairs and the rock climbing. This is not nearly as concerning as Garden of the Gods- kids can run free.

Jackson Falls is a great hike to a beautiful waterfall. There are apparently two routes down. We took the shorter one that involved some scrambling which was pretty fun. But we were told you can avoid scrambling if you go the long way. There are horse paths here as well. The waterfall is gorgeous and I'm guessing the water gets nice and warmish in the summer. Definitely recommend!

3. Biking. We went biking on the Tunnel Hill Trail. We started at the parking lot just 0.2 miles north of the tunnel. We rode 10 miles round trip. I will say the scenery was getting better and better as we went but the kids tired and the ride back was uphill so we were a bit conservative. There are lots of trestles which are kid pleasers.

4. Paddling. The is a MUST DO. Very unique paddle. The Cache River State Natural Area is a wetland carved by the glacial floodwater of the Ohio River. In this large swamp there are massive cypress trees with the oldest being well over 1000 years old including the state champion bald cypress.  The tree and shrub growth is incredible to see. The dark green water while a little icky is so unique. I enjoyed every bit of this paddle. The Lower Cache River Trail is a well marked paddling trail - tons of fun to not worry where you are, just follow the arrows and know cool things are to come.

State Champion Bald Cypress

I highly recommend a trip to Shawnee National Forest, an unexpected wilderness right here in Illinois!