Illinois Park List

In the early half of the 1900s, Anderson Lake was a private shooting grounds for one of the many once-famous duck clubs that dotted the Illinois River valley. Since the first land purchases by the state in 1947, the site has been operated as a public hunting and fishing ...

Apple River Canyon State Park is in the hilly northwest art of Illinois in Jo Daviess County near the Wisconsin border. This scenic canyon area was formed by the action of the winding waters of Apple River. Limestone bluffs, deep ravines, springs, streams and wildlife characterize this area ...

Known as a fisherman's delight, Argyle Lake State Park has a full complement of recreational opportunities. Just 7 miles from Macomb, Argyle Lake also offers picnicking, camping, hiking and boating facilities in a scenic, natural setting. With its 93-acre lake for boating and fishing, 5 miles of rugged foot ...

Baldwin Lake, located within the Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area, is a 2,018-acre perched cooling lake in Randolph and St. Clair Counties near Baldwin, Illinois. The lake is owned by the Illinois Power Company and is leased to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to manage for ...

Banner Marsh State Fish & Wildlife Area is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Peoria on U.S. Route 24 and is protected from the Illinois River by a major levee. Prior to the Department of Natural Resources purchasing tracts of land bordering the Illinois River in Fulton and Peoria ...

Beall Woods (pronounced Bell) had been under ownership of the Beall family since the mid-1800s. While a working farm, almost half of the 635 acres consisted of forest that had never been cleared. Located on the banks of the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois, Beall Woods attracts visitors from ...

Located in Macoupin County 7 miles southwest of Carlinville and situated in an oak/hickory woodland, Beaver Dam State Park offers a variety of recreational opportunities on its 750 acres. Fishing, picnicking, hiking, and tent and trailer camping are among the most popular activities. Although the beaver is virtually gone ...

Big Bend State Fish & Wildlife Area is comprised of 2,376 acres. Included in that figure are 46 acres of water and 2,338 which are for hunting. The composition of the area is made up of timber and shrub - 791 acres, open or cultivated - 1158 acres. The ...

Big River State Forest in western Illinois' Henderson County is 8 miles north of Oquawka on the Oquawka-Keithsburg blacktop. The forest is managed primarily to demonstrate sound forestry practices with demonstrations and talks on these practices available to interested groups. The 200-acre Oquawka Refuge, acquired by the state in ...

Buffalo Rock State Park is located on a bluff which was once an island in the Illinois River. Now standing majestically on the north bank, this promontory affords a magnificent sweeping view of the Illinois River. Located approximately three miles west of Ottawa in LaSalle County, this 298 acre ...

Cache River State Natural Area is situated in southernmost Illinois within a floodplain carved long ago by glacial floodwater of the Ohio River. When the Ohio River adopted its present course, it left the Cache River to meander across rich and vast wetlands. Among the outstanding natural features found ...

Carlyle Lake is located on the Kaskaskia River, approximately 107 miles above its mouth, near the community of Carlyle, Illinois. Carlyle Lake is the largest man-made lake in Illinois, with over 26,000 acres of water and 11,000 acres of public land. The Carlyle Lake Project provides flood control, water ...

A tremendous variety of outdoor recreational opportunities and natural beauty awaits you at Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, 60 miles east of St. Louis, near Vandalia. The area is at the northern end of Carlyle Lake and at the southwestern tip of Fayette County. Carlyle Lake is ...

Castle Rock State Park is located three miles south of Oregon, Illinois on Highway 2. The park is centrally located in the Rock River Hills region of Illinois, and its rolling topography is drained by the Rock River. The park is located along the west bank of the Rock ...

Few natural formations are as awe-inspiring or intriguing as a cave. The deep, dark recesses immediately conjure up images of adventure, mystery, terror, robbers and pirates. At Cave-In-Rock in southern Illinois, you can experience this fascination for yourself. Sitting atop the high bluffs overlooking the scenic Ohio River, the ...

Located in the heart of Illinois' largest concentration of natural lakes, Chain O Lakes State Park is a water oriented recreation area with outstanding opportunities for boaters, anglers and skiers. The park borders three natural lakes - Grass, Marie and Nippersink - and the Fox River that connects the ...

Channahon State Park is the official trailhead for the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail. Channahon is an Indian word meaning "the meeting of the waters" and signifies the joining of the DuPage, Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers. The Channahon Access first became a state park in 1932, known as ...

Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 by Executive Order 7524, which authorized the purchase of lands owned by the defunct Chautauqua Drainage and Levee District. The refuge extends from Illinois River mile 124.0 to 129.5. It is an important link in the chain of resting, feeding, ...

If you're looking for the ideal place to drop your line and catch a record fish, look no farther than Clinton Lake State Recreation Area. Recreational opportunities abound at this 9,300-acre facility, just 3 miles east of Clinton in central Illinois. From picnicking, hiking and camping to swimming, water ...

Coffeen Lake is an attractive site with history of providing anglers and hunters success. The site was opened in 1986 and currently operates under a long term lease and management agreement between the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and Ameren Energy Generating Company. This agreement grants authority to the ...

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge's 44,000 acres of land and water contain a wide diversity of flora and fauna. Major habitat types on the refuge include hardwood forest, agricultural land, grazing units, brushland, wetlands, and lakes. The refuge provides significant resting areas for migratory birds utilizing the Mississippi Flyway. ...

Crawford County State Fish and Wildlife Area is located two miles west and one mile south of Hutsonville, and seven miles north of Robinson, Illinois. The area is comprised of 1,129 total acres, with 1,100 huntable acres. Being roughly bisected from east to west by Huston Creek, the area ...

The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge is located in southernmost Illinois within the Cache River Watershed. The refuge was established in 1990 under the Emergency Wetlands Resource Act of 1986 to protect, restore, and manage wetlands and bottomland forests that provide habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds, resident ...

Located on the Mississippi River about 1 1/2 miles north of Oquawka near Illinois Route 164, Delabar State Park offers quality outdoor experiences for anglers, hikers, campers and picnickers. Many of the park's 89 acres are forested with sturdy oaks, along with some birch and hickory trees. These forested areas ...

A tranquil setting, flowing rivers, and natural prairie land -- the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area has it all! Visitors will delight in the abundance of wildlife, restful picnic areas and variety of sportfishing species. Farmland and woodland, prairie and swamp, still water and shoreline offer unlimited opportunities ...

Dixon Springs State Park is one of several state parks in the Illinois Shawnee Hills. The park is on a giant block of rock which was dropped 200 feet along a fault line that extends northwesterly across Pope County. The 801 acre park is about 10 miles west of ...

The Donnelley/DePue State Fish and Wildlife Areas complex is managed primarily for migratory waterfowl. Frank C. Bellrose, world-renown waterfowl expert, has designated this Great Bend as the entry point to the lower Illinois River valley, an important North American waterfowl migration corridor. The Donnelley/DePue complex is home to a State ...

In east central Illinois--just minutes from Springfield, Decatur, Champaign, Effingham and surrounding communities--the Eagle Creek/Wolf Creek sites, facing each other across the central portion of Lake Shelbyville, provide the perfect setting for outdoor recreation, natural relaxation, and luxurious accommodations for a day, a weekend, or even longer. Four ...

Edward R. Madigan (1936-1994) was honored for his lifelong dedication to state and national public service when Railsplitter State Park was renamed in his memory in 1995. The site is along Salt Creek in Logan County on the south edge of Lincoln.This 974-acre site is an ideal destination for ...

It seems appropriate for one of the largest campground in the Illinois state park system to be located on the largest manmade lake in Illinois. Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area is a 3,000-acre site on the west shore of Carlyle Lake, a Kaskaskia River impoundment. The site is located ...