Rockwood State Park

[nate1714]

I stop by this place a time or two a year. This time I went out in late June. To be honest its nothing fantastic. Trails are limited and not maintained well. I did take the nephew out to teach him some orienteering and knife skills. There is a decently long horse trail around the park, though I don't own a horse. They do have a small lake for fishing and kayaking/boating. Mainly its just a good place to kill a few hours or go camping for a short overnight trip. The nearby town does have a great Dairy Queen though.
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r1/morrison.htm

Trail started off promising this morning.

Sun was still coming up a bit

This is one of the only 3 trail markers I found. The trail was rough and as I hiked I cleared it a bit.

Yet still nature is fascinating...

Trail got a bit better away from the lake

Closer to Prairies and farmland the trails were tall grass

Interesting how fast the trail changed from woods, grassland then pine trees

Nephew found a baby frog

Oh it doesn't look like much in this pic but, this trail is all mud!

Last view of overgrown trail before finally breaking out into a local corn field.

A few hours well spend. Knife skills and rough trails help in the learning process. It was a good hike.

Thanks for checking these out!

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Looks like a great place to hike

 

[Saymon]

Seems like a great place for outdoor activity.

 

[Bob W]

I did my college internship at White Pines Forest State Park, not far from there to the east.
White Pines is a tiny park, but worth a stop if you're passing by. Apple Canyon and Franklin Creek are two other attractive parks in the region, if you haven't already been.

 

[nate1714]

I went to White Pines as a kid to look for some fossils...long story short...ended up wayyy to close to a unfriendly snake. Have not been to the other parks you mentioned.