Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor AdventureTrail of Tears State Forest
Check pricesHike the steep, wooded ridges of the Ozark Hills in southern Illinois, with spring wildflowers, CCC stone shelters and backcountry camping.
Photo: Tripp, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureFamily Favorite
Giant City State Park
Walk between towering sandstone bluffs on the Giant City Nature Trail, try rock climbing or a trail ride, and eat at a 1930s CCC stone lodge.
235 Giant City Road, Makanda, IL 62958 · Makanda, IL
About Giant City State Park
Giant City State Park covers about 4,000 acres of the Shawnee National Forest near Carbondale. Its name comes from the Giant City Streets, huge sandstone bluffs along the Giant City Nature Trail that look like city blocks. Rock climbing and rappelling are allowed in two areas, and a 12-mile horse trail loops through the woods, with rental horses at the stables. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the sandstone lodge in the 1930s, and it now has cabins, a dining room and a pool.
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What's around here?
The closest stops to Giant City State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
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Cache River State Natural Area
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Millstone Bluff
No admission feeWalk a short interpretive trail to the top of a bluff in Shawnee National Forest to see the remains of a Mississippian village and petroglyphs.
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Fort Massac State Park
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Garden of the Gods
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Cave-in-Rock State Park
Check pricesWalk into a 55-foot-wide cave in the Ohio River bluffs that once hid river pirates, then take in the view from the lodge on the cliffs above.
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