![]() ![]() Southwest of Garden of the Gods a dozen miles, there lie the most convenient access points to another designated wilderness area, the Lusk Creek Wilderness. Lusk Creek's clean waters ahead of a canyon wall. ![]() For anyone wishing to see some quality scenes the Land of Lincoln can offer, I would recommend the Garden. I explored one of them and grabbed a souvenir rock from the sloping forest floor below. The trail also passes by some inviting entrances to the forest as it snakes through the stone towers. I clawed my way up a few of them and had a great time doing it for a couple of hours. These hoodoos presented some fun bouldering possibilities and camera-worthy views from atop the highest ones. But here they were, tucked inside the heartland of America. Pillars and hoodoos are the sort of shapes I only expect to see far away in the intermountain west. Hiking on a crisp spring morning with the trail to myself, there appeared to me a quaint collection of sandstone formations peeking over the deciduous forest. Both traits are showcased abundantly on the garden’s Observation Trail. The immediate area is notable for eye-catching rock formations and some of the most dramatic relief in the state. Garden of the Gods provides backcountry hiking access as well as the developed Pharaoh Campground for a $12 nightly fee. The Shawnee National Forest preserves the area's interesting places, most notably the Garden of the Gods Wilderness. But near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, unglaciated land harbors hilly and sometimes rocky terrain that distinguishes itself within the state. Illinois & Indiana's Ohio Valley ForestsĪlmost exclusively, the state of Illinois is a sleepy blanket of smooth farmland. This is not an exhaustive piece concerning all the recreation opportunities, but it does include at least a fair representation of each of the following areas. Within a collection of summaries about several trips of mine throughout the general Midwest, I offer observations and opinions regarding what the region has to offer. While the places of the Midwest unmistakably wither in comparison to the Appalachians and the vast scenic areas of the West, I have found some to be enjoyable in their own light.
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