On the fourth day of our Metropolis trip, we hit an extremely exciting milestone: Park 100! We spent a lot of time thinking about which park to visit for the occasion, and we settled on Fort Massac State Park. Fort Massac is located right within Metropolis, on the Ohio River. Metropolis is a 5 hour and 40 minute drive south of Chicago, right on the border of Kentucky.
There were a couple reasons we settled on Fort Massac being park 100, the main one being that Fort Massac was the first state park in Illinois, being maintained by the state since 1908. Compared to other parks, Fort Massac is seeped in history. There is a replica of the 1802 fort overlooking the river, and historical reenactments once a month.
The strategic location of the fort was noted by many people over the decades. Structures were built and abandoned several times, with the first being by the French during the French and Indian War in 1757. It was called Fort De L’Ascension, but was renamed Massiac after a French Minister. Later, the name became anglicized to Massac. Out of all the parks we have visited, this is the one that has the most extensive historical representation, due to the military importance.
Aside from the rich history, there is also a lot of natural beauty. Fort Massac SP is deceptively large. You would never be able to tell from the street just how large the park is, despite the fact that there are three driveable entrances within the space of a block. The park boundary actually extends past the interstate, which you would not be able to tell at all before arriving.
We first drove to the visitor center, and upon learning that it was not open yet, we walked over to the fort replica. It is currently closed, as the buildings need structural maintenance work, but it is such a unique experience regardless of being able to go inside or not. Its position overlooking the river may have made it an advantageous lookout point before, but now it is simply an excellent place to take in the Ohio River for leisure.
After taking in the history, we headed to the trail head. There are a few trails here, including a bike trail. We opted for the Hickory Nut Trail, a two mile loop with some views of the river. This trail was quite flat and easy to follow, but because of the proximity to the water, there was a noticeable amount of litter, which appeared to have been left behind after a flood at some point. That notwithstanding, it’s really not a bad trail. You get beautiful green forest and some river views.
The trail does pass underneath the interstate in two places. The first is where the highway begins to cross the river, and prospective hikers should know that if there is construction underway on the bridge it may be too dangerous to hike any further here. Still, it is an impressive structure to see while in the park. After passing that, the trail curves toward one of the park roads and the bike trail, where you once again will go under the highway and back to the trailhead.
After wrapping up the park, we decided to explore more of Metropolis itself, and head to the Super Museum. A surprising fact that we learned is that there are only two places called Metropolis in the United States, and only one that is actively populated and incorporated: Metropolis, Illinois. It is for that reason that the city decided to take on the mantle of being the home of Superman. The main attractions here are the museum itself, the world’s largest Superman statue, and a much smaller statue of Lois Lane. The Superman statue is a great photo opportunity, and the museum is so interesting. It is absolutely packed with props and costumes from the various movies and tv shows, as well as aisles of merchandise throughout the ages. Adults will get a kick out of seeing stuff from when they were children.
Fort Massac has quite a lot to offer. While it may not be our favorite park we’ve visited so far, we stand by our decision to make this park 100. The history is unmatched, and the trails are a very good representation of what most of Illinois is like. If you are someone who is interested in history, we consider this park a must visit. And if you are in the area to visit the Super Museum, we would recommend visiting Fort Massac and going on a short hike.
After visiting 100 parks, it is impossible not to reflect on every place we’ve been. When we visited Illinois Beach in the summer of 2021 as the first park of Fresh Air Friendship (or “The Project” as we call it when Stephanie and I spend time together), we didn’t know what to expect from Illinois or how it would end up defining the last 5 years of our lives. We have both gone through career changes, illness, and mental health struggles, all the while this project has been there for us. If we weren’t actively hiking, we could write. If it was winter, we could plan. When our mutual best friend moved downstate, this gave us a reason to visit her multiple times a year.
The project itself has also changed a lot over the years. We have very few parks left to visit that are close to us, which has necessitated trips lasting between 2 and 6 days. When we started planning these longer trips, we were not very good at it. The spreadsheet that started this whole idea has turned into an invaluable planning document where we can keep track of how many parks we are physically capable of hiking in a day, businesses and their hours, and drive times between them all. Looking back on the early trips, there were days that were overstuffed or we didn’t account for businesses being closed and we would have to rearrange plans on the fly. We have learned so much about balancing a trip, something that is critical to completing all the parks in a given area within the timeframe that we are there.
As of this post, we still have 26 parks to visit but will more than likely complete the project next year. We are so excited for the trips we have planned and the parks we have left.
Leave a comment