My wife and I wanted to check this place out since it was on her bucket list and apparently it…read morebecame on my bucket list as well since I love to see some other worldly things in my own home state of illinois. Thankfully we lucked out and we didn't get rained on but this place was still pretty busy. Depending on when you show up parking can be a bit Limited. The trails to the top is not too long either but the interaction is so long and breathtaking. I've never been to a park since I've been to Matheson State Park where you are able to climb on every little thing. The views here and the experience is unlike any other. It felt like I was back in the Smoky Mountains but with less tourists. They have public restrooms here as well though if there's a line it could take a while. Me and my wife spent a good few hours here and if you follow the trail it will take you right back to the parking lot. We also enjoyed that this place is also dog friendly too!

Glad we went the route we did which is to the right as opposed to the left. This has the frequent…read morestairs/incline with is better for my knees than the sharp decline if we were to go the other way. I also liked that the multiple or compiled sandstones was the last we saw as opposed to the first, like a grand finale. And then the gradual decline on the way down to complete the circle. This is a very quick route where you can see the famous camel rock actually many of the rocks look like faces ;)

An excellent rail trail connecting 45 miles of truly rural spaces, this made for a great 2-day…read morebikepacking excursion. We cycled from Harrisburg to Karnak, stayed the night in a campground right at the end of the trail, and returned home the following day. If you were to start this exact trail from any population center, it would be teeming with visitors. But that's not the reality here. We didn't see more than two dozen other cyclists total in 2 weekend days in May -- we damn near had the place to ourselves. And we were the only campers at the campground on a Saturday night (although some people might have stayed away because of rain in the forecast). The path itself is in really good shape for such an old trail. It's well-maintained and well-marked, and best of all, it's shade the whole way. You're almost always surrounded by trees. The terrain is surprisingly interesting, and for a number of miles you follow wetlands. I also particularly liked the bridges, which employ used railroad ties beautifully. And of course, there is the namesake tunnel, which you hit around mile 22. If there is a downside, it's the relative lack of amenities. You're not going to have ample choices for groceries or restaurants. But at least water stations and dry good shops are still around every several miles. And you're not here for the restaurants anyway.

In 2023, I toyed around with the idea of bridging the gap between 50km and the 50 mile distance. It…read morewas bothering me as I raced marathons and 50km that year until it happened. Maybe I have what I takes. I looked for a 50 mile distance race that had a very generous time limit on ultrasignup.com. I found Tunnel Hill 100 mile and 50 mile distance events in Vienna, IL. They offer 30 hours for both distances, so I would be able to complete the 50 miles with plenty of time to spare. I shared my findings on social media and they told me to go for it. And so, I did. Signing up online was easy, with prices under $100, you do get a bang for your running dollar. In the ensuing months before race day, it was on the back of my mind. Race day comes and I was not really nervous. Probably more excited than anything. My friend and I arrived in his rental car. We drove from Crystal Lake, IL. We lucked out on parking here and proceeded to packet pick up for our race bibs. Once secured, we milled around the mass group of participants that have joined that morning. After a brief race morning announcement, we were under way at 7am. The course was a figure 8, mostly trail with a lot of scenery and trees. The 50 mile course was a 13.1 mile out and back, then roughly 12 miles out and 11 miles on the return for the 50 miles. 100 miles repeat the 50 mile loop on the next set of 50 miles. It was literally that simple from a running standpoint. I started the race with mix emotions but every mile that checks off was me getting closer to the goal. The overall feeling of making it was electric and amazing at the same time. It was just after 2:30am when I crossed the finish line. No fanfare but just me and my thoughts. I figure that's how it is with these long distance running events, but I proved to myself that I can. There was a few aid stations on the course, but best thing was to carry your own aid if you need extra. But I carried my Starbucks cup, so I could carry water in between aid stations. Thank you to all the volunteers who make this event possible! When I made it to 35 miles, I knew I was in uncharted territory. I was tired and exhausted. I kept going and took breaks at the aid stations when necessary. It rain heavy that evening in 2024, which added an hour to my total time, but I didn't care at all. Just wanted to finish. Each step was a victory for me, especially after 40 miles and during the lonely stretches where it was just me and my thoughts. For the most part though, it was the greatest thing I've done since my 1st marathon in 2007. It was amazing to see other accomplished runners with me on the course that day / night. Happy that I finished and not doubted myself even just once. Happy for myself and that I believed in myself. Grateful and blessed. Tunnel Hill 100 mile ultra endurance event is staged at the Vienna City Park in Vienna, IL. They accept registrations annually at ultrasignup.com, which generally requires major credit cards as payment. As far as parking for race weekend, you just need to get here as soon as you can. Once other race participants arrive, it fills up pretty fast and they have another parking area for you to go to, but it is a half mile walk from the race venue. As far as public transportation, there is virtually none here. You would have to rent a car or have one of your own to get here. The closest airport will be in St. Louis, Missouri. Or Paducah, Kentucky. I happen to be driving from Chicago Illinois, because it was the cheapest I could find, flying into Chicago. For the most part though, it was a life changing experience for me and one that I won't ever forget forever. Definitely a place and race that can surely be the one you want to do your ultra distance in. Definitely a place where you can just let loose and enjoy the scenery while you crank the miles for your favorite distance or go race. If you don't have any yet or don't want to run Chicago, considered coming to this one since it's pretty awesome. Low-key and definitely a good vibe for all those involved. 5.0 stars for the overall experience Support local! A+

Tony and I went hiking at Dixon Springs State Park and we had a nice time. The rock formations are…read moreawesome and there is a bridge across the top of the Waterfall. I was able to get some great photos from the base of the rocks and the waterfall. The park was a little dead today but it was early about 10am. There was only one other couple there. There was picnic tables and some grills..and even some grills where I guess there was some picnic tables that are now gone...hummmmm...they also have a pool for the public use but it is still pre-season so it was not open..but I was there for the stunning rock formations and the beauty of God's backyard. This park is FREE to enjoy..which is always nice and very easily located on the intersection of Rt. 146 and Rt . 145. Here is some important information from the website: Dixon Springs State Park is one of several state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills. The park is on a giant block of rock which was dropped 200 feet along a fault line that extends northwesterly across Pope County. The 801 acre park is about 10 miles west of Golconda on Illinois Route 146 near its junction with Illinois Route 145. The first land acquisition was in 1946. Facilities at the park include a modern swimming pool, bathhouse, and 45-foot water slide provided for swimmers' enjoyment. Lifeguard is on duty at all times. Towering oaks, elms, and birch trees shade the pool. A concession stand near the pool provides a variety of refreshments. Picnic tables and outdoor stoves are available at three shaded picnic areas. Two picnic shelters, playgrounds, parking areas, and drinking water are also available. There is a Class B trailer camping area with a sanitary dumping station and electricity available. Also available are ten sites for primitive camping, two hiking trails, two basketball courts, three horseshoe pits, two volleyball courts and an archery range Also some HISTORY OF THE AREA which I found very interesting information I wanted to share: The area around the park was occupied by various tribes of Algonquins who, after the Shawnee had been driven from Tennessee, had settled near the mouth of the Wabash River. Dixon Springs was one of their favorite camping grounds and was called "Kitchemuske-nee-be" for the Great Medicine Waters. One of the better known Indian Trails, which the early French called the "Grand Trace," passed to the west of the park and south to Fort Massac, then branched out into lesser trails. Much of the "Grand Trace" is Illinois Route 145, one of the most scenic highways in the state, running nearly all of its length south from Harrisburg through the Shawnee National Forest. This section of the state was part of an Indian Reservation occupied for a time by about 6,000 Native Americans. Like the buffalo, most of the Indians were gone by the early 1830's. Dixon Springs takes its name from William Dixon, one of the first white settlers to build a home in this section, who obtained a school land warrant in 1848 from Governor Augustus C. French. His cabin was a landmark for many years as was an old log church on the adjoining knoll. A small community grew up at Dixon Springs with a general store, post office, blacksmith shop, grist mill, and several churches.Dixon Springs Dixon Springs became a 19th century health spa which attracted hundreds to the seven springs of mineral-enriched water. A bathhouse provided mineral or soft water baths, hot or cold, available at any time. The natural beauty of the area and its interesting stone formations helped to give the park valley a more equable temperature in the summer than most of southern Illinois. This made the resort so popular that people came by steamboat excursions from as far away as Paducah, KY, Evansville, IN, and Cairo to Golconda. They then traveled by train to within a couple miles of the park. The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming waterfalls of varying sizes and heights. Bold cliffs and crags overhang a bubbling brook while large boulders, overgrown with ferns, ivy, lichens, and moss, fringe the hillside. Giant century-old trees interlock above the small creek as cliffs rise on either side and huge boulders are scattered through the valley. Equally intriguing are the names given numerous points of interest, including Album Rock, Red Man's Retreat, Wolf Pen, Lover's Leap, Ghost Dance, Pluto's Cave. Alligator Rock, the Chain of Rocks, Devil's Workshop, and Honeycomb Rock. The principle canyon has walls nearly 60 feet high with a long, narrow passageway. I found this park very nice and I would definitely go here again..so if you are in the area...enjoy some hiking and gorgeous scenery...God gives us so much to ENJOY for FREE !!! A great Park

A nice state park in the area with a pretty nice trail in the Ghost Dance Canyon. Some interesting…read morestuff to see when it's raining, but the rain also makes the rocks very slick. All in all, I have no complaints it, but this shouldn't be your first or second or even third stop if you have time to roam around in the area.

A wee bit sketchy but I'm terrified of heights. It's beautiful once up…read more 123 steps up! Would be beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

Even though me and my wife were disappointed that we didn't have time to check out the Welcome…read moreCenter since it was closed down Memorial Day we were able to check out a few of the trails at Giant City state park. I enjoyed the mixed variety of Trail Lengths mainly just because I'm not much of a hiker myself. The state park is actually a solid place to check out if you're in the area or are coming to the area since there's many things to check out especially on this side of the Shawnee National Forest compared to the east side. There's plenty of parking spaces and amenities at most of these trailheads. The area is still a well-kept secret in my opinion that I don't feel like a lot of tourists still come and check out. Overall, the state park is actually worth checking out and thankfully the parking is free or you don't need a parking pass of any source

Come for the Garden of the Gods, stay for the wondrous hiking…read more If you drive 4.5 hours to see the Garden of the Gods, you also have to spend time hiking the actual forest it's in. That's what Emily and I did after taking in the breathtaking views at the Gardens. We kind of went into this blindly with just a map of the area. We backtracked a bit to this area that may have been something called Backpacker's Hike or something like that. Pictures say it was the Indian Point Trail. Anyways, we parked next to a few other cars and headed out to hike. I don't need to explain hiking but I will go over a few fun things we saw. There were more cliffs to enjoy but the views were just a bit less than stellar compared to the Gardens. Still great though. We saw a lot of places where people must've camped or hung out at night cause there were fire pits everywhere. We deviated from the path cause we were looking to hike as much as possible and ended up getting dead-ended about 4 times. While we were limited to this area of Shawnee, I would say we got a pretty good taste of what it offers. We got to see so many beautiful viewpoints and took plenty of great photos. I know this is just scraping the surface of what Shawnee National Forest offers and maybe some day I can go back and see all the other landmarks that this place is known for. Enjoy nature. It's a thing of beauty.

Loved the many places in the Shawnee National Forest! Of course we came down to this area for…read moreGarden of the Gods which is five stars, top three places in Illinois to visit! And we hiked there as well. The Shawnee is large and stretches east and west, so it's really like, two National forests in one! The town of Marion was lovely, and we camped at Cave in Rock on the Ohio River. I also visited Scratch Brewing in Ava, IL. There's so much to do on all sides of the Shawnee, I'd love to return to do more hiking!

I know you're going to stop believing if I keep giving all of the hikes in the Shawnee National…read moreForest area five stars, but the Panther Den Wilderness Area is an amazing one. The trail is pretty easy, with a bunch of nice little stream crossings, and the painfully scenic combination of dappled tree cover, and rock bluffs off to your right hand side as you hike out. Then, about a mile out, as you walk along the bluffs you'll suddenly see a giant stone corridor, leading into a series of beautiful stone chambers, some dark, some sunny, all mossy, wet, cool. If our experience with our toddler is any indication you can poke around in here for a long time, looking for different ways under, over, and around. Just be sure to save a little bit of energy for the walk back. It's not the easiest place to access, down a long unpaved one lane road with a tiny parking lot, but it meant we had the whole place almost to ourselves. (Though more cars did fill in on Sunday afternoon.) It lacks the immediate splendor of some of the other more famous places around here, but all told it's not far from my platonic ideal of a hike.

I recently stopped here with a wife after visiting the Garden of the Gods just because we needed a…read moretrail to go on and a Garden of the Gods was not really too much of a trail it was more just scenery. This is a good walk though it's not long but you get to climb various elevations and get to see some good views and you get to see some of the rock formations as well. Trail is not too busy as well either trail is fairly maintained as well! Expect a decent workout on your legs but if you walk the other way around it's much easier going counterclockwise

The views in the cracks of the rock and around the rock were astonishing; however, the trail wasn't…read moretoo much fun and was full of bugs. The day we went was hot and humid, so we felt an obvious and lovely temperature drop while walking downstairs toward the bottom. However, there wasn't too much to see or do while hiking on the trails toward or leaving the scenic spot. Also, it was a little frustrating when our sweat was dripping to the ground and not knowing where we were as there was no sign updating the hikers about their location.

This is definitely a one-of-a-kind place. Every display throughout the property has a related pun,…read moreand the toys in his toy house are displayed in ways that make funny stories. Sadly a storm took out the electricity to the toy house and he isn't permitted to fix it because the electric is connected to the house and the town said he has to upgrade all the electric in the house, which he and his wife don't have the means for right now. When he had electricity a lot of the toys would move and contraptions on the property had lights and water on some of them. The toys stretch back to the 1940s. Definitely a trip down memory lane. The gentleman who owns it is very nice and came out to give us a tour and pointed out the many puns related to the displays. The little general store his grandparents ran back in the early half of the 1900s is still standing and full of interesting memorabilia and artifacts. It's donations only, no cost, but the man and his wife can use the help. If you're not a fan of weird junk art and old toys, you probably wouldn't like it. We spent about 45 minutes there.

Depends on your style and tastes because it definitely is a little eerie! If you like weird,…read morethough, it'll be a good place to visit. It will definitely be something we will always remember, but not one we necessarily recommend.

Mantle Rock is tucked away in Western Kentucky's Livingston County and is a small pocket of arches…read moreand rock shelters. This location has a sandstone bridge/arch that spans 188 feet that you will come across within just minutes of parking. But this place offers so much more. The total grounds are 367 acres and the total length of the loop trail is listed at only 1.8 miles, but when you hike off trail the world opens up. You can come across rare plants that are only native to this eco system, like cactus located on top on the arch. If you look long enough then you can find original indian carvings and I will not list the location for fear of people doing damage to something that is so seldom come across. Also, if you live in Louisville or southern Indiana like me, then this isn't a short drive, instead its a very, very long drive. Its worth saying that Mantle Rock isn't an area that you can camp but really is a place for an interesting day hike. Just don't find yourself contained to walking the marked path, venture off and then you will be so pleased that the long drive is forgotten. Relax and follow the stream that runs within the grounds.

This is a simple kind of getaway where you can hike and re-visit history. There is no fast way of…read moregetting to Mantle Rock, as you either have to drive a-ways on U.S. 60 and follow signs, or you can take the ferry from Cave-in-Rock, Illinois. There are plenty of historical markers at the site, which all talk about one of the saddest, shameful moments in U.S. history - the Cherokee Indian removal (also known as the Trail of Tears). Some of the Native Americans used the Mantle Rock shelter during the winter time. It is still there, and it is the largest natural arch east of the Mississippi River in the U.S. A short trail guides you there. You can also hike on their 3-mile trail - which I didn't do and from what I read, it is not flat so be careful.