Garden of the Gods

My family and I recently took a day trip to Garden of the Gods State Park in the Shawnee National Forest.

I definately reccomend going there if your looking for breathtaking sights, a little excersize, and lots of options for further exploration. Garden of the Gods is what remains of a huge sea from long ago. (think 320 million years) There are large rock formations, and you actually get to crawl around on them, although there are no barriers, and someone could easily get too close and fall off, so please keep a tight reign on your kids!

The Observation Trail is the main attraction at Garden of the Gods, which is a paved trail and is only about .25 miles long. It is part of an interconnecting system of trails that totals about 5 miles for someone looking for a little more sightseeing. You will see rock formations such as Indian Point, Anvil Rock, and Big H. We didn't go on this trail being as our son is only three and couldn't walk that far, but even the observation trail is very nice and kid friendly. You get to walk right out on top of the cliff faces, and there are several small caves and interesting places you can squeeze yourself into. Everything was very clean and well maintained.
If you have an afternoon like we did, there are lots of things to see within just a few minutes of Garden of the Gods, like Pounds Hollow, Rim Rock, and the Iron Furnace. Even better, if you have all evening, there is a campsite called Pharaoh Campground at Garden of the Gods, which has bathrooms, water, designated campsites, fire pits and picnic tables.

Everything is free and is open year round except the camping, which when we stayed was $5.00 a night.

How to get there:

From Exit 54 at Interstate 57 and Illinois 13, drive 25 miles east on Illinois 13 to US 45 in Harrisburg. Turn right onto US 45 and drive south 1 mile to Illinois 34. Turn left onto Illinois 34 and drive 16 miles to Karbers Ridge Road. Turn left onto Karbers Ridge Road and drive 3 miles east to Illinois 10, turn right. Continue about 1 mile to Garden of the Gods Road, turn left. Look for Garden of the Gods Recreation area on your left.

From the south take Illinois 1 North to Cadiz Road. Turn left and continue west 6 miles to Karbers Ridge Road. Turn left and continue west for 4 miles to Illinois 10 (Garden of the Gods Road). Turn left for about 1 mile. Turn left into Garden of the Gods Recreation area.