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  1. #1
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    Suggestions for family hanging in Garden of the Gods, Illinois

    My wife, two kids (12 and 7) and I will be in Cave in Rock State Park in southern Illinois next week. We have booked a cabin for the first night, and then I'd love to get out on easy trails in the adjacent Garden of the Gods for 2 -3 nights. We won't want to cover a lot of distance, and won't mind spending multiple nights in one spot. But I'd love to find a location or two that's got a great feel to it, nearby features that will be cool to check out, and not too hard to get it from our starting point at Cave in Rock.

    Any specific suggestions for trail heads and camping spots? Nighttime temps are currently forecast to be around 40F, and since I only have two underquilts, at least two of may end up going to ground. Formal campgrounds would be fine. But even better would be backcountry spots withing 3 -4 miles of a trailhead, and that aren't likely to have much traffic, especially horse traffic.

    Thanks for any suggestions!

    Jack

  2. #2
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    I did some backpacking and hiking last year in the Garden of the Gods..in Shawnee National Forest... we visited the Garden of the Gods and the surrounding trails.. a section call Indian Point is real close to the Garden of the Gods. We stayed/camped there some but you can go and camp about anywhere in the backcountry. Hope this helps ...we did send for the map information (free if I remember correctly) about various trials which we found to be very helpful. It is indeed beautiful...Have fun.

    Turk3

  3. #3
    Senior Member BananaHammock's Avatar
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    Yeah the river to river trail goes through multiple wilderness areas where dispersed camping is allowed. There was one spot on the R2R trail that was on a cliff overlooking Shawnee only a few miles from garden of the gods (EAst North East of garden parking. It had lots of room for tents and had established fire pit.
    Get lost in the woods and find yourself again. A vacation,to me, is working with your hands and surviving because of the fruits of your labor. In the business world I teach;in the natural world I learn.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for the suggestions! I'm gonna check out both of those spots if I can.

  5. #5
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    I'm trying to get the kids out and possibly head this direction as many of the places by me are booked. Looking to walk a trail that's not terrible difficult and then jump off and camp for a night. I'm having some trouble finding a decent map where something like this is going to be possible. Seems like the Indian Point area is where It's at.

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