Shawnee National Forest

Incredibly beautiful. The Garden of the God's trail is amazing tall trees, a look out over the valley, lots of greenery, big boulder and a little rocky, make sure you wear good shoes. Gorgeous views! So much to see and do down here make sure your prepared, $10 camping sites gorgeous Forest as far as the eye can see. Nice sites, pretty clean every where you go, nice, kind and helpful people. Make sure to leave no trace and clean up after yourselves.

Gorgeous forest, the quick 1-mile loop to see Camel Rock is unforgettable. I hope to visit when fall leaves are in their glory. The trail is clear and easy to manage in my everyday shoes.

Thousands of snakes shut down Illinois road during fall migration The road will stay closed through Oct. 30, but that isn't stopping visitors from checking out the migration. Author: Hunter Bassler, Holden Kurwicki Published: 5:18 PM CDT September 25, 2025 UNION COUNTY, Illinois — Around 35 species of snakes have shut down nearly three miles of a southern Illinois road to vehicles as their bi-annual migration peaks. Forest officials say thousands of snakes, as well as other reptiles and amphibians, use the road inside the Shawnee National Forest to travel back and forth between their feeding grounds in the nearby LaRue Swamp and their hibernation area in the surrounding bluffs. To protect the animals as they migrate, the 2.7-mile stretch of LaRue Road is now closed yearly from Sept. 1 to Oct. 30 and March 15 to May 15. “The No. 1 snake you’re going to see here is going to be the Northern Cottonmouth,” U.S. Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Mark Vukovich previously said. “The other two venomous snakes are the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. You have a good chance of seeing those.” Visitors interested in looking at the snakes or participating in other recreational activities in the forest are still welcome to travel the "snake road" on foot. Vukovich said the best time to visit for serpent viewing is in October. “It’s a great way to get people over that feeling that snakes are bad and they’re nasty creatures,” Vukovich said. “They’re not. They’re not at all.” Historic and cultural stereotypes against snakes are rooted in ignorance and misunderstanding, according to the University of Illinois' Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory. In reality, the animals play a vital role in ecosystems worldwide, including controlling pest populations, offering a food source to larger predators, and helping maintain biodiversity by curbing invasive species.

spent the entire 4th in liberty, independent, free spirited, clear, at peace and in harmony eating strawberries, raspberries, five dif cheeses, green grapes, champaign and saw Pity the Neighbors at peachbarn winery n café

Beautiful place! Very peaceful.

Come for the Garden of the Gods, stay for the wondrous hiking. If you drive 4.5 hours to see the Garden of the Gods, you also have to spend time hiking the actual forest it’s in. That’s what Emily and I did after taking in the breathtaking views at the Gardens. We kind of went into this blindly with just a map of the area. We backtracked a bit to this area that may have been something called Backpacker’s Hike or something like that. Pictures say it was the Indian Point Trail. Anyways, we parked next to a few other cars and headed out to hike. I don’t need to explain hiking but I will go over a few fun things we saw. There were more cliffs to enjoy but the views were just a bit less than stellar compared to the Gardens. Still great though. We saw a lot of places where people must’ve camped or hung out at night cause there were fire pits everywhere. We deviated from the path cause we were looking to hike as much as possible and ended up getting dead-ended about 4 times. While we were limited to this area of Shawnee, I would say we got a pretty good taste of what it offers. We got to see so many beautiful viewpoints and took plenty of great photos. I know this is just scraping the surface of what Shawnee National Forest offers and maybe some day I can go back and see all the other landmarks that this place is known for. Enjoy nature. It’s a thing of beauty.

You're going to need some time to take in all this location has to offer. Beautiful and tranquil surroundings filled with willdlife, streams, wildflowers and walking trails. Very well kept and camping services in the area. This is a definite must see on a weekend getaway!

We always have a great time with plenty to do from camping and hiking even swimming and some of the scenery is just beautiful

Loved the many places in the Shawnee National Forest! Of course we came down to this area for Garden of the Gods which is five stars, top three places in Illinois to visit! And we hiked there as well. The Shawnee is large and stretches east and west, so it's really like, two National forests in one! The town of Marion was lovely, and we camped at Cave in Rock on the Ohio River. I also visited Scratch Brewing in Ava, IL. There's so much to do on all sides of the Shawnee, I'd love to return to do more hiking!

Come for the Garden of the Gods, stay for the wondrous hiking. If you drive 4.5 hours to see the Garden of the Gods, you also have to spend time hiking the actual forest it's in. That's what Emily and I did after taking in the breathtaking views at the Gardens. We kind of went into this blindly with just a map of the area. We backtracked a bit to this area that may have been something called Backpacker's Hike or something like that. Pictures say it was the Indian Point Trail. Anyways, we parked next to a few other cars and headed out to hike. I don't need to explain hiking but I will go over a few fun things we saw. There were more cliffs to enjoy but the views were just a bit less than stellar compared to the Gardens. Still great though. We saw a lot of places where people must've camped or hung out at night cause there were fire pits everywhere. We deviated from the path cause we were looking to hike as much as possible and ended up getting dead-ended about 4 times. While we were limited to this area of Shawnee, I would say we got a pretty good taste of what it offers. We got to see so many beautiful viewpoints and took plenty of great photos. I know this is just scraping the surface of what Shawnee National Forest offers and maybe some day I can go back and see all the other landmarks that this place is known for. Enjoy nature. It's a thing of beauty.

We went to Shawnee National Forest on a weekend road trip and it was an amazing experience! I never knew that we had a National Forest in Illinois up until recently. The road trip was about a five and half hours from Chicago and a pretty easy drive. We got a hotel in Marion, IL which was only a 30 minute drive to Shawnee. There's a lot of lodging options here and we were able to book pretty last minute. If you want to drive further south, there's a city in KY that borders the forest that also has many accommodation choices. The Garden of the Gods is a must see to witness the rock cliffs and formations. The formations were truly an awe to witness and knowing the fact that this has been around for hundreds of years! Our favorite was the scenic Rim Rock Trail and you can descend down a flight of stairs and walk through the narrow & hollow rocks. This was a moderate trail but got our steps in with the incline and descend. We also found a cute small lake/beach where you can picnic and hang out. I highly recommend researching and getting the directions and trails before you drive out to Shawnee. We used our GPS navigation and it steered us the wrong way and we were lost for almost two hours! We were right in the middle of the forest but not nearby any of the trails. So if you can, try to get ahead of the game and print out maps or get directions beforehand. We missed out on one of the Waterfall trails due to timing and the forest is a pretty big area and spread out. Nonetheless we had such a great time and I'm glad we were able to explore and found this gem!

Very pretty. Can bring animals and go hiking anywhere. You can also ride your horses here.

I'm not sure if we saw everything this National Park had to offer, but the little we did see was a beautiful sight. There are a plethora of things to do here. From baseball fields, camping, picnic spots, scenic views and lots and lots of hiking trails, I could see that one could spend days really capturing all this National park had to offer. Unfortunately we only had a few hours to waste and were on the lookout for the Trillium Trail. Signage wasn't super helpful. I think we zigged instead of zagged a few times. I lost my cell service so my online maps were of no use. So we just drove about until something looked good. Fortunately for us we did happen upon the Trillium Trail and decided to take a short walk (not the 2mile loop it is) to check out the giant sandstone walls that petruded from the earth. Really so awe inspiring! I could only imagine what this hike must be like when the Trillium are in full bloom. We did catch the beginning of the autumn leaves changing.. some fungi.. and a few flowering plants in their final stages. Bring water, sunblock, bug block and a bag to carry your trash out.

I'm reviewing this Forest as someone who drove from Indy to camp and hike here. Forewarning: I love water, so waterfalls, waterbeds, creeks, rivers, etc. That being said, Shawnee National Forest is all about the upper views. Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful. But the main attraction and sight worth seeing is the Garden of the Gods. It's an amazing view. While I was there, we met a couple from Colorado area. As they said, the views are"okay" so if you're an avid hiker, take that as a word of caution. It's free to get in. Which is great! More people need to get out and experience wildlife and nature so I'm glad that this is free to allow people to do so. The trails aren't always necessarily marked that well. And since many people like to camp along the trails and pitch a tent (which you can do on designated trails); some times you'll be walking on a trail, only to find it's a dead end so be careful and be sure to take a photo of the map so you don't get lost. As the 3-star review says, this place is a-okay. I really liked it, but would I go back? Probably not. (This is coming from someone that loves hiking and camping, FYI.)

We went to Burden Falls and it was gorgeous! We took our two dogs and they had a blast! Obviously because it's a waterfall it is a little slippery, so be careful! It took us about an hour to do this hike, but we also took time to play in the water with the dogs, take some pictures and eat a snack so it's not too long of a hike.

The spots we went too were beautiful ! I want to go back when it's a little warmer! I just wish the direction were more clear and there were more signs and stuff

So many different sites to see. We really enjoyed this mini vacation full of hiking. Few times we wandered off trail and climbed boulders. Found this sweet little spot, a huge rock with moss on top and a single white flowering tree poking out of the shallow dirt. Perfect lunch location!

Just 5.5 hours from Chicago. Landscapes were beautiful. Trails were decently marked. Check out Saltpeter Cave near Owl Bluff, Burden Falls Wilderness and of course Garden of the Gods (recreational area). Free parking at all 3 sites. A must if you live in Illinois or nearby.

We enjoyed Marion Illinois and seeing garden of the gods. The vault cafe was a nice breakfast place and Shawnee forest is beautiful.

The Shawnee National Forest is simply magnificent. There are tons of trails to hike, and the scenery in the Autumn is beautiful. I recommend checking out the "Garden of the Gods" recreation area for the best views.

We have been here numerous time. Always discovering a new place we haven't seen before. Sometimes have to get off the beaten path to find some neat places. Great area for camping and hiking. Also a very good area to take a motorcycle ride. We always pack a few snacks and make sure we have a full tank of gas as conveniences are sometimes far apart depending on the roads we take.

Garden of the Gods was the best place to visit if you are going to southern Illinois. The garden of the gods is located in Shawnee National Forest you can hike or just take a walk enjoy the view with your friends and family and don't forget to bring camera for selfies.

I went to a couple of different places in the Shawnee National Forest but this review is on my fav part the Garden of the Gods. It's an absolutely beautiful place, the rock formations are like nothing I've seen before! The formations were created millions and millions of years ago when that part of the land was under the sea. I went in what was probably the "off season"...December...so me and my bf of the time practically had the whole place to explore by ourselves besides one other small group of people. You can get to the formations very easily, no hike required the parking lot is literally a one or two minute walk to the rock formations. Great place for picture taking so bring your camera!!!

So many beautiful hiking areas! Garden of the Gods, Rim Rock, Giant City, Belle Smith Springs, Pomona Natural Bridge, waterfalls and more! Yes, it's in Illinois!

Love this place! Whether you only have thirty minutes, or three hours, you can't lose with this beautiful work of nature.

Garden of Gods One of the best weekends of my life! We stayed at Willowbrook Cabins which were amazing by the way. The Garden of the Gods were the main reason for coming down to southern Illinois. It was amazing and such a sight to see. It's hidden within the forest preserve and the rocks are 100% climbable. Bring a camera, some rock climbing shoes, and a brave face for the breath-taking heights. I'd say its one of the 7 wonders to see in IL!

Such a cool place to visit and only a few hours from Chicago. You wouldn't believe you were still in Illinois. We went to Rim Rock first and then Garden of the Gods. Both were some of the coolest places I've been. It was nice going during the week because we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Bring gym shoes and a camera!

If you love nature and hiking this is your paradise!Beautiful rock formations and lush green trees.Birds and Butterflies galore.You could hike for a week and still have more to see.Huge beautiful place.High cliffs so be very careful.

A true gem of wilderness right in southern IL. There are plenty of trails through truly dense forest area. You can find waterholes for jumping, lakes, waterfalls, streams, swamps, cypress, and mountainous areas. These woods do not resemble the everyday Midwest foliage.