I love waterfalls. I love being in the forest. Last week, we traveled to the Kentucky border to get the new puppy. We decided to make a day of it and find a really cool state park to hike. We watched as the forecast got colder and colder. Then, snow was forecasted. We didn’t care. We didn’t leave quite as early as planned, but we hit the trail and hiked three miles with flakes of snow falling.
We went to Ferne Clyffe State Park, which is within Shawnee National Forest. Southern Illinois is really beautiful. I didn’t want to leave. I stacked a bunch of rocks to prop my phone up to get the above picture. It was worth it.
The trail was rocky and slick from the rain and snow. I would say it was the most difficult one that we’ve done with the kids. We gained over three hundred feet in elevation, which isn’t the most we’ve gained. It is certainly more than we gain here in flat central IL.
This trail definitely scratched my itch for adventure. I’ve been checking out so many travel books from the library in an effort to escape.
I highly recommend visiting this area. We hiked the Waterfall trail and Hawk’s Cave Trail. The waterfall trail was not marked well at all. We actually ended up off course, but quickly realized it. Turns out, we were supposed to turn left and climb a rock wall to stay on our trail. I climbed to the top to make sure that it was, in fact, a trail. It was such a blast. Good shoes are also needed with the way the Waterfall trail is. It’s not a smooth dirt trail. It was a lot of rock and climbing.
I hope you get out and explore. Nature is the best therapist.