Gebhard Woods: Rainy Days in Small Parks, Pt 1.

One of the things that has come up during planning for this project is the fact that parks tend to be clustered together. For example: Starved Rock, Matthiessen, and Buffalo Rock are all within a 20 minute drive of each other. Around Oregon, IL you will find 4 parks in the area so close that you will most likely drive past one to get to another. When looking at a map of Illinois, it becomes clear that they are usually clustered around geographic features, in the case of Oregon, it is the preserved forests surrounding the Rock River.

Another cluster is around the start of the I&M canal and trail in Morris, IL. However, these are all closer in scale to neighborhood parks, instead of the 2,000 acres of the most famous IDNR properties. We have slowly been checking off these properties since the beginning, visiting on the way back from bigger parks, or visiting on a rainy day, because of the limited hiking these parks have to offer. The final park in this cluster we had to visit was Gebhard Woods State Park.

This park was purchased and developed by the Grundy County Rod and Gun Club, who eventually donated the property to the sate. The park was landscaped and the picnic shelters and a large stone fireplace were built by the Civilian Conservation in the new state park, and they can still be seen today.

We visited in early spring, on a pretty cold and overcast day, it looked like it was going to rain all day. At 30 acres, this is the largest of the three Morris state parks, and the only one to offer tent camping. Between the playground and the tent camping are a few areas for picnicking and access to the I&M trail. It is a very easy quick walk to stroll thru the park, something that is especially nice when it looks like it is going to downpour.

After leaving Gehbard Woods, we visited our very first meadery: Unpossible Mead in Dwight, IL. Mead is most similar to wine, but is made by fermenting honey and water, instead of grapes. We were very excited to visit, and it did not disappoint, between the flavors they had on tap to the bartender’s very friendly dog, we would highly recommend giving them a visit if you like mead.

Gehbard woods probably has the most to do out of the small parks in Morris, and is just as good a place as any other to start hiking the I&M trail, but to visit just the park is a bit of an odd choice if you don’t live in the neighborhood. Although, the addition of tent camping does set it apart, and would be a good place for someone wanting to camp for the first time.