Wolf Creek SP and Eagle Creek SP

The final parks for our 2025 hiking season were Wolf Creek State Park and Eagle Creek State Park. They are about 3 hours and 15 minutes south of Chicago, or 45 minutes south of Decatur.

The parks are located on opposite shores of Lake Shelbyville in Windsor, IL. The history of these two parks is tied together, as in 1963, the state began construction of a dam that artificially created the lake. The sites have been offering primitive camping since 1972, and several other features followed in the years to come, such as a boat launch and the hiking trails.

After arriving at Wolf Creek SP, we decided to head to the Lakeview Trail. The main trail for this park is the Red Fox Trail, but we opted for one of the shorter trails as we did not want to wear ourselves out before getting to Eagle Creek SP later in the day. 

The Lakeview Trail starts as shady with lots of trees, but quickly opens up to go along a relatively flat part of the lake. It was quiet and still, and really beautiful to walk along. The path also had quite a few butterflies all around. It was unclear to us how long the path was going on for, so once it reached the end of the lake and back into the woods, we decided to backtrack to check out more of the park.

Next we followed signs that indicated that there was an overlook. We got a little confused and didn’t find one, but we walked around to one of the picnic shelters anyway. Behind the shelter, we found a path that led down to a little beach and some really picturesque views of the woods across the lake. I thought it was really beautiful, and I have never wished so much to have a local friend with a boat to check out the parks from the water.

After that, we finally headed to Eagle Creek SP. The AllTrails app only shows the Chief Illini Trail, which we knew was too long for us on a day with multiple parks. It also didn’t get close to the lake at all. However, once we were in the park, we found several smaller trails close to the campground that looked out at the lake from higher up on some small bluffs. These views were also exquisite, and we could see how many people were enjoying the day from boats. The one issue we had was that the trail seemed like it should loop around, but was overgrown and kind of felt like we could fall off the edge. Not wanting to risk getting too close, we turned back and finished up for the day.

The first business we wanted to highlight for this trip was Niemerg Family Winery. This is a small winery in Findlay, IL, only 5 minutes away from the two parks. One of the owners was pouring wine for us, and was very excited to chat with us about the project and all the parks, while we were excited by the presence of a winery dog. The wine was also really good, and was a very good place to go after spending the morning hiking.

The second business we visited was 1905 Brewing Company in Assumption, IL. This brewery was excellent. I was especially impressed with their Comet Blue, which is blended with blue corn to create a beer that is sweeter and creamier than average. We will definitely be back to 1905 in the future.

While these parks may not have the wow factor of Starved Rock, Pere Marquette, or Giant City, both Wolf Creek SP and Eagle Creek SP are perfect for hiking near some lake views, or especially taking a boat out on a clear summer day. Wolf Creek had a slight edge based on the day that we had, but would happily recommend both parks to anyone looking for some place new to visit.