Visiting Garden Of The Gods (& More) In Southern Illinois

When I saw that there was somewhere called Garden Of The Gods in southern Illinois, I’ll admit – I was a little dubious.

Shae and I had visited Garden Of The Gods in Colorado several years ago and it was beautiful. I’d figured that the Illinoisan version wouldn’t be as nice as the one farther west.

I was wrong.

Garden Of The Gods in Illinois is just as stunning as the Colorado version in its own way, possibly even more so. (Update: We’ve returned to Garden Of The Gods in Colorado and it’s much better than I remember it being!)

It has an observation trail that’s only a quarter of a mile long, but it’ll take you much longer than normal to walk it. That’s because you’ll want to make frequent stops along the way to admire the views and divert off the trail to clamber across and up some rocks.

The trail starts off quite narrow. It’s also uneven in parts and has steps along the way, so it’s not wheelchair-friendly.

The path continues around the edge of the cliff face, along a boardwalk at times.

You’ll immediately be greeted with interesting rock formations and beautiful views of the surrounding area.

The views you see when looking out are of the Garden Of The Gods Wilderness, a 3,330 acre section of Shawnee National Forest.

We visited on a humid August afternoon before a thunderstorm was due to roll in. The pending inclement weather did nothing to reduce the beauty of the area. I can imagine visiting Garden Of The Gods in the fall would be incredible once the thousands of trees out there start changing color.

Some of the most fascinating features at Garden Of The Gods are the rock patterns. Unlike many rock faces that have straight layers, many at Garden Of The Gods have curved layers that are called liesegang bands.

A sign at the park gave the following explanation for how they were formed:

The dark, reddish-brown swirls and rings on these rocks are called liesgang bands (pronounced LEE’ ZEH GANG). Long ago when this sandstone was underground, it was saturated with groundwater mixed with iron.

Chemical changes caused the iron to solidify as rust between the rock particles. Held together by iron, the raised dark bands have resisted weathering as compared to the softer, light-colored rock. The patterns of the bands are the result of these chemical changes.

At times, the liesegang bands looked like map topography or isobars displaying air pressure. The rust in the rock gave it coloring that was almost like a tree trunk.

Two other things we enjoyed about Garden Of The Gods were that it’s completely free to visit and it’s pet-friendly. Truffles loves exploring the great outdoors, so she had a grand old time hopping over the rocks.

You continually get different views while walking along the Garden Of The Gods observation trail. That’s because you’ll see both where you’re heading and where you came from to get a different perspective.

While we were there, I decided to take a panoramic video to give a better idea of what it looks like. While filming, there was a loud crash in the distance and some trees started toppling. The trees fell down so quickly and the crash was so loud, I think a large boulder must’ve fallen and knocked them over.

I’ve embedded the video below – you can see the tops of some trees falling down from around the 0:54 mark.

There are several rock formations with specific names in the park. There’s Table Rock, Chimney Rock, Camel Rock and Devil’s Smokestack which is pictured below.

If you suffer from a fear of heights, don’t let that put you off visiting Garden Of The Gods. You’ll still have amazing vistas even if you remain strictly on the observation trail and away from the edge.

That said, your views will be even better if you’re willing and able to do some climbing and/or clambering over rocks. We hadn’t realized this would be the case and so only had flip-flops on. We therefore went barefoot at times to make it easier to climb up and over at certain points.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even sit on the edge like the person in the photo below.

How To Get To Garden Of The Gods

Garden Of The Gods can be found off Karbers Ridge Road in Karbers Ridge, Illinois. However, be careful if using Google Maps for directions. For some reason, it’ll take you down a gravel road which won’t lead you to where you need to go. There’s a sign at that road’s entrance, but we missed it when turning down there and didn’t spot it until we headed back out.

Instead, allow Google Maps to direct you to Karbers Ridge Rd, but follow the road signs to Garden Of The Gods once you’re on that road. Here’s a link to the GPS coordinates of the parking lot, so using that specific link might mean Google Maps directs you there correctly.

Other Local Attractions

It’s easy to spend a couple of hours at Garden Of The Gods like we did, or even longer if you want to just sit there and take in the views.

While you’re in the area though, there are plenty more free attractions you can visit. Here are some ideas:

Rim Rock National Recreation Trail

A few miles further down Karbers Ridge Road is Rim Rock National Recreation Trail. We stopped there to find out more about it, but sadly didn’t stick around. Shae had injured her ankle a few days before and it was starting to hurt due to the clambering we’d done at Garden Of The Gods.

After seeing that it’d take an hour to walk the trail and it involved steps and slopes, we decided to give it a miss as her ankle wouldn’t hold up. Someone we met at Garden Of The Gods had said Rim Rock was beautiful though, so it sounds like it’s worth visiting.

The sign below describes the trail as follows:

The trail will take you across the stone wall, past a scenic view of Pounds Hollow lake, and to an observation platform with a breathtaking view of the valley some 70 feet below. Next you may descend the sheer cliffs by stairway and reach the valley floor to view the huge rock overhangs.

Address: Rim Rock National Recreation Trail, Eagle Creek, RR 1 Box 198B, Findlay, IL 62534

Pounds Hollow Recreation Area

After leaving Rim Rock National Recreation Trail, we drove another mile down Karbers Ridge Road. That took us to Pounds Hollow Recreation Area which is home to Pounds Hollow lake.

There were several picnic tables by the lake, so we decided to stop there and have some lunch. Pounds Hollow Recreation Area is pet-friendly, although dogs aren’t allowed on the beach.

The lake has an enclosed swimming area off the beach with water that was pleasantly warm when we visited in August.

Address: Pounds Hollow Recreation Area, 50 Highway 145 S, Harrisburg, IL 62946

Cave-In-Rock State Park

About 15 miles south of Pounds Hollow Recreation Area is Cave-In-Rock State Park. This state park can be found on the Ohio River and its main feature is, as the name suggests, a cave in a rock.

It’s thought that in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the cave acted as an outlaw hideout and a den for robbers. Given that it’s 55 foot wide and even deeper than that, it seems like the perfect location for shady stuff like that (although it’s perfectly safe to visit now!)

Cave-In-Rock was used as a movie location for How The West Was Won and Davy Crockett And The River Pirates. Given how deep the cave is and how it overlooks the Ohio River, it’s easy to see why they chose it as a location to film some movie scenes.

Address: Cave-In-Rock State Park, 1 New State Park Rd, Cave-In-Rock, IL 62919

Final Thoughts

Before visiting the area, I had no clue that there were so many beautiful places in southern Illinois. Garden Of The Gods and the other locations mentioned above are definitely worth a day trip if you’ll be in the area.

If you’ll be in the area for a few days, be sure to also visit Little Grand Canyon.