As someone itching for the outdoors regularly,
Starved Rock State Park always satisfies that need. Located about an hour and a half from my house, it's full of trails and trees. What else could a girl ask for?
While this state park is 100% a day-trip for me, I usually go around the same time every year and have not really got to experience other seasons here with the exception of a wedding we attended at the Starved Rock Lodge back in Fall 2018 or 2019 and it was beautiful. I'd like to come back around the fall or winter (bald eagle season).
As a Chicago girly, the city and suburbs have a plethora of outdoor activities, forest preserves, and parks to offer, but if you're looking to do some more genuine hiking, Starved Rock is your place.
Some tips for Starved Rock:
Bring water + a snack
As an almost annual Lolla goer, I have a hydration backpack which we brought for this trip and it was incredibly useful. You don't have to worry about lugging a water bottle around and it'll keep full for most of the day. We were also starving (ha!) by the time we left, so a small snack would be great to have along with you.
Bring sunscreen + bug spray
This one is self explanatory. Though there are a ton of trees to shade from the sun, you should always wear sunscreen. With trees come bugs. There are tick warnings throughout the park, so we brought cans of both and kept them in the car.
Visit during the week
We went at the end of May and picked a weekday to go because we were both off of work. Because we weren't in the heart of summer yet and most people have work/school during the week, it wasn't busy. Traffic will pick up on the weekends, so if you're planning a weekend, I'd plan to get there early.
I've been here a handful of times, as you can see by these previous posts:
Starved Rock 2015
and again in 2016
and one more time on film in 2017
I have never stayed overnight, though, and I don't think you need to unless you're with family, looking for a local getaway, or have an event. They do have campgrounds available and there is the Starved Rock Lodge (which is beautiful), but two things I recently found out about is the new Camp Aramoni Glamping site and the Getaway Cabins, which have piqued my interest.
All in all, to get us out of the house and into some sunshine for a day, it's so worth the drive. If you're into road trips like we are, there's a handful of small towns around the park to visit and grab a bite to eat before the drive home. We ended up in Peru, IL. at Mickey's Massive Burritos, which was a solid 7/10.
Other than Starved Rock, Garden of the Gods has been on my To Do list for a while. What other hiking spots in the Midwest have you been to? Let me know in the comments below. <3
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