The final parks of the 2024 hiking season were Harry “Babe” Woodyard State Natural Area and Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area. These were parks 67 and 68, which marked the halfway point of the whole project, and we thought that would be the best way to finish the season. Middle Fork SFWA is... Continue Reading →
We continued our park journey on a late September morning, visiting Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area and Johnson-Sauk Trail State Recreation Area. Mautino is located in Buda, IL, about 2 hours and 15 minutes west of Chicago, while Johnson-Sauk is 10 minutes further west in Kewanee, IL. Both parks are also quite close to... Continue Reading →
On the final day of our Alton trip, we visited Beaver Dam State Park in Plainview, IL. It is about 4 hours and 15 minutes southwest of Chicago, or an hour north of St. Louis. Beaver Dam SP got its start in the 1890s, when 18 local men decided to form a lake club here.... Continue Reading →
The next day of our Labor Day weekend trip was dedicated to Horseshoe Lake State Park in Madison County and Frank Holten State Park. Both Horseshoe Lake and Frank Holten are about a 4 hour drive from Chicago or a 15 minute drive from St. Louis, and they are about 20 minutes away from each... Continue Reading →
Our second day visiting Alton, IL was one of our most exciting hiking days yet. We were visiting our 60th park, and for that milestone we visited Pere Marquette State Park. This park has been one of our most anticipated, and was the reason we decided to come to this region for our big trip... Continue Reading →
Our big hiking trip this year was over Labor Day weekend, visiting parks around Alton, IL. The first day was dedicated to Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area and Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, two parks that were on the way to our destination. Ramsey Lake SRA is in Ramsey, IL, about 3 hours... Continue Reading →
For our next hiking day, we decided to head back out on I-80 for two parks past the Starved Rock Area: Donnelley/Depue SFWAs and Hennepin Canal State Trail. As the parks get further and further away, the planning required is getting more and more intense, even for day trips like this. Visiting multiple parks in... Continue Reading →
After a very good start to the year with Kickapoo SRA, we weren’t able to go out hiking again until 4th of July weekend, due to the combination of unexpectedly busy schedules and the cicadas being out in full force. So to get back into it, we decided to finish up the parks around Peoria.... Continue Reading →
Our 2024 hiking season started with Kickapoo State Recreation Area, located in Oakwood, IL. This is about 2 hours and 45 min south of Chicago, or half an hour east of Champaign. We knew that this hiking season was going to be a little shorter, due to the cicadas around the state, as well as... Continue Reading →
Our 51st park visited was Franklin Creek State Natural Area. This park is in Franklin Grove, IL, about an hour and 45 minutes away from Chicago. This was the last one we visited in 2023, catching some fantastic fall colors in late October, and we were so glad to finish up the season with such... Continue Reading →
Fresh Air Friendship 