Spring 2022 trip - Day 3, Monday April 25th - Starved Rock State Park (IL) - 2 hikes totalling about 5.4 miles

 Another busy day here in Illinois.  We started off with breakfast in the beautiful large dining room here at the lodge.  Our first hike was at the East end of Starved Rock state park. We walked along the bluff of the Illinois river and up and down two beautiful canyons, Hidden and Hennepin I thnk.  Hennepin canyon in particular is impressive in its height and narrowness.  We only saw one family on our 3.4 mile in and out hike.  As we went farther east from Hennepin, the trail became very muddy.  It was kind of irritating to navigate in spots so when we got to where the trail crosses IL-71, I'd had enough and we retraced our steps.












 

We returned to the lodge just long enough to shower (bug spray removal mostly) and then head to Marseille Illinois to do laundry and have lunch.  There were closer places for these tasks but I really liked the name of the laundry place 'We Wash That' so off we went.  We had a Beef Roll for lunch at the Illini lounge.  It was heavy duty and filling but tasty. We also had some house made potato skins which were really good.

Post lunch we stopped by the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center which is almost due across the huge river from the 2nd hike we did.  The visitor center is a little oversized for the minimal amount of interpretive information they have but we were there just in time to see a tug pushing a massive oil barge out of the lock.  It's amazing that they build barges to such an exact fit.  I really don't think there could have been even 18 inches of space in TOTAL on both sides. It looked like it was touching the rails on both sides of the lock.  The staff member at the visitor center didn't make much effort to engage. I asked a few questions and got reasonable but terse answers.  There can't be many visitors to that random spot on the side of a quiet road, especially in April, I would have thought he'd be more chatty.

Back at the lodge we relaxed for a few hours before heading out on foot for another walk.  We had talked about just walking to the top of the rock again but when we got down there and I saw the sign for Eagle Cliff, we decided to try that.  What a remarkable set of structures they have built to accommodate thousands of people climbing up a substantial bluff.  It was like a hike but your feet almost never touch dirt, it's almost all boardwalks and stairs.  The views over the river and of the dam across it were wonderful and we only saw 2 sets of 2 people coming and going.  Being here on a weekday in April has really paid off.  The 359 stairs we climbed should pay off in our thighs eventually.












After climbing back down the cliff then back up the other side to the lodge, we ate a light dinner in the Back Door Lounge here at the lodge.  Our expectations for this state park have been exceeded greatly.  In particular, the staff here at the lodge have been amazing.  The breakfast server yesterday went above and beyond making an off menu fruit cup with just things Brian likes.  The bartender who was our server at the lounge last night was so fun to talk to and expressed several times how much she likes working for Starved Rock and the concessionaire, Ortega National Parks.  The hotel and lodge are well thought out with pleasant common spaces and quality furnishings in the room. The dining is on par with what I used to experience at Yosemite National Park in CA.  There are fireplaces and seats all over and even the parking for the lodge is smart because it's gated which means overnight guests don't have to compete with thousands of day trip park users etc.  I think this is the best execution of a high volume but high quality tourist facility I've experienced.  I'm sure if I was here Memorial day weekend or any summer weekend I'd be less enthusiastic but it's clear that they do the very best they can to be ready for the hordes.  It's great that it is open year round and, for the off season visitor, it's something of a private wonderland.


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