starved rock state park, il

A quick google search and a half tank of gas landed us at Starved Rock State Park this past Saturday. A rare Chicago weekend with no plans called for something new and different, so we hopped in the car and headed out. Conditions weren’t ideal, it rained the whole ride down there, with lightning and thunder ahead. We first stopped at Buffalo State Park (an accident, actually) and set out with our umbrellas. We were determined to find some adventure. Unfortunately most  of the trails were closed, but we walked the perimeter and tried to take a few good pictures. We also stumbled across some furry new friends! When we finally said goodbye to Bob and Betty,  the rain had almost stopped. We decided to keep on, and although it wasn’t labeled to0 clearly to us, Starved Rock was just down the road a few miles. We ate our sack lunches and headed on in! I think we walked about 5 miles total, climbing up overlooks, lookouts, and following the trails. The whole park was laid out really nicely with wood paths and stairs, alongside waterfalls and streams (because there wasn’t enough rain this year they were sadly dried up), canyons and overlooks. It was really pleasant walking through. The rain totally stopped and actually turned into a pretty satisfying day! If only we had been there a few weeks later, the fall colors would have been gorgeous! It was surprising to me how pretty it actually was, being located in central IL and all, but overall I was impressed. Very glad we took the day to do this! Totally recomend it!