With the last good weekend for hiking in 2022 upon us, we drove south to Bloomington/Normal to squeeze in two more parks before it got too cold. The first of those parks was Moraine View State Recreation Area. This park is about two and a half hours south west of Chicago, but only 30 minutes away from Illinois State University.
Like Moraine Hills before it, this park is also named after the geological feature of rocks and hills left behind by glacial drift 15,000 years ago. When in doubt, a glacier is probably responsible for the landscape in Illinois. This park seems to have been created due to the need for a water recreation area. However, despite the area having a lot of places where lakes could have formed naturally, years of farming had manipulated the land enough that it would not happen on its own. So a dam was built on Salt Creek, which resulted in Dawson Lake. This officially opened to fishing in 1963, and the surrounding area being renamed Moraine View SRA in 1975.
We arrived in late October, and were very excited for a weekend of fall color. After looking at our trail options, we decided to do the Timber Point Trail and the Tanglewood Trail. There are a few other trail options, but they are somewhat inconsistent between AllTrails and the park brochure. That weekend, we took a friend who lives in the area with us, and did not want to trek somewhere we were less certain about.
Timber Point and Tanglewood are the two shortest trail options at half a mile each. We started with Timber Point, which is sited as being an accessible trail. It runs thru the woods and along the lake, and it is by far the most immersive nature trail we have found so far that is still considered accessible. However, it should be noted that you will follow a natural dirt path; it is not paved in anyway like a lot of other accessible trails. We still feel that almost everyone will be able to enjoy this trail, but wheelchair users should be warned that the ground may be somewhat uneven, and if you are there in the fall there will be lots of leaves on the ground as well.
That aside, for such a short trail, it is really beautiful. The colorful trees made this stretch of our day feel almost otherworldly. It also passes along the lake, where we were able to see a family of geese in the distance. Before going to the second trail, we briefly stopped by a beach to take some photos and sit by the lake. Unfortunately, it was too late in the season for us to go swimming, but during the summer it is available for $3 specifically in the designated area.
Finally, we went to Tanglewood trail, which is what they consider their nature trail. This loop goes through more forest, over part of a smaller lake, and within site of a beaver dam. The fact that they call this a nature trail is very appropriate, as the amount of different natural features we passed felt more educational than otherworldly. However, both trails were equally fun and interesting.
After hiking two of the trails, we headed back to Bloomington to go to Lil’ Beaver Brewery. We each got a chicken wrap and a flight of beer, and overall had a very enjoyable time outside on their patio.
We feel like this park is very rewarding, especially for people who are new to hiking, or are unsure about how long they can go. The lake is as much of a draw as the hiking, with swimming, boating, and fishing all being available. And for the trails being so short, the scenery is really beautiful, especially in the fall surrounded by all the colorful trees. I imagine this would be an especially good place for the college students to go for a much needed outdoors break between classes.
Fresh Air Friendship 