Clinton Lake

Closing out our Springfield weekend from August of 2023, we went to Clinton Lake State Recreation Area. This park is in DeWitt, IL, about two hours and 45 minutes away from Chicago, right around halfway between Bloomington/Normal and Decatur.

The day we went was very overcast, and a little humid, but nonetheless a good day to be outside. Clinton Lake SRA is a very big park, at about 9,300 acres, and boasts a lot of activities. This park is much more popular than we expected it to be, drawing thousands of people every year to its lake for the beach and fishing. There is also a pretty active campground onsite. However, it was nearly empty that morning when we got there.

This 4,900 acre lake is another manmade one, used as a cooling reservoir for the nearby power plant. Until European settlers arrived around 1830, it is believed that tribes of the Illini Confederacy lived in the area. After that, it was just farmland until the 1970s, when the construction of the lake started.

While the main focus of Clinton Lake is the lake itself, there are plenty of hiking trails all over the place. They have difficulty ratings across the board, from totally accessible to very difficult. The trails closest to the campground are the easiest ones with well defined natural paths. There is also a 9.3 mile trail, closer to the power plant, that is very steep and difficult, and should only be attempted by experienced hikers.

The problem we ran into is that it was difficult to tell which trail was which. The map in the park brochure was difficult to read, and possibly out of date.The Alltrails app combines 3 of the trails into one, making it appear a lot longer than it really is. The ambiguity made it very difficult to tell where we should start from. The trailhead sign we eventually found lists the four trails (handicap loop, Houseboat Cove, Pond in Woods, and North Loop), and looks as if there used to be a map, but it is not there anymore. We wanted to hike the North Loop Trail, but we never actually got to the “loop” part. We also inadvertently ended up on the accessible trail, because it appeared to be the start of the North Loop Trail, as opposed to its own trail. 

Maybe we were just tired from the State Fair and Sangchris Lake over the previous two days, but the hike itself seemed to fall flat. While the woods we went through were very pretty, and took us right up to the lake itself, the entire hike was overtaken by overwhelming confusion about where we actually were, and we had to turn around after about 1.75 miles when it became apparent that the loop was outside of how far we could comfortably hike. We have no complaints about the trail itself, just how difficult it was to navigate to any specific place.

Once we were done, we quickly drove to the beach, and on the way saw a couple of deer hanging out on the side of the road. The beach was completely empty that day, but definitely looked like it would be a fun place for locals to come on a hot summer day.

After we finished up at Clinton Lake, we headed to Decatur Brew Works. This place had been on our list for a while, and we were so excited to finally go. Opened in 2015 in the historic Library Block building, this was the first brewery in Decatur. Both of us were very impressed, especially with one the Pineapple Cherry Cream ale, which tasted exactly like pineapple upside down cake. Definitely check them out if you are in the area.

Clinton Lake SRA has a lot to offer, particularly if you want to go to the beach or go boating. But in terms of hiking, we feel that the trail at Weldon Springs or Moraine View may be more rewarding for those who are less experienced. They are definitely less confusing to tell where you are there.