Previous visits to Illinois have presented smooth farmland and gently rolling hills. Southern Illinois is very different.
We parked our Travel Trailer near Goreville and visited three state parks: Giant City to the west, Ferne Clyffe just beyond our walking distance, and Garden of the Gods about an hour’s drive to the east. These three parks are linked by the River to River Trail which meanders across southern Illinois from the Ohio River to the Mississippi River. These three parks also sample spectacular rock formations that also meander across the state and differ from the rolling farmland to the north. Being here shortly after Indigenous Peoples Day it is easy to imagine people making their homes in the caves and canyons of this area.
Giant City State Park
The visitor center at Giant City provides an excellent introduction to the geology and tectonics that formed the bluffs not only this park but across the state. Hundreds of millions of years ago Illinois was covered by a vast sea that deposited layers of sandstone mixed with calcium. Over time these layers hardened and as the earth’s plates shifted rose draining the water away. Cracks in these layers eroded into the spaces between the now visible blocks yielding formations reminiscent of city buildings.
Ferne Clyffe State Park
Of the three parks, Ferne Clyffe is the easiest to access from either I-57 (near where we parked our trailer) or I-24. The other parks require either great map reading skills or a good GPS to navigate meandering multiple local roads through small towns. Those drives were pleasant diversions in themselves.
Ferne Clyffe is noted for the presence of ferns, although we saw only one variety.
On a Sunday morning dozens of people found this park to take the short out and back hike (Big Rocky Hollow Trail) along a bluff to a water fall a the end. On that day little if any water fell. Across the parking lot from that trailhead where three other trails we completed both of these loops: Hawks Cave Trail and Rebman Trail. While Big Rocky Hollow Trail is wide and flat the others are typically two people wide and with a combined 95 feet of elevation gain. In places the two loops trails were so covered with leaves finding the trail required a moment’s discernment.
Garden of the Gods
I had visited the Garden of the Gods in Colorado and expected this park to be a poor imitation. I was wrong. Illinois has a strong rival to what I remember in Colorado. We hiked two paths. A short observation trail and a 1.8 mile loop to Indian Point.
The Garden of the Gods Observation walk is paved from end to end with flagstones or boardwalk. Even on a Tuesday morning in October this trail was very crowded. And deservedly so. Although only a half mile in length we took a fifty-two minutes to complete this loop as each corner presented unique sandstone formations. To adequately capture this short trail one might walk it with an 360° camera mounted atop their head.
I expected Indian Point to feature a walk through the woods to a majestic overlook (check). We were pleasantly surprised by impressive views of the rocky bluff with its numerous caves. Did early Illini inhabit these caves or did they walk past them as we might have?
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