Cache River Trails

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures with Uncle Bob - Your Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we highlight the Cache River State Natural Area and National Wildlift Refuge. Directions: Take I-57 south to the Ullin exit. Travel approx 10 miles to Rt 37. Turn north on 37 and go 2 miles to the parking area for section 8 boardwalk access. This short walk thru swamp ends with a view of the state champion Water Tupelo tree. Continue north on this road to Barkhausen Wetlands Center (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). The center has an impressive display of the natural and cultural history of this wetland. Note that the Tunnel Hill bike trail starts here. Backtrack a short distance and turn right onto Perks Road. At the first access area, turn in to note two eagle nests in treetops. Drive further on the road to the sign for the Lower Cache Access Area. Restroom and picnic facilities are here. One handicap accessible trail takes one to an observation platform over the swamp and a view of the state champion Bald Cypress. Back in the parking area, take the 2.5 mile swamp trail for a more intimate setting, bisecting Cypress and Tupelo swamps. Views are more limited in the first mile due to a forest of 8-20 ft tall Canebrake.

Drive back to the junction with Rt37 and Ullin road and turn left on to Rt 169. Near the town of Karnak, turn left onto Urban (formerly Porterhouse) Road. This delightful road goes 2 miles thru the middle of a swamp, crosses the bike trail, and comes to Big Cypress Tree Trail. Close to the parking area is the 1,000 year old Cypress tree with a base circumference of 40 ft.  correction: it is 1.3 miles to the access parking.

Take Rt 37 north to Rt 146, turn right and proceed to the sign for Wildcat Bluff. Follow this road about 6 miles (well marked) to the parking area. This is the Upper Cache River section. Two trails start here. The one mile observation trail on the left offers rim top views into the Cache River bottoms during leafoff. Note the pretty cliff walls and rock shelters below the trail. You will encounter one spot on the trail as an unmarked junction: go right on the spur trail to reach an overlook. Return to the trail and continue until it ends in a brush pile. Backtrack to the starting point at the signboard. Just to the left of the concrete wall is an easy place to descend to the cliff base. The signboard indicates that the other trail going west travels to Boss Island and Heron Pond. Expect to get your feet wet due to creek crossings. On that trail, I noted another place to descend to a nice shelter bluff line at the second DNR tree diamond.

Leaving this place, turn on to the road which takes you to Rt 45. Along the way, there is an unmarked fork: go right. At Rt 45 turn right and go to Belknap Road. Along the way to Belknap, there is a sign for Heron Pond swamp. (This was already described at http://illinois.sierraclub.org/shawnee. Click outings and then scroll to the bottom for self-adventures with uncle bob.) At Belknap, follow the sign to the Cache River Natural Area office and then follow the one-lane road to the parking area. Two trails start here at Marshall Access. The Tupelo trail says 2.4 mile loop. After a mile, the loop starts at a junction. Take the left fork and descend the cliff line to the swamp with picturesque Tupelo trees. Forget the right fork-poor signage. Back at the parking area, the other trail heads northeast. Except for a pretty cliff line near its beginning, the remainder is a walk in the woods.

05-25-13: some of you have gotten lost upon leaving Heron Pond to access other areas. The road goes to Belknap. A sign points to the state natural area to the right. If you want to continue west to big cypress and lower Cache access, go straight ahead on this unmarked paved road which runs to Karnak. At stop sign,turn right. now you are on rt 169. The big cypress sign will be approx 1 mile out of town. Thereafter,continue on rt 169 to Rt 37. 

Trail brochures are available at Shawnee National Forest offices and any Cache River visitor center. More information from Bob Tyson at 684-5643 The GPS coordinates for Wildcat Bluff are 88 55' 46.32"W and 37 22' 35.05"N. The coordinates for Heron Pond are 88 54' 35.80"W and 37 21' 12.93"N. The coordinates for Big Cypress access are 88 58' 59.61"W and 37 18' 33.69"N.

We are eliminating the old website so Heron Pond is described here on this page. The signboard at the parking lot for this preserve says "no dogs on trail". Walk downhill and cross the bridge and turn left. We are on an easy 0.5 mile trail which runs along the side of the creek/swamp and brings us to the boardwalk. This will take you deep into the swamp and the water is often a vibrant lime-green color as far as you can see. Cypress and Tupelo trees abound as well as the Heron rookeries high up in the trees, as well as the bald knobs that protrude from the water surface. After that, walk another 0.25 mile ascending up to the state champion Cherry Oak Bark tree with a huge diameter. Upon return, there is a trail junction;However, both bring you back to the bridge. Restroom facilities are here. 05/08/2012: the section 8 boardwalk is back open and repaired.

Lusk Creek Wilderness

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures with Uncle Bob-Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," this article takes us to the north section of Lusk Creek. A previous article on this area covered the southern section, also known as Indian Kitchen (see http://illinois.sierraclub.org/shawnee/unclebob/adventures.htm).

Directions: take Rt 145 south from Harrisburg. A few miles north of Eddyville look for the turn for Circle B ranch. When this tar road curves right (south), you need to go straight ahead on a narrow, unsigned, gravel road. Travel approx 3-4 miles and look for a trailhead parking lot. Walk across the road and start the hike for trail #481. The sign says 1 1/4 mile to Saltpeter Cave and 1.5 mile to Natural Bridge. Prior to August, 2007, this trail was a 6 inch wide horse-damaged mud hole with numerous, user-made junctions. Now we have excellent tread and user-made trail junctions have been roped off (plus explanation signs).

The trail gradually descends and passes steep ravines. At one point we encounter an unmarked "T" intersection. Mark this spot so you don't miss it on the way back. Go right-the trail is rocky for the first 1,000 feet. Later we travel along bluff lines on both sides. Another unmarked fork appears. Don't take the one going uphill. We arrive at a junction with Lusk Creek. You have a choice of turning right for Saltpeter Cave or cross the creek on stones to visit Natural Bridge. I made a loop of both, bringing me back to this spot. Across the creek, a pretty cliff line awaits us as well as the bridge. It appears to be 50 ft long, 4 ft high, and 30 ft thick. Trail 481 ascends to become a rim trail. Note a junction for Secret Canyon: I walked a mile or more on the latter thru woods. There was a fork where one path took me to trail #001 (river to river trail) and the other went to a ravine bottom with no further signs. Trail 481 comes to a junction with trail #457. Turn right and travel a short distance to Saltpeter Cave. For a closeup views, one needs to cross the creekbed. Walk both ways along that cliff line to view 3 major shelter bluffs (cave is the wrong term). Cross back and continue #481 a short distance to another creek crossing. Upon crossing, note another unmarked junction-go right on #486. We soon close our loop next to the Natural Bridge creek crossing. Turn left and follow #481 back to the car.

If you are ambitous for a long prettier hike and don't mind getting wet, here are the directions to the same forementioned features: Park at the Circle B ranch trailhead. Walk south 100 ft and take trail #001. After 40 minutes you arrive at Lusk Creek. Turn left onto trail #457 and follow this muddy, narrow trail to Old Guest Farm Creek Crossing. Trail #457 will continue north on the other side of Lusk Creek and junctions with #481 about an hour later.

Back at our parking lot for trail #481, I note that this county road travels further east to provide access to #457D and #483, but a high clearance vehicle or jeep would be advisable. Ask for the green Shawnee 2007 Interim Trails map at ranger stations for further assistance. More information from Bob Tyson at 684-5643. Due to creek crossings, I would avoid this hike during early spring.

GPS coordinates at natural bridge 37 32' 8.13"N and 88 32' 48.25"W
3/20/2012: The trail on the south end has disappeared from the website so i am re-writing here. From Eddyville, turn onto Golcanda road and go 1/2 mile to the first right turn. Drive 2 miles to the parking lot on the left. This will be a 2 mile walk thru woods until reaching a rock glade. Before you descend to Lusk Creek, go right and discover a short ledge trail that brings you to a cave in the cliff for a birdseye view over the gorge; Otherwise, go down to the creek to look at this amphitheater shaped steep canyon wall and stream forming a hairpin turn. Unusual plants found here. Return the way you came.

High Knob Trail

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures with Uncle Bob-Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we highlight High Knob Trail. From Harrisburg, follow Rt 145 to Rt 34. 3 miles south of Herod, look for Karber Ridge Road. At the settlement of Karber Ridge, look for a small sign to High Knob. After a few miles, turn right at the horse ranch (note that the River to River Trail crosses the road to head toward Garden of the Gods). This rocky road climbs steadily to the viewpoint parking lot. Picnic tables and restrooms are noted.

Walk back down the road and find the blue markers for the loop trail. The first one is on the left(east). I walked a little further to the next marker and commenced the trail. I estimate the loop at 1.5-2.0 miles. This spectacular trail runs continually in a circular fashion along the base of cliffs. Prominent features include shelter bluffs, many slot canyons, small caves, rock formations, and unique patterns in the rock. The terrain is rocky but relatively level; Some places have descending stone steps, as well as a small wood staircase. The midway point even has a rough-hewn picnic table. Trash cans are along the route. Near the end, there is a steep ascent for 100 ft thru a narrow stone staircase between boulders.Before ascending,I hope you noted a cave which enables you to walk in 30-40 ft. Bring a flashlight.

In the parking area, note the blue markers going north from the restroom. This path accomodates those who only want to do part of the loop. As you drive back downhill, note two other trails which head east (one is the River to River Trail to Camp Cadiz). Both are a sea of mud due to horse traffic. The River to River Trail is running parallel to the road as we drive by the horse ranch. High Knob is briefly mentioned in the book, Fifty Nature Walks in Southern Illinois. More info from Bob Tyson at 684-5643. GPS coordinates are 37 36' 0.01"N and 88 19' 41.70"W october,2011: while talking to the owners of High Knob campground at the bottom,we are advised that new cabins are available for hikers and riders. Call 618-275-4494. this horse ranch sits on the River To River trail as well as High Knob trail, Rice Hollow trail and many others. The road up to High Knob sometimes is closed without notice. You can call that number to see if open or closed before making a long trip; Don't count on Forest Service staff to know.

Hickory Ridge Trails

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures With Uncle Bob-Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we feature Shawnee National Forest trails along Hickory Ridge Road.

Directions: Follow south 20th street from Murphysboro until you ascend a hill near a church. Turn left onto Hickory Ridge Road. This road is paved all the way to Pomona. After several miles, we arrive at a four-way stop. Turn right. Note a FS trail near Fairview Church. Forget this overgrown trail-no prominent features. Continue on to the sign for Little Grand Canyon. That area was already described at http://illinois.sierraclub.org/shawnee/unclebob/adventures.htm. Set your odometer and drive 1.2 mile to an unmarked firelane on the left (just past Mason Concrete). Park here and walk if the lane is muddy; if not, drive in to the turnabout. The ridgetop trail has good views during leafoff. Note the unmarked trail junction. I took the left fork for a while. It suddenly makes a very steep descent to the bottom of a circular cliff line. Returning to our junction, I took the right fork. At some point there is an ATV spur trail steeply descending to the base of pretty cliff walls. Returning to the right fork, the trail makes a gradual descent to go on forever. I turned around after 40 minutes.

Back on Hickory Ridge Road, drive another 1.3 mile and arrive at a gate (on your left) at the bottom of the hill. This is FS 741. This old roadbed trail runs approx 2 miles. During leafoff, our walk affords unobstructed views of the cliff line. At some point, note a large canebrake patch, creek, and boulder. Bushwhack left about 100 yards to find a pretty rock canyon, waterfall, and a shelter cave to the upper right. Back on the trail, we cross a powerline clearing and continue into the woods. We soon navigate a huge canebrake forest and the trail ends at a creek. In the spring, I noted acres of blue flowers. ,As of May 2009,due to an inland hurricane we cannot follow the trail past the powerline clearing. Unfortunately the remainder of the trail took us to several buzzard roosts high up in the trees. very impressive!

Retrace your route back to the car. Drive about 100 yards to a trail on the right (FS 346C). The first segment traverses a Pine plantation. The trail is often muddy due to ATV riders. Just before the creek, look to the left and follow a long cliff line to its end. Note the unique texture of the rock. Retrace this 0.5 mile back to the car.

Drive another 1.2 mile to find Wolfe Creek Trail. There is a vineyard on the left: continue approx 200 ft and park on the shoulder near a log pile on the right. This faint trail travels in a northwest direction thru woods to reach the start of continuous 2-3 mile cliff canyon. Prior to reaching this point, you will have passed the foundation of an old CCC camp. There is no defined trail in the canyon; Just stay close to the base of the cliff line to avoid getting lost. Do not continue past the waterfall without permission of the landowner. The private property boundary starts here, even though there is no sign. In autumn, the stretch of road from Little Grand Canyon to this point is a continuous blaze of yellow leaves.

The photos are of the bluff line on trail FS 346C and the rock cave along trail FS 741.

More info from Bob Tyson at 684-5643. the GPS coordinates for fr 741 are 89 22' 55.20"w and 37 40' 7.90"w.

Cedar Creek Wonders

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures With Uncle Bob-Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we feature Cedar Creek Wonders in Shawnee National Forest (this unofficial trail is not on the forest map). Directions: From Tunnel Hill village, go south, cross US 45, and continue straight ahead (Mt Gilead Rd) for approx 6 miles. Just past the church, turn left on Gum Springs Rd. Travel about 2-3 miles to a concrete bridge and note the parking area on the left. Cedar Creek divides the canyon. Take the user-made, half mile trail on your right (north).

We follow a pretty continuous cliff line along with 3 shelter bluffs. Note the solid yellow buffalo petroglyph along the last shelter bluff. The trail seems to end at a huge boulder. It would take a strenuous effort to overcome this obstacle. Upon re-tracing my route back to the car, note a faint trail which can take one to the top of the cliff line for a view over the canyon during leaf-off.

The River to River Trail crosses this area. I followed it west on the south side of the creek for over a mile but no prominent features were noted. It will come out again on Gum Springs Rd about 3 miles further north. I also followed it east from the parking area. There is an unmarked junction after a quarter mile: turn right, cross a bridge, and ascend uphill. No prominent features were noted after a couple miles. A future article will describe another trail in Cedar Wonders which also includes a free-standing natural bridge.

More info from Bob Tyson at 684-5643 or John O'Dell at 252-6789
Photo courtesy of the River2River hiking group. See more photos of this scenic area at
http://community.webshots.com/user/river2riverhiker

2/12/2012: learned something new. The river to river trail continues east across the road and then ascends uphill on the right; However, if you continue straight ahead on an old railbed, Hogg Bluff awaits. As we walk for a mile and view distant cliff lines, we come to an isolated knob partially surrounded by a creek and a pretty semi-circle cliff line. Bushwhack along this line or ascend the knob for a great view. I am told this railbed will go to Cedar Falls at Camp Ondessonk. One can also get off here and follow south on a user-made trail along ravines and frequent cliff lines to the same falls;However, this involves frequent creek crossings. I also note that people can take US 45 from Harrisburg to Ozark General store, go another 1/2 mile and turn on Gum Ridge Rd to the trail parking area.the coordinates for hogg bluff are n37.29.742 and w88.45.467.

Piney Woods Ravine Nature Preserve

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures With Uncle Bob-Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we feature Piney Woods Ravine. An article on this area was published in 2001-2 but has disappeared off our website and the Shawnee newsletter archives. This is a re-print.

Directions: Travel west from Murphysboro on Rt 149 to Rt 3. Turn right (north) and drive approx 15 miles. Look for a brown sign as you approach the Randolph County line. Turn right on to Hog Hill Rd and continue up the switchbacks. You will soon arrive at a junction-follow Rock Crusher Rd for several miles until the sign appears again for the preserve. Another 3 miles will bring you to its parking lot.

We start out along a line of trees to an open field. Turn right and find the signboard at the woods. This trail is well-marked as we descend the canyon. We arrive at a junction and note this is a loop trail. Go straight ahead and cross the creekbed. Upon doing so, take the spur trail on the right to visit the petroglyphs. Return to the main trail and hike north and east thru the woods. It finally descends into another canyon with waterfall cascades, stone glades, and pretty cliff walls. The trail ascends and now becomes a rim trail with frequent views down into the canyon. We arrive at our initial junction, turn left and return to the parking lot. I estimate our loop as 2 miles. An alternate route to this place is to follow Rt 4 to Campbell hill, il and note the sign for the preserve,turn left onto Rockcrusher rd. Go approx 5 miles until the sign for turning onto the road for the preserve.GPS coordinates are N37.8881 and W 89.6837.

More info from Bob Tyson at 684-5643 Photo courtesy of Monika Plumb.

Panther Den Wilderness

Continuing with our monthly series, "Adventures with Uncle Bob - Guide to Self-Adventure in Southern Illinois," we offer an update from a previous article written on Panther Den (see the December, 2002 posting http://illinois.sierraclub.org/shawnee/news/news.htm).

Directions: From Carbondale, take Grassy Road south to Rocky Comfort Rd. Turn right and follow the signs to Blue Sky Winery. Just past the winery, turn left on Panther Den Road and follow to Panther Den Lane. The county has now reclaimed this lane along with road improvements. This lane will end at a new Forest Service parking lot and can accomodate 6-8 vehicles. The other parking area near Panther Den Road junction is still available.

Both trail loops start here. Let's take the one on the right. This access trail will meet the River to River Trail after 1.5 mile. I turned right (east) on the latter out of curiosity. This muddy, horse damaged segment traveled continuously uphill for 2 miles to end at Fairview Road. No prominent features were noted. The new forest map shows Trail #386 intersecting this trail. I also explored that trail for a short distance until it disappeared into thickets.

Returning to our junction with the access trail, I continued on the River to River trail west to the cliff canyon area. There is an unmarked trail on the right which follows the base of the cliff line for 0.5 mile. That trail passed several slot canyons and ended in a pretty circular shelter bluff. Return to the maze of cliff walls which includes a 50 ft long tunnel cave thru rock. After exploration, continue on the River to River trail as it ascends the valley, passes a small bluff line, and three creek crossings. This muddy, horse damaged trail gets worse. We finally reach a junction: The R-R trail turns west. You want the white diamond access trail straight ahead (note the concrete block). This will follow ravine bottoms back to our parking lot. Trail maps are available at the Murphysboro ranger station. More info from Bob Tyson at 684-5643. GPS coordinates are 37 34' 47.46"N and 89 5' 17.25"W 04/01/2011:new trail segment 382 now runs about 1.5 mile and branches off R-R trail from east of the den. It reconnects with R-R on the north end before you ascend to the ridge. Features are ravine views and walking thru pine plantation. It by-passes the main feature of the rock maize. Be careful on the return part of the loop: the sign back to the parking lot gets vandalized and you may end up following the R-R trail when it makes a sharp turn to go east and end up on Rocky Comfort road. error: trail 389,not 382. In June,1011 it is noted that the trail marker is often stolen at the point where the R-R trail suddenly turns sharply west. In order not to get lost and return to your car,just continue straight ahead thru this long ravine even if there is no trail tread. It will bring you to the parking lot.
09/16/2012. The Forest Service has made significant improvements this past year. Starting at the parking area,our access trail #371 has many switchbacks to counter erosion and to make the trail less steep. Evidence of the old trail is still here and blocking the old is not all complete. Much of the access trail has been graveled. About 1/8 mile down, a new connector segment will go to R-R trail to the west. After crossing the first creekbed, watch out for a junction where you are to go right on 371,not the obvious old trail. Later on,we encounter a sign which has not been changed. It says Panther Den loop-go right, and R-R go left. That loop does not go to the cliff area; it is the by-pass trail. You need to turn left. The new trail gives us much closer views of cliff lines than the old one. Eventually we reach the canyon maze.