Giant City State Park

The Giant City State Park Gnome Walk was so much fun! It was a sunny but chilly day — my favorite kind of hiking weather. The trails are very well maintained, easy to follow, and simple to access. There are plenty of parking areas and restrooms located throughout the park, which makes it really convenient. We saw several people while we were out hiking, but it never felt crowded on the trails, which made the experience even more enjoyable. It was also such a fun bonus to stop by the Giant City Visitor Center after our hike and pick up a patch to remember the day. So glad to cross this one off my bucket list — definitely a great adventure!

This is awesome, if you're into rocks, geology and overall history of the area then this is for you. This rugged 1 mile hike is like Super Mario Bro. Lost World where you can walk by the secret entrance and miss something cool. Yes please do this and take pics. Also this is a state park inside a national forest

We went to the lodge for their all you can eat family style chicken dinner. As always the food is very good. And there is so much of it. The staff is amazing. So friendly and helpful. We enjoy driving over once in awhile. It's a good change from Cape and Jackson.

Really enjoyed this park but you need to drive to each of their trails. Wish we had eaten at the lodge which is really a cool place to see. It reminded me of the house in the TV show Yellowstone. The people who work at The Visitor Center are very nice and very helpful.

Giant City is full of hiking trails, rock formations, various species of plants and just an all out grat place to enjoy the outdoors

Several trails of varying lengths and difficulty. Unique rock formations. A real gem close to town. Great to visit in late Fall and Winter.

Relatively easy trails. Neat rock formations and overhangs. A few small streams. Nice park/picnic areas with restrooms (more like a portable potty). The lodge and welcome center are super nice facilities. There is a restaurant and some cabins also. My family had a great time hiking (ages 9-43)

Hiking trails are lots of fun. Many to choose from some a little harder than most. We go here every couple of years just to enjoy the beauty at different seasonal times.

Yummy country lunch at the park plus the gardens are beautiful - They also serve cocktails. Mojito and chicken and dumplings

Beautiful rocks and park! Here is some info that maybe helpful before your visit: - Internet connection is not good at some spots in the park. - Fat Man's Squeeze has no signage on it, or around the park. It only says "Nature Trail" on the rock. It is a very tight giant crack. You will not miss it. - Also there is no sign that indicates Venomous Copperheads hibernate in between those rocks. I heard stories about it, but we only saw warning signage about ticks and some bugs. - The visitor center is nice. It has bunch of valuable info about the park and taxidermy. Also 1 live tortoise and a black snake live in the tanks inside. There are picnic tables around. The area is so peaceful. - Alcohol is banned between September & May

We knocked off several short trails this day but ended with the Giant City Nature Trail. Overall, the park is worth a visit as it has great rock formations. If you do a lot of hiking, plan to eat at the Lodge for dinner!

Gorgeous, well-kept and well-marked trails. The nature trail is very pleasant, and I plan to come back for more next time I'm in the area.

I grew up nearby to Giant City and always took it a bit for granted. Now that I have lived away for the last decade and a half I recognize it for the gem it truly is. Southern Illinois is filled with rolling hills. Giant City makes the best use of them. There are a number of hiking trails, a stable for horseback riding, a lodge, spots to camp, and a number of quality park shelters. There is always something to do. The lodge is something I always enjoyed as a kid. The CCC style building is something special. It was also featured in the movie Gone Girl! The nearby watertower is worth the hike up the stairs for a nice view of the area including bald knob cross. Right near the lodge there are cabins that you can rent. I've never stayed myself, but I have heard good things.

Giant City State Park is a hidden gem. Make a trip there every year and have never had a bad experience. There are several short trails that are well maintained. Food and service at the lodge have always been top notch. The lodge building itself is a historic structure with several cabins to choose from. Cabins were clean. The pool was lightly used, which turned into a relaxing expierience. There is a horse stable at the park. Reserving a ride was easy and was a good way to experience the forest.

A perfect little park if you are looking for something fun and rewarding to do with your kids. Try the nature trail -- the slabs of stone make for some really neat passages, with lots of extra things to climb over and under for those so inclined, combined with beautiful views, all packed into a joyous one mile loop.

Beautiful side scene, walking trail perfect place for a picnic day with family. Horse back riding

Giant City State Park was one of our favorite spots during the weekend trip to Shawnee National Forest. There were many things to do in the area - enjoy the spectacular waterfalls, hike on the trails, hunt mushrooms, and view the astonishing sandstone structures. We even spotted an owl in the woods! Although the thunderstorm at the beginning of our trip made the trails slippery, it deterred the bugs in the area lol.

Variety of hikes, amazing scenery, HIGHLY recommend eating at the lodge for homemade fried chicken and dumplings.

Great spot for trails right outside Carbondale. They range from easy to difficult. A must visit if you are at SIU or visiting Shawnee National Forest. Amazing scenes and views of the bluffs.

Thank s review is for the campground. Came in on a Sunday and wanted to take a shower after setting up the rv. Went to shower house but it was filthy but thought it was probably a busy weekend and just hadn't been cleaned yet. Went back Monday night and it was still the same pit. Now this is in October and only about 20 campers here on Monday. Too bad it's a pretty campground just poorly managed by rangers maybe need new campground hosts. Won't be back.

My husband and I love adventure and being in the outdoors so when we were in Carbondale for the Shawnee Wine Trail, we decided to start our 2nd day off with a bit of hiking before the wine(ing). Giant City State Park is a very nice park located just a few miles outside of the Carbondale city limits. We stopped by the visitor's center to read up on the area and to ask the rangers which trails they suggest we explore. The Nature Trail and Indian Creek Trail were 2 of the top so we eagerly hiked both of them. There is so much rich history at this park including original rock "drawings" from the first people who founded the park. The trails range from easy to hard and there's tons of picture opportunities as well as benches to rest. The park is located within the boundaries of the wine trail so if you go the opposite way of the main entrance, you'll be right on the trail and ready to sip the rest of the day away!

Great stuff. So much to offer. Its a nice drive or a nice day of hiking. There are also many good picnic places here. The water tower is worth a climb and the lodge is a great place to get some fried or bbq chicken. great place to spend the day!

This was my first time hiking Giant City. They have 5 different trails for you to hike. The Welcome Center is the very first place to stop and get a map. The person working the desk was very friendly and informative. My friend had a certain trial that she wanted to hike. The worker gave us our pro and cons of the t trail. The trails are clearly marked. We hiked three of the trails. Two of them were loop trails and the one up and back. It was a great place to hike. One of the trails we encountered a SNAKE Great way to spend a day. Lots of place to enjoy a picnic before or after your hike. Plenty of restrooms and bonus they had toilet paper, however washing your hand was an issue.

I love the outdoors, but sadly this park was false advertising. According to all the pictures it looked like a city. With the visitors center closed in the winter there was no way to determine where these cool places of the park were, or if there was a fee or any other interesting information. Definitely was a pretty park, just not what was expected on my 2 hour detour off my road trip. I wont be able to come back in the good season to see all the cool parts and full leaf coverage, but definitely recommend it to others.

Just took an afternoon walk and did a few trails great place ... Lodge was good for food Cabins were not clean enough to stay

This park stays on top of my list for local natural attractions. The trails continually change their colors throughout the season, and stay clean and clear and passable all year long. The staff, though unnoticeable, does a great job staying out of the way of hikers' relationships with nature. In the spring, the river rushes down the beginning of Stonefort trail with great excitement, and the wildflowers on Trillium trail turn their shiny faces toward the sun, hoping to soak up the life force that hangs in the air all around them. Go for a group hike as a family or as friends, or go as a solitary walker looking for a healing, natural silence, but, by all means, GO!

If you like to hike and are looking for something a little different, this is a great place to enjoy nature. Before you begin your trek, I'd recommend stopping by the visitors center for a listing of the trails and locations. And on many weekends, you can watch people rappelling down the one cliff. That is pretty interesting watching some of the newbies on their first trip over the side.

This has got to be the most beautiful spot in Illinois. It's a schlep, but it's worth it for some legit hiking. We hiked the Trillium Trail in winter. I've also hiked the Giant City Trail. You'll forget that you're in Illinois. Tons of wildlife, too.

I really enjoyed my two day getaway at Giant City state park. The first day, we hiked a few of the smaller trails... found some really cool mushrooms. (Be careful on the wooden bridges on some of the trails...if they're wet, they are slick. I took a pretty hard fall.) We stayed in one of the historic cabins. It was small, but not cramped, and very clean. The food at the lodge was wonderful and the waiters and waitresses were very professional. The second day, we had a delicious breakfast at the Lodge and set out on the 12 mile equestrian trail. The pamphlet we were given did not explain that there are actually 2 trails here, the Red Cedar and the horse trail, and we got pretty confused a few times. The red cedar trail was incredibly dense and not very well maintained. I'm not sure if the maintenance crew just hadn't been out there to bushwack yet, or if walking through heavy underbrush is supposed to be part of the appeal. After a while, we ditched the red cedar for the equestrian trail, which was wider and better taken care of. The rock formations on this trail are SPECTACULAR. I've never seen anything like it. I would recommend Giant City to anyone who is fond of treks through nature. It's quiet out there, a good place to get away from the panic paradox of the modern world.

My husband and I hiked the Red Cedar Trail this weekend. As he noted, it was "unremarkable." Probably a great hike in high foliage season but a rather dreary walk in mid-November that gets a bit treacherous with all the leaves covering the path. It was still nice to do an overnight away from the city. We stayed at the primitive campground halfway around the Red Cedar Trail which has outhouses, garbage cans, fire pits, and picnic tables. You can still hear the sounds of civilization (train, cars, hunters) but, again, nice to get away for a couple days. We saw only one other couple the entire 12 miles of trail. We missed the "giant" rock formations. Wish I'd read a bit more before going so as to not miss those!

Didn't find much info about this park b4 we came to Shawnee National Forest. We made a short stop here as this was recommended by the B&B place we stayed! It was surprisingly quiet on the Friday late afternoon right before July 4th weekend. The visitor center closed at 3:30pm. Without in park map and clear road sign, we had a hard time finding Devil's Stand Table Trail. Luckily, a park staff happened to drive by us and lead us there. And later we found Giant City trail down the road! What nice shady trails we took! Thoroughly enjoyed the the moderately easy walk. Although the Giant City Trail was one mile with suggested time of one hour. We finished in abt 40 min and we took plenty of time to stop and snap pictures on the way. The rock formations didn't disappoint. The trails were quiet and beautiful. If we have time to come back to this park before our short vacation, will definitely try the other trails.

A beautiful state park located within the Shawnee National Forest. While at SIU, I know some clubs would have picnics here. Also, the forestry department would bring classes here to learn. The Giant City Lodge is great and has an excellent restaurant. The gift shop has a selection of items to buy. I would definitely go here again.

This is a great park. Very well maintained trails and facilities. We stopped here at the end of a camping and hiking weekend in Shawnee and quickly did three of the trails. The Giant City Nature trail is very pretty, and very easy. Anyone can do this trail and should, the big rocks and forest the trail cuts through is beautiful. Bridges, steps, and ramps keep this trail very easy to maneuver. We also did the Devil's Stand table trail. Also very beautiful. It pretty much wraps around a large rock formation that you can climb on, around, and even a little bit under. Very cool and again pretty easy for anyone. The third trail we completed was the Stonefort Trail. A little bit of an incline getting up to the trial loop, but not too bad. The stonewall is kind of small, but neat in it's history i guess. The views on this trail are neat and most of it is along a cliffs ledge, so keep your dogs on a short leash. It's very short so an easy trail to tag on at the end of the day. Overall great park. While we didn't camp out here this time we plan to in the future. Much more for us to see!

Wonderful trails for all kinds of hikes. I go regularly and the fall is so beautiful especially after the frost and no need to worry about insects. Watch the kids on the trails because some spots are next to cliffs. The information center is helpful and friendly. I love Giant City!

Beautiful location. Many well-maintained walking paths. Enjoyed dining in the lodge and staying in a cabin.

The trails are all beautiful, but for some reason they are not interconnected so you have to drive from one trail to another. There is a lovely lodge with tons of taxidermy.

The owner refused to honor what I was told when making a reservation for a cabin several months in advance for their busiest weekend in the fall. Not knowing if we could keep the reservation for sure I was told that as long as "I gave them plenty of advance notice I would get my complete deposit back". They only take checks and not credit cards. So two months in advance I called to cancel and was told by the owner that there was a $25 charge. As I tried to tell him in a calm and considerate way that this was not what I was told when I made the reservation, he refused to listen and just kept saying it was his policy and there was no exception to his policy. His attitude was extremely poor and very unprofessional, to say the least. Even though I got the last room available and the weekend I reserved was sold out months in advance, he continued to argue that their was no guarantee the room would get booked! It was a totally absurd defense. As a matter of principle, I will never go there again. I refuse to patronize a place who does business that way and treats people the way the owner treated me. Beware, if you have an issue of any kind you may just get told that's your tough luck.