Hawk's Cave Trail

Hawk's Cave Trail is in Fern Clyffe State Park, in Goreville.  A place I've been many times, but had never taken this other trail.  In fact, there are several trails here I still need to explore.

Hawk's Cave is a short trail, probably a little less than a mile loop, about the same as the waterfall trail.  When you park in the lot, instead of hiking straight onto the waterfall trail, veer left and go across the stepping stones.  That trail will split into three, Hawk's Cave trail is on the far left.

The trail itself will Y a little ways into it, but it's a loop, you can't get lost.  Your only decision is really if you want to go uphill before or after exploring the cave (haha.  We chose before in which case you go right.)

You won't see the cave coming until your nearly in it.  That's the beauty of it.  This massive cave site so perfectly in the rock face that your just walking along minding your own business wondering when this cave will appear and Bam! Your in it.  It's massive.  It doesn't go back too terribly far, but it is move cave than overhang.  There's a lot of big stones that have fallen laying around that you can climb on and have fun with, just be careful, play at your own risk.  I don't have the slightest clue where the nearest hospital is or how long it would take them to get to you.

There's a smaller cave as you leave Hawk's Cave, I could see it from the trail (which is really pretty at that point) but we didn't go back to it, simply because I was doing a photo shoot at the time and light is never on our side.

Walking back down you'll cross a cute little footbridge crossing a stream.  The kids loved it, and had it been a little warmer, I'm sure would have been in it.

You go back down the hill you walked up, then meet back up at the main trail.  You should still have plenty of energy to go and see the waterfall. :)

Take rt 37 to Goreville, and follow it through town.  Just outside of town you'll see the sign for Fern Clyffe.  If you want more to see, Tunnel Hill State Trail isn't far!

Tunnel Hill State Trail

The Tunnel Hill State Trail has had many names; the Vincennes and Cairo Railroad, the Wabash, the St. Louis, Pacific, New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail,  the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis line (also known as the CCC & St. Louis or Big Four) the Southern Line, and finally Norfolk Southern Railroad.  The rumble of freight and coal cars reverberated through the narrow tunnels instead of footsteps.  Passengers in Pullman cars saw Southern Illinois' scenic landmarks, instead of bikers and dog walkers.

In 1991, Norfolk Southern gave the State of Illinois the railroad right-of-way between Harrisburg and Karnak, where it had abandoned operations. The Department of Natural Resources has worked to develop the railroad ballast as a trail for hikers, joggers and cyclists, surfacing the trail with crushed limestone and gravel, installing privy toilets and providing drinking water. The first segments of Tunnel Hill State Trail opened in 1998. The trail was completed in the fall of 2001.

I had the pleasure of finally getting to walk a small part of the trail while doing an engagement photo shoot for my childhood (best) friend.  I've been meaning to walk the trail for years, but it's quite the drive for us to get there, and the only bikes we own have motors, so it seems kind of silly to drive all the way over for a mile or so walk.  I was thrilled for it that day, though.

I believe there are several entrances to the trail, but we came in right by the tunnel.  For more than 50 years after the railroad was built, the tunnel was longer than 800 feet, but when a portion of the tunnel collapsed in 1929, the landmark was shortened by 300 feet. Now 543-feet long, it is the only tunnel on the trail. The tunnel is located 1/4 mile south of Tunnel Hill on the trail toward Vienna.  This is on the trail's highest point, exactly midway on the trail, 680 feet above sea level.  Apparently the slate filled hill was enough of a nuisance for the railroad that it was easier to tunnel through it rather than go around it.

Unfortunately I did not get to go any further than the tunnel, but from the DNR website I learned there are other unique features to the 45 mile long trail: "The 23 picturesque trestles along the completed sections of Tunnel Hill State Trail feature decking and side rails, which entice trail users to stop. The trestles range in length from 34 to 450 feet. The longest in Breeden Trestle, which is also the highest at 90 feet. It is located 2 1/2 miles south of Tunnel Hill. In addition to the large communities found along the 45 miles, there also are hamlets along the trail, including Bloomfield, Sanburn and Ledford. In addition, there are a handful of locations that could be described as ghost towns - Forman, Bender, Rago, Parker City and New Castle. All serve as landmarks to trail users. Interpretive signs along the length of the trail point out old coal mines and a sandstone quarry."

We took our pictures around the tunnel, and just a little beyond it.  It was after sunset and getting close to dark, as well as being cold (yet still unseasonably warm) since it was December.  We passed several people while on the trail, most of which had dogs happily trotting along with them.  On the way back to the parking lot, I was looking up and taking everything in, and we passed right underneath a barred owl.  I LOVE owls (and birds of prey in general) and hurried back to the car for my good camera lens.  Lucky for me, he was still there when I walked back, despite the fact a woman and several dogs had also passed beneath him.  DNR's website says many wild animals can be seen along the trail at various points during the year.

The trail can be biked in one day, and hiked in two or three, but be advised there is no camping facilities on the trail itself.  There are campgrounds nearby, but you would need to use the buddy system as far as vehicles are concerned, plotting out your stops each day and dropping a vehicle at each end of your hike.  Shawnee National Forest has three campgrounds within 10 miles of the trail: Lake of Eqypt, north of the community of Tunnel Hill; and Teal Pond and Bell Smith Springs, both southeast of New Burnside. A fourth, Lake Glendale , is about 15 miles east of Vienna. Also located in the same vicinity as Lake Glendale is Dixon Springs State Park. Two other state park campgrounds are about 10 miles from the trail: Ferne Clyffe, west of the community of Tunnel Hill; and Saline County Conservation Area, southeast of Harrisburg.  Horses are not allowed on the trail.

How to get there:

Highway 146 East
P.O. Box 671
Vienna, IL 62995
618.658.2168

Follow I-57 S and I-24 E to IL-146 W in Vienna.  (Take exit 16 from I-24)
Turn R onto IL-146 W.
You will see the trail's parking lot on the left.

Ghost Dance Canyon

Ghost Dance Canyon at Dixon Springs is undoubtedly one of the best 'trails' in Southern Illinois.  I use the word trail lightly, as there is only about half a mile of distinguishable trail.  It starts just beyond the swimming pool, running underneath the highway in a fairly impressive arched bridge.

Follow the foot path along a bubbling stream, with many places for you to stop and play in or near the water and it's various little waterfalls.

The trail basically ends at a large confluence of rocks in the stream, nestled in an opening of a canyon.  It's pretty impressive already.

Cross the stream (carefully!) and there's a footpath following the water and bluff line for about a quarter of a mile.  Being as it's fall and there's a ton of leaves on the ground, we couldn't tell if the trail went any further, but some people up ahead of us turned up on top of the bluff line, while we went down to the water.

We then made our way back up to the main crossing via the stream.  It was incredible.  Rocks as big as houses stand in the stream.

There are little waterfalls everywhere, making this a cascade fall.  If you are not an experienced hiker, I do not recommend climbing among the rocks.  Although, if you are experienced enough to do it, it's an experience you won't soon forget.  There were numerous times that we just sat on a large rock and surveyed the scene before us.  This is God in all His glory.

Directions:

Follow directions in my last post to Dixon Springs State Park.  Park at the swimming pool, walk to the front of it where the building is, and turn to the right.  Follow the trail!

Rocky Bluff Trail

Out of all the places we have been in the last few years, I can honestly say this one is now my favorite.  A quick, 2.2 mile hike not far from Marion, nestled in Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge.  We usually go to Shawnee Wilderness simply because of its size and sheer volume of trails, but sometimes smaller is better, and this one is truly a gem.

I don't know the history of this trail, when or why it was constructed, so the pictures are just going to have to speak for themselves.  You will have to have a day pass for this one, so my directions are from the Crab Orchard Visitor Center.  Passes are $2.00 for a day, or $15.00 from July to July.  You can also buy a duck stamp that can be used as a seasonal pass.
 Right off the parking area (which is small, park nicely!) is the first waterfall opening into a huge bowl valley.  We went here specifically because it had rained a good deal the day before, but there was still no water on the fall.  The trail starts out going over a foot bridge across the first fall.

This trail is listed as 'moderate' as far as difficulty, but to be honest it is still an easy trail.  It is 2.2 miles if you take the loop.  Just make sure to follow the signs, the trail is very well marked, but there are a few times where you can pick up other trails, like Wild Turkey trail, which does not loop back to the parking lot.  This is a very pretty trail, while we went in fall which is probably one of the best times, I think it is diverse enough to be wonderful any time.  They also use this trail during the spring for flower walks every Saturday in April, citing over 60 native species of blooming flowers.

Not far after the first waterfall you come across another, with a nice deep gorge below.  On both falls, so long as there is no water, you can walk off the trail and right up to the edge. Be careful! There are no rails here.

I thought that the waterfalls would be the highlight of the trails, but it didn't even scratch the surface.  The trail winds on a slight downhill grade, and the surrounding area gets hilly, which is really pretty.  There's a lot of downed trees from past storms, but instead of looking bad it just gives you interesting shapes and things to look at, with lots of moss, fungus, and beaver chewings. 

Then the trail get really interesting.  You start going down a hill you didn't even really know you were on.  You can see below a few footbridges, and at first I was like, 'how to we get down to those? I wanna see them!" But the trail gets twisty and winds all the way down the hill and back around.  At one point it's almost comical, you think, why does it turn 180?  But it really is a neat little walk.

There are three foot bridges in rapid succession at the bottom of the hill.  

A little farther down you will find a trail marker, and there's a small offshoot that runs to a huge rock you can stand on right over Grassy Creek.  The trail follows along the creek for almost the remainder of the hike, and all of a sudden you come across a long line of bluffs.

There are several small water runoffs that the trail crosses, and many little footbridges.  Eventually you come across a neat hollow, with fallen trees and a turn in the bluffs and stone steps.  It was here that I really fell in love with the place, and it gets even better.

It runs back along the creek, with it on one side and bluffs on the other.  Amazing.

There's a ton of neat striations in the rock, you can see many layers, mini caves, different kinds of rock, and even layers of sediment from when the whole area was under water.

It just gets more interesting as you go on.  You keep thinking you'r going to have to start walking uphill, but you never really do until the end.  The trail opens up into the void created by the waterfall.  It's impressive dry, but I'll bet it's spectacular with water flowing.  The workers at the visitor center said to come during a wet winter, and if your lucky, the water will freeze going over the falls.

Stone steps lead up upwards (finally) to the top of the bowl and back to the beginning of the trail.

Go out and enjoy this trail!  Trust me, you won't be disappointed.  I've been on everything from a quarter to six mile trails, and this little two mile trek is one of the best I've seen in Southern Illinois.

Directions:

To the Crab Orchard Visitor Center (from I-57 S)

Take exit 54 B and turn Right onto Old 13.  

Turn Left onto 148 at the big intersection at Energy.  

 A few miles down the center is on the left.  You have to come here first to get you day pass unless you have a duck stamp or year pass.

Directions to Rocky Bluff Trail (from Visitor Center)

Turn Left out of the parking lot onto 148.  Follow it five miles.

A Little Grassy general store will be on the right, turn Right there onto Little Grassy road.

A few miles down the road will curve/split, you have to take the Left to stay on Grassy.

At the first Crab Orchard sign (for Devil's Kitchen Lake) turn Left onto Tacoma lane. 

Across the bridge is a small parking lot and a sign for Bluff Trail.

Enjoy!

Update:

We returned to Rocky Bluff on Mother's day 2014.  It had been raining for weeks, and in fact rained almost all that day.  We walked down tot he waterfall while thunder rumbled overhead.  It finally flowed!  We did not walk the trail, but I was ecstatic to see water on the cascade.  Our walking sticks were even still there from last time!  I image people using them and leaving them for others :)