Garden of the Gods, IL



Saturday March 6th was a perfect day for hiking. With the weather in the mid-50s and sunny, the large group of 30+ people left UTM and traveled the 2 hours north to see the famous Garden of the Gods of Illinois. Unfortunately, one car had mechanical problems on the way up and several people had to turn around 20 minutes into the drive.

The group arrived around 11am and spent an hour or so walking around the Observation Trail. Then, after lunch headed into the Wilderness Area adjacent to the recreation area. The roughly 3.25 mile hike followed the bluffs north past strange and unique rock formations.

Then turned west and south following Rocky Branch, a creek that runs below the spectacular bluffs of the Garden of the Gods.


After a short detour on a branch of trail that wasn't marked on the map, the group rounded off the loop by climbing the steep at times 200 ft. climb from the canyon back up to the parking lot.

To see more pics, go here.

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