Hike in Matthiessen State Park
Oglesby, Illinois
Details
Distance
5 miles
Elevation Gain
180 ft
Route Type
Point-to-Point
Description
Added by Christian Vilimek
Breath taking hike with waterfalls, steep canyons, beautiful stone bridges and an old log fort. This is a hike not to miss for all skill level hikers.
A short drive into the park meanders to a large parking lot flanked by quite a few large picnic areas. The picnic areas do have grills.
The hike starts at a very well maintained washroom with several beverage machines. This looks into a large log fort. This fort was recreated to mimic French forts from the 1700's.
This is the trail head to the main Cascade Falls trail. This starts on smooth path which leads you to a very long set of stairs heading down to to the upper dell trail. There are approximately 200 stairs. The upper dell is a larking 2.5 miles and the hike to take for entry level hikers as it is a smooth well kept path that completly circles the lower dells. This path offers some of the best views in the whole park. From here you are able to look down the steep walls of the dell, across a rustic Art Deco stone bridge and down the waterfalls.
Once you complete the circle trail of the upper dell you traverse the stone bridge. Stop in the middle and this is a view not to miss! On the far side of the bridge is "devil's staircase". This stone and concrete staircase winds you down to the lower dell trail. Don't over the the staircase itself as it is festooned with Art Deco embellishments as well.
The lower dell is the more arduous trail as the amount of rainfall and make it very slippery and muddy. This trail is not a loop but has a left and right leg.
The left leg winds through the dell with formations like the giant's bathtub and cedar point. The leg ends in the lake falls waterfall. Here is the largest waterfall of the park. On a sunny day you can watch the sunlight reflect from the pond onto the canyon wall. It's mesmerizing! There are small caves to explore and a slippery rock ledge to walk so you can put your head in the falls. Keep your eye out for large boulders carved in crazy faces.
The right leg starts with cascade falls. This is the prettier of the waterfalls and great place to stop and reflect. You hike back past the strawberry rock and end at the devil's paint box. Here the minerals are carried through the stones but the water trickling through.
Hopefully you saved some leg power because from here you have to hike back up devil's staircase and the the 200+ stairs back to the dells fort picnic area.
All said with time to explore the caves and waterfalls this takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours and you hike about 5 miles. This is one of the best hikes within 1 1-2 hours of Chicago.
Also they have a 9 mile mountain bike/horse trail. They and an archery range and a model airplane field.
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