Sam Dale Lake SFWA and Stephen A. Forbes SRA

For the final day of our 2023 Labor Day weekend, we visited Sam Dale Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area and Stephen A. Forbes State Park. Both parks are about 4 hours and 20 minutes south of Chicago, or about 40 minutes away from Mount Vernon (but 35 minutes away from each other). We had to get another early start to the day, mostly because the weather was going to get very hot, very quickly; but also because after we finished up we had to make the long drive back home. Despite this, we were also pretty excited because Stephen Forbes SP was the 50th park visited. In fact, we almost didn’t include this park on the trip itinerary, but eventually decided that it was only appropriate to finish up our longest dedicated hiking trip with such a milestone number.

Sam Dale Lake SFWA is a relatively small park for this region, at 1300 acres. The original piece of land was only 40 acres, with the additional land being added over the years. The park is named after a man who lived in the region and was a teacher and principal before being elected as a state representative.

While there is a 3 mile nature trail, we opted instead to stick closer to the concession building and the more accessible areas of the park, due to the rapidly climbing temperature. We felt like this park was particularly popular with people camping, and we saw plenty of tents set up (possibly because of the holiday weekend). However, walking along the banks of the lake is a perfectly good way to spend a morning. The water was very clear, and the lake would be an excellent spot to go fishing as well. Additionally, next to the concession building are several hummingbird feeders, so we were able to get plenty of bird pictures.

Finally, we drove up to Stephen A. Forbes SRA. Originally, this park was a mere 20 acres with a 2 acre pond onsite, but is now over 3,000 acres with a large lake covering a lot of it. We originally thought that Stephen Forbes was a governor or other Illinois politician, but he was actually a scientist, renowned for his contributions to biology and ecology. His publications on the subject are still used today.

We first popped over to the boat launch and docks area closest to the visitor center, to get some views of the lake. While also very pretty, it is immediately clear how much bigger this lake is than the one at Sam Dale SFWA. There are 18 miles of shoreline here, which would be very difficult to manage in one day, even for the most experienced outdoorsman.

After enjoying the limited views from the docks, we drove over to Boston Pond for a quick forest walk. This trail as a whole is only about half a mile, but it was pretty overgrown on the far side of the loop. Between that, and the heat reaching 92 degrees by this point, we got to the small pond and just decided to enjoy the views without pushing further. The first portion of this trail would be a picturesque spot to bring some food and eat outside, especially later in the season when the leaves start changing. Overall, the view was a solid way to end our time at park fifty.

For these two parks, we decided to visit two local wineries. The first was Crooked Creek Winery in Centralia, IL. We specifically visited the farm location, because in addition to making wine, the family also raises performance horses here. If you are visiting this part of Illinois, and like wine, please visit this winery. Sipping wine while sitting outside and watching the horses is absolutely worth it. 

The second winery was Tuscan Hills Winery in Effingham, IL Most of the wineries/vineyards that we visit tend to have a very midwestern charm to them: they are often located in very rural areas, surrounded by farmland. In contrast, Tuscan Hills is themed around wineries you would find in Italy, as their name implies. Both the decor and the wine itself are successful in emulating the idea of a winery in Tuscany. Out of all the wines we tried over our long weekend, the wines here were easily the driest and most traditional. After enjoying our wine, pizza, and petting the resident cat, we finally concluded our long hiking weekend.

We really enjoyed both parks, and it was just a shame that we couldn’t stay longer. Both parks offer really great boating opportunities, although Stephen Forbes is larger and has more options in general. If you are in the area, you won’t be disappointed with either option, so long as it is not in the 90s when you go.