Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Buffalo Rock State Park

    3.5 (31 reviews)

    Buffalo Rock State Park Photos

    More like Buffalo Rock State Park

    Recommended Reviews - Buffalo Rock State Park

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Annette M.

    Good spot to get a nice view of the Illinois River with hiking trails and picnic tables as well as restrooms. Just across from Starved Rock State Park.

    Lori S.

    The trail was great! Nice clear flat paths with a good view of the water. We got to see the two buffalo up close.

    Paul V.

    They had me at "buffalo". I'm a sucker for bison, and was in the area hiking at Starved Rock when I happened to see Buffalo Rock noted as another park to hike at. The trails aren't difficult, although there are some stairs at certain sections, and there are nice overlooks of the river scattered along the trails. Definitely worth a hike around. The signage for the trails left a little to be desired in some spots, and there were a few places in the park that had posts in ground that were clearly meant to have some sort of information about the area that were empty. When I was there, I was able to spend some quality time with the bison who were hanging out right near the fence line of their enclosure for much of the time I was there. Amazing animals to see up close.

    Katie M.

    Buffalo Rock State Park has nice easy trails for all levels. The trail that lines the river is quite beautiful and there are some nice hills you can walk up for a better view of the park as well. I highly recommend going early. We lucked out as it had been pouring down rain all morning, and we literally zoomed over the moment the rain stopped. However, after about 1.5 hours on the trails, the park started to become packed and the trails are narrow enough that it makes it difficult to properly socially distance yourself from other trail goers. I was a little disappointed that our peaceful afternoon was disrupted by the shooting range right next door ... who wants to be in the middle of the woods with gunshots going off everywhere?

    this is the baby if you can believe that
    Susan M.

    We were headed for a short hike in Starved Rock but came across this State park. And guess what? There actually are Buffalo here, 2 females and a baby born in the spring. What a treat to see these wonderful animals. The park is clean and well maintained. Will be back.

    Alexa M.

    Came by with some friends and our dogs. It was a fun, but rather short. Definitely try to check out multiple places if you're driving in for the day. We found it hard to spend too much time here.

    Eric E.

    With Starved Rock and Matthiessen nearby, Buffalo Rock often gets overlooked, or worse, people come to gawk at the pair of buffalo and leave. This park has a lot more to offer than most realize. Yes, we took thirty seconds to look at the buffalo. My son is 7 and wanted to see them. Moments later we were on the path. The gravel path at BR isn't very extensive at maybe 2-3 miles worth. The bonus areas are accessed by the grass paths or better yet, no path at all. The effigy's are moderately interesting and if you're looking to add to your hike you should climb each. I don't think the view from the top of each offers much, but sometimes it's just about getting more path time. As scenery goes, there are several good vantage points of the river and on a good day you might see some wildlife back here like deer, a fox, coyote and eagles are frequent. The best part of BR is the back (westernmost) end of the park where the rock formations are located. Beautiful sandstone cliffs shape the top of the bluff down to the river bank floor. It isn't a large area by any stretch, but climbing and great scenery are plenty back here. The cliffs consist of an awesome array of colors and the rock formations are just as cool, if not better than any I've seen at Starved Rock or Matthiessen. If you do climb the area just a word of caution..the sandstone is loose and fragile, making those cliff edges a dangerous place to venture. If you hike around the north side of the rock formation the path will lead you down to the base of the rock cliffs. I highly recommend this as the views down there are stunning. If you visit the rock formations please respect them and don't be the a-hole who carves their initials in. This is one of the reasons I like BR more than Starved Rock, the graffiti is at a bare minimum back here. Happy hiking and climbing!

    Oak savannah
    Kevin N.

    About 5 miles away from Starved Rock, the claim to fame for this smaller park is to see two of Illinois' only bison. The trails basically run the length of a river in either direction from the linked parking lots. I walked the length of the park and didn't see any furry little bison. I was told they're easier to see in the winter. Basically I got a couple of scenic views of the river and an oak savannah with a lot of natural Illinois plants. The park is also supposed to have large scale landforms from an artist of a turtle, water bug and a fish. These are now overgrown and hard to distinguish from the rolling hills themselves. This wouldn't be bad for a picnic if you wanted to avoid the crowds of Starved Rock or a nice jog along a trail. Otherwise, it's kind of a yawn.

    Ginelle S.

    This park, is A-OK. This was an old silca quarry that they've retired and redesigned with these mound sculptures that are supposed to look like native animals. I get the concept, but i think it's cooler to look into the old quarries than to try to imagine a 500 yard turtle, built out of the terrain. The park is more of a prairie. It's a good walk, but I'm not sure I'd make a stop back here. Also, they have 2 buffalo in residence behind the fence, to the right of the entrance. Don't forget to give them some love before you leave.

    Explore the rock formations
    Ashley M.

    This is a very nice park and I think it is the place to go this year with most of Starved Rock being closed. We tried Starved Rock and almost everything was closed. We went over to Matthiesen State park and the hoards of people that are usually at Starved Rock were there. So in a last ditch attempt we made our way over to Buffalo Rock State Park. It is true that this park is a lot smaller than the other two but it was nowhere near as crowded and annoying as the other two parks were either. The main trail is mainly a flat walk through an open prairie with a little bit of a wooded area on one side. We only made it about half way around because we had dogs and there wasn't a lot of shade. The difference between this park and other parks in the area is that you can explore of the beaten path without fear of a $120 ticket. My husband and I went searching off the path and found a really cool rock area that had a cliff and about a 70ft drop. The area was surrounded by trees but one of the local people we rain into told us to come back in the fall or winter when the trees have lost their leaves and you can see for miles. There are some bison in an enclosed area. They were fun to see but definitely not a main attraction. We explored off the beaten path and then we had a lovely picnic to end our day here.

    2 buffalos js chilling

    See all

    2 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Susan M.
    0
    164
    103

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Alexa M.
    227
    61
    57

    6 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Kevin N.
    1090
    378
    2012

    12 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ginelle S.
    91
    49
    139

    14 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Tom S.
    1
    38
    3

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Minh-An C.
    1152
    1080
    5273

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Nice place to explore. Paths super easy for all but take your hat. Not a lot of shade on the hiking paths.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of KJ G.
    0
    24
    51

    7 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Dean R.
    40
    230
    63

    12 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ali K.
    5
    26
    1

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rita S.
    8
    20
    20

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Buffalo Rock State Park

    Review Highlights - Buffalo Rock State Park

    We were at Mattheson State Park and Starved Rock and worker said this state park had 2 Buffalo.

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Parks 126 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Washington Park - Statues

    Washington Park

    4.5(6 reviews)
    4.0 mi

    Good sized park in the middle of downtown Ottawa that has a lot of history about it. If you didn't…read moreknow Lincoln was here, you know now. Washington Park is actually pretty big for being in the middle of town. Has lots of benches to relax on. There's also lots of cool statues. A few important events have occurred here. It's the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate, an important event in the history of politics. There's a mural along the wall of the building across the street. Check out the plaque at the northwest entrance to read more about this event. There's also a monument with statues of the two. Fun place for history buffs. It's been around a long time and was the site of several important events. This park also is nice just for hanging and walking.

    Large park in what I imagine is downtown Ottawa. It's clear that it was once the center of the…read moretown; there are multiple churches across the street and the surrounding blocks; the Masonic Temple is also directly across the street. LaSalle County Courthouse is within a couple blocks, and kiddy-corner from the park is the Illinois appellate court. Across the street the other way is a home of a significant person in Ottawa's past. This park also appears to serve as a memorial to veterans of various wars. There are memorials on each side of the park. In the middle of the park is fountain featuring a statue of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas (boo). Ottawa was the site of the first of the Lincoln Douglas debates (which is something you won't be able to forget whilst you're in this town). Something that is quirky and quaint is that this town seems to be fairly fond of time capsules! There are two of them buried in the park (at least--I only really explored one half of the park). One is set to be opened in 2037, I believe, and another one to be opened in 2058. I'm curious what is in them, of course, though luckily I'll probably forget they exist in a matter of days.

    Photos
    Washington Park - Mural

    Mural

    Washington Park - Park

    Park

    Washington Park

    See all

    Illini State Park - Whitetail Campground loop.

    Illini State Park

    3.3(18 reviews)
    10.5 mi

    The real rating is probably 2.5. It's not the worst campground you'll ever visit, but it leaves a…read morelot to be desired. We had campsite 32, which provided a decent amount of tree cover and wasn't too far to walk to the restrooms. Mosquitoes were out of control, so be sure to pack proper clothes and a metric ton of bug spray. There were two vault toilets available in our loop - no running water there. Also no light inside, which is an adventure. Our picnic table was covered in bird poop and other debris from nearby trees. I'm used to roughing it, but this table was as bad as I've seen in a park. Maybe a lack of rain left it in such bad condition. I recommend bringing your own chairs and table if you can. The restrooms with running water were pretty disgusting. Why does every camp bathroom reek of urine? Do we not have functional plumbing in these things? Are guys just hosing down the entire building with piss and refusing to flush? It's insane. There was one very empty soap dispenser available and only warm/hot water coming from the faucet. Of course, you can't control your neighbors at a campground. Most folks were keeping themselves under control, but one group was watching a basketball game or something and the sound of the ref's whistle echoed throughout the camp. I understand that's not the campground's fault. It was disappointing to hear traffic while at the campground. I go camping to get away from it all. This was unfortunate. I might return to Illini State Park if I need a place to crash, but there was nothing special about this place other than its relative proximity to Starved Rock (which had no available campsites the day I was headed there). If you need firewood, you can grab some at the Shell station not far away at 1441 Columbus St, Ottawa, IL 61350.

    Such a nice camping spot! I've been going here for a few years now, couldn't camp last summer due…read moreto covid. This place is great! 15$ a night (10$ with a 5$ service fee online) You just pull up to your spot when you get there. They offer very private sites along with some sites in the open. Sites 90-95 & 98-101 are all great spots if you want some privacy. There's a small town with some cafes and bars just over the bridge so less than a mile away. Such a great spot & very relaxing.

    Photos
    Illini State Park - Fire pit

    Fire pit

    Illini State Park
    Illini State Park - Primitive site

    See all

    Primitive site

    Buffalo Rock State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...