For the past few months, I have crisscrossed Chicagoland giving Illinois travel presentations at libraries. At every lecture without fail, someone asks me — sometimes incredulously — “Why exactly do you do this?”
“Isn’t our state flat? Ugly? Boring?” their question implies. “Isn’t it just field after field of corn and soybean? Isn’t the purpose of life to take every chance to fly to Europe, or trek the national parks, or spend a week on some nice Wisconsin lake?”
It has become my stubborn mission to refute this line of thinking. I challenge the reader to prove me wrong. You have a few fleeting weeks of summer left — put your kids in the car and get to know what’s in our own backyard. These trips are fast, affordable, and often well-off the beaten trail, but they’ll give you memories and help you form a deeper connection with this place we call home.
I recommend a few spots to rookie road-trippers with kids in tow. White Pines State Park near Oregon is small but beautiful. About two hours from Lake County, it has a charming restaurant, cabins and campsites, approachable trails, and — for many kids, the most memorable attraction — fords in the creek you can drive across. En route, stop for a picnic lunch in front of the massive sculpture towering over the river at Lowden State Park.
The Mississippi River, slightly further west, offers many accessible attractions for all ages. Mississippi Palisades State Park has slightly more to offer hikers, including views from the bluffs that overlook the river. Towns like Galena, Savanna, and the island town of Sabula are unique places nestled amid the rolling terrain of the unglaciated “Driftless Region.” More ambitious travelers can follow the Great River Road south to St. Louis for a truly amazing drive through Midwestern history, culture and nature that can be completed in a long weekend.
My talk at Ela Area Library covered the state’s most rugged, remote corner: Shawnee National Forest. The ancient, rocky hills of Southern Illinois, unperturbed by the glaciers that flattened most of Illinois, rise up between the Ohio and the Mississippi to dazzle that rare Chicagoan who makes the six-hour drive.
This vast forest holds treasures for every traveler, from the splendor of its canyons, waterfalls, and blufftop sunsets to the quaintness of its river towns, “foraged beer,” and the elusive Big Muddy Monster. Experience awe — that mix of wonder and fear — as you paddle through bayous, zipline across the canopy, or desperately search for your car in the dark with a ten-month-old infant strapped to your chest. (OK, that last one was just terror, not really awe.)
It's a big world, and it’s important to see what we can of it; some globetrotting is undoubtedly good for the soul. But it’s also important to develop a sense of rootedness and an appreciation for our home. Many of us will spend so much of our brief life here in Illinois, a diverse and fascinating state that rewards those who get to know it.
John Kokoris gives Illinois travel presentations at area libraries. Visit JohnKokoris.com for more details on these programs, or search for The Illinois Enthusiast (@Mr1llinois) on X.com (Twitter) and Instagram.
10 Musts for Your Southern Illinois Itinerary
- Stop at Black Dog BBQ (Champaign) or Firefly Grill (Effingham) on your way down.
- Have brunch or fried chicken at Giant City Lodge.
- Find your footing at Giant City State Park or Garden of the Gods, two very accessible sites.
- Pick fruit or sip wine in the Cobden area.
- See two great rivers converge at Fort Defiance.
- Get lost at Bell Smith Springs.
- Walk Snake Road, the only road in America closed to cars for snake safety, in the spring or fall.
- Take a guided boat tour of the Cache River, home of the state’s oldest trees.
- Eat dinner (and dessert) at nationally acclaimed 17th St. BBQ.
- Watch the sunset at Inspiration Point.