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Millstone Bluff, Glendale, IL

Photo: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffOutdoor Adventure

Millstone Bluff

Walk a short interpretive trail to the top of a bluff in Shawnee National Forest to see the remains of a Mississippian village and petroglyphs.

Millstone Bluff entrance road off Illinois Route 147, Pope County, IL · Glendale, IL

About Millstone Bluff

Millstone Bluff is a flat-topped bluff in the Shawnee National Forest where Woodland and later Mississippian people lived. An interpretive trail of almost a mile climbs to the top, where shallow depressions mark old house sites, and the bluff also holds a stone box cemetery and rock art with thunderbirds, turkey tracks and a cross-in-circle design. There is no fee. The trailhead has a vault toilet but no drinking water, so bring your own.

  • #archaeological site
  • #petroglyphs
  • #hiking
  • #national forest
  • #native american history

What's around here?

The closest stops to Millstone Bluff, ordered by straight-line distance.

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    Cache River State Natural Area

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    Giant City State Park

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  • Sports & Outdoors
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    Cave-in-Rock State Park

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    Walk 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.

    29 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors
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    Trail of Tears State Forest

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    Hike the steep, wooded ridges of the Ozark Hills in southern Illinois, with spring wildflowers, CCC stone shelters and backcountry camping.

    36 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors