Hike Millstone Bluff in the Shawnee National Forest

Simpson, Illinois

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Details

Distance

1 miles

Elevation Gain

193 ft

Route Type

Loop

Description

Added by Lucas Bremer

An opportunity to view close up one of the few well preserved prehistoric settlements in the Midwest.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this mile loop trail leads you along a bluff line to the ruins of a historic village of Woodland and Mississippian Native Americans.

Mississippian Natives established a village here between 1000 and 500 years ago. The older Woodland Indians built a stone wall on top of the bluff), and you can still see the depressions marking the sites of the houses from the Mississippian village and the location of their foundations. It is believed that there were 26 homes around this 320 ft high bluff.

A big highlight of the trail are some petroglyphs along the rock walls. The largest is a Thunderbird petroglyph.

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Features

Hiking

Easy Parking

Forest

Groups

Scenic

Wildflowers

Wildlife

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Leave No Trace

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