Shawnee National Forest
WHO
Our family of four took this weekend trip when Averhy was 16 and Eden was 13. We all enjoyed exploring these natural areas in our home state!
WHAT
This was just an overnight trip for us, so we simply packed a fresh set of clothes for after our Saturday hike, pajamas, and a fresh set of hiking clothes for Sunday. I was glad we brought flip-flops for Saturday evening, because some of the trails were muddy. We did not pack swimsuits, though there were people swimming at the Bell Smith Springs area - so if you want to swim, bring your suit! We did use this backpack for carrying water, snacks, bandaids and bug spray. I also used this camera strap for my big camera and zoom lens.
WHEN
We took this trip over the last weekend in May. The weather was perfect - high 70’s and sunny. Some of the locations were crowded because this was one of the first nice weekends after the state of Illinois opened up (after COVID-19 shutdowns). I would recommend visiting on a weekday if you are able, to avoid crowded parking areas.
WHERE
We spent one night at the Drury Inn in Marion IL. We were impressed with how the hotel followed the current COVID-19 restrictions, with staff wearing masks, limited indoor seating, and grab-and-go snacks and breakfast options included with the room rate.
Our driving route is shown on the map, with the hikes marked by yellow stars.
WHY
The Shawnee National Forest is just 3.5 hours south of our home, so we could take this trip in just one long day, or spread over two days. We decided to use the whole weekend, so we wouldn’t feel rushed through any of the hikes. This national forest has very different landscapes than any other part of Illinois, and we really enjoyed each of these hiking areas. Although the Garden of the Gods is the most well-known part of Shawnee National Forest, our favorite hike overall was at Giant City State Park. We also liked the hike at Bell Smith Springs, but the crowds and limited parking there made it less enjoyable.
HOW
We started our day with a hike at the Ferne Clyffe Waterfall Trail, an easy and well-maintained out-and-back trail that’s less than a mile long. There are interesting rock formations along the path, and it is an easy hike to start your day.
Once we reached the waterfall (on the right side of this photo) the area got a little more crowded. There were kids playing in the water at the bottom of the falls, and some people climbing up the rocks behind the waterfalls. If we had the area to ourselves, we would have climbed up too, but we moved on instead.
If you want to avoid crowds, I would suggest doing this hike on a weekday, or perhaps even a Sunday morning.
Our next stop was Bell Smith Springs. A word of warning: the road to access this area is TERRIBLE and the parking lot is extremely small. We arrived around 1:30pm and had to park on the side of the road. If you notice cars parked on the side of the road as you arrive, stop and park immediately, and walk the rest of the way on the road. The road gets so narrow that if you meet another car, you’ll have to back up…
This trail gets busy on nice weekend days because there are several swimming holes and lots of large boulders for jumping into the creek. We did not plan on swimming, and it was too crowded for us anyway.
For us, the highlight was the natural bridge hiking trail. Follow the yellow trail markers across the creek and they will lead you to a huge natural stone arch.
Continuing on the trail, you’ll find a metal ladder built into the stone so you can climb up on top of the arch before following the path back down to the creek.
The natural bridge trail is a loop trail of 1.5 miles, and we spent about 2 hours at this park.
There are actually four trails in this scenic area, with a total of 8 miles of hikes. So if you decide to brave the bad road conditions and limited parking, you might just make a whole day of it!
Our next stop was perhaps the most well-known part of Shawnee National Forest: Garden of the Gods. Unfortunately, we found it to be crowded and slightly underwhelming. On the positive side, there was ample parking and the trail to see the main features (like Camel Rock in this photo) is well-maintained and easy.
The Observation Trail is just 1/4 mile long and offers several great views of the rock formations and interesting features of erosion. There are other trails in the area, and I think we would have enjoyed this section of the Shawnee National Forest more if we had visited on a weekday.
Our last stop of the day was at the Rim Rock Trail area. Though the parking lot was small, this area was not crowded. We chose to hike the lower Rim Rock trail, which had some sections of steep stone steps and narrow paths - one of which is called “Fat Man’s Misery”. There are also some caves on this path, one of which was used as a stopping point for the Underground Railroad. The lower Rim Rock trail connects with the Beaver Trail to get back to the parking lot.
This trail is only about 1/2 mile, and we spent about an hour exploring here. We enjoyed hiking in this area, and it was a great way to finish our first day in Shawnee National Forest.
Our first hike on Sunday was the Giant City Nature Trail, and it turned out to be our favorite hike of the whole weekend. This is a 1-mile trail with lots of interesting spurs and off-shoots that make it extra fun! In one of the rocky overhangs, Sky realized that the cave underneath actually went through to the other side… so we got a little muddy and crawled through!
There are several narrow passageways (even more narrow than the Fat Man’s Misery from yesterday, or the Fat Man’s Pass in AZ) that are really fun to explore too.
We spent about 1.5 hours exploring this trail.
Next we hiked the Devil’s Standtable Nature Trail, which was a short hike popular with rockclimbers. It included this huge rock formation with boulders that were fun to climb on.
We were also impressed with the ample parking, well-maintained trails, and multiple picnic pavilions throughout Giant City State Park.
You can pick up a trail map outside the Visitor Center, but it is not very detailed - so when you’re hiking just look for the well-worth paths and take them all! The most interesting rock formations we found were on the spur trails just off the main path.
Our next stop was a short and easy hike to the Pomona Natural Bridge. The gravel road to get here is more well-maintained than the road to Bell Smith Springs, but there are still a few potholes here and there. This natural bridge is smaller than the one at Bell Smith Springs. Since it is on the way to the Little Grand Canyon, it’s an easy hike to break up the drive.
Our last hike of the weekend was the Little Grand Canyon. There are three sections to this 3-mile loop hike, and we took the left 1-mile path that leads directly to the main overlook. It was a well-maintained series of up and down slopes along a ridge. At the lookout, you can see the Big Muddy river below, and the Mississippi far in the distance.
We continued down into the canyon for a little ways, and a small stream with a trickling waterfall was our reward. Other hikers coming up mentioned that the the trail was very muddy and slick at the bottom, so we decided to call it a day.
This hiking area had a larger parking lot than Bell Smith Springs, but it was still crowded at 4pm on a Sunday.
Final Tips
Overall, this is a great Midwest weekend adventure for families with kids of all ages.
If you’re looking for more hiking recommendations, check out ShawneeForest.com for detailed suggestions.
Cell service is very limited in the east section of Shawnee National Forest, especially during the drive from Bell Smith Springs all the way to Rim Rock.
Even on a sunny, warm day it was refreshingly cool on all of these wooded trails. We did not have any issues with mosquitoes or ticks.
What other questions do you have? Ask below!
