Hike Starved Rock State Park, River & Bluff Trails 8-10 miles, 3 & 5 mile option

Fourth year I'm leading this hike, pack a lunch or snack you may work up an appetite! We will take a lunch break at Eagle Cliff Overlook.

IMPORTANT:
We are not meeting at the main Starved Rock Lodge parking area.
We are meeting at Parkman Plain parking off of route 71. Please use map pin or read directions at the end.

Here is the Google Maps Pin if you don't have the meetup app installed:
https://goo.gl/maps/UKFkwyDhaWVMpTL59

Hike Overview:
Depending on the distance you want to do the hike can end much sooner than 3:00PM. I used this time as an end time for those who want the maximum hike distance.

• 3 mile option: Turn around after visiting Lasalle Canyon and take river trail back. Allow 2 hours
• 5 mile option: Go down the stairs and head back toward river trail after visiting Wildcat canyon. Allow 3.5 hours.
• 7.7 to 8 miles: Its 7.7 miles if you wait at the bottom of Starved Rock. Its about 8 miles if you climb more stairs and visit Starved Rock overlook. May see French Canyon if its open. Allow 5 hours.
• Add another few miles to go the other way to Hennepin, Ottawa, Kaskaskia and council Overhang. Allow more time.

Hiking poles can help with balance but not essential. I found them very helpful in certain areas.

You must be prepared to go up and down over 1200 stairs for the full hike. For a 3 mile option there's about 300 steps to go up and down.
There is a porta potty in Parkman's Plain where we park.

Hike Details:
Your able to actually walk behind the Lasalle Waterfall if your willing to go on the narrow 18 inch wide sections that have a big 30 to 50 foot drop below. The trails are well marked and it will be easy to find your way back if you want to stop at 3 miles.

For those who do not wish to do this part, we will have a designated waiting spot by the bridge where we will continue the hike.
If you do the full hike you may get very hungry or thirsty. At a minimum please bring water to hydrate because by June hydration will probably be needed.

We'll take a combo of the River and Bluff trails including Campanula trail and visit Lonetree, Basswood, Wildcat, French Canyon, Lovers Leap, Eagle Cliff Overlook.

By the time we get to Eagle Cliff Overlook we can stop and take a lunch break. There's lots of seating here.

Most stairs wooden but a few have metal grates. Your dog may not like metal stairs with grates. Our Golden was hesitant at first but did it. Trails hard packed dirt or wooden planks, small portions gravel. Mostly flat trails with minor inclines, hiking poles can help. Tree roots easy to navigate. Very well maintained, well marked trails and super easy to find your way around.

In April Lasalle and Wildcat feature abundant waterfalls! Not sure how they will be flowing in June. Stunning hike on both bluffs and river walk, be prepared for a cardio workout with all those stairs. I plan on walking under 3mph. This hike will follow the Illinois River for quite a way.

This hike is cross posted with https://www.meetup.com/chicagoland-trailblazers-hiking-group/events/298064744/ and my guest rsvp includes members of that group.

Location
Parkman's Plain Oglesby
I tested out the map pin and it worked great. As a manual estimate, this parking lot is between 5 and 10 miles west of route 23 directly off of route 71. It follows right along the Illinois river. Once you start climbing curvy roads and see big bluffs, its probably another 3-4 miles.

Websites
https://sites.google.com/site/hikingnc/home/locations/il/state-parks/starved-rock
https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/Parks/Activity/Pages/StarvedRock.aspx
https://sites.google.com/site/hikingnc/home/locations/il/state-parks/starved-rock