[Music] outdoor activities check beautiful diverse plant life check and check this week on take a hike we'll share why you and the family should make the trip to lincoln trail state park just south of marshall [Applause] take a hike on weiu is supported by rural king america's farm and home store camping supplies kayaks fishing and pet supplies and more find your store and more information regarding rural king at ruralking.com hi i'm weiu's lacey spence i've lived in central illinois my whole life and if there's one thing i've learned you don't have to go far to find the beauty of the great outdoors come along with me as i visit a variety of parks and natural areas in central illinois and share why you should take a hike to each episode's location adventure and fun await and take a hike the miniseries thank you for joining us for this episode of take a hike we are on the road today near marshall south of marshall we are at lincoln trail state park and today our guest is tom hence your site superintendent here yes i am welcome to the show thank you for for being on today we got some gorgeous weather to work with so we're happy about that and i think first thing just to kind of get a little bit of a background about the park can you tell us some of the history here because earlier we were chatting and there is quite a bit there's actually a lot of history it became a park in 1936 about 31 acres was purchased for the state of illinois but about 50 years after abraham lincoln's death the general assembly decided to reenact or or show the the path that lincoln's family made from kentucky through indiana through illinois and so we are the beginning of that lincoln trail here in illinois right off of highway one and that's why we're called lincoln trail and there were a lot of boy scouts that used to do it almost like a pilgrimage and they would walk all the way to springfield and that was a long time ago and some of the older people call me and tell me about those days of hiking that lincoln trail and then we had picked this uh spot on the dock to chat you were telling me that there is a certain um boundary that kind of runs through this area of the park is that correct yes they call us almost right where we're sitting is called the old treaty line and that was established in 1819 and it was the western boundary of a treaty that was made with the native americans and the u.s government that was a year after illinois became a state and so we're on the western boundary of that old treaty and uh possibly tecumseh himself was working on the negotiations for that to be the western boundary of of uh basically the united states so if you're wanting uh besides just some outdoor funds some great history to learn about the park and so as we are taping uh summer fallish 2021 there are a lot of recreation activities you were telling me that the next couple of weekends campgrounds are booked out yes so what does lincoln trail state park have to offer for individuals or families it's a great place to bring families we have boating obviously a beautiful 146 acre lake we have two larger trails and a couple smaller trails within the park we have picnicking areas camping we've got 208 campsites with a shower house and electricity and waters available in the camp sites so it's a lot of fun to come on out here we also have a concession stand and a full-service restaurant and the restaurant has a chef that was formally trained in seattle and moved back here to help out the family so we have really really good food i think you'd like it so you're definitely not roughing it when it comes to grub no not not here it's good food yeah so as we're talking about camping i always like to clarify is it just camper camping or is there tent camping available we also have tent camping available too we have tent areas and we have camper camping and some of our camp sites have 50 amp uh electric service and some of it has 30 amp electric service and let's talk about uh the trails a little bit we've got a trail to save that we're going to talk about a little bit later but the other trails can you kind of walk us through what those offer well one trail if you want to get your heart really pumping you can start right near the restaurant there's stairs that will bring you up through red oak picnic area and then it'll the stairs will go down into the american beechwood forest nature preserve that we have here at the park and i'll talk about that a little bit later but then the stairs will take you right back up to lakeside and it's about 375 stairs and it's straight up and down and you know it's a good workout and people come here every day even in january to walk the stairs for uh their heart benefits and such so that's one trail we also have what we like to call the boy scout trail that's in plainview campground that was put in by it was an eagle scout project and it's about a quarter mile long and that was the best thing we did for the campground because little kids go on that trail and they think that they're miles away from their parents but their parents can hear them out there in the woods so it's a nice little trail it's all level and it's just something that you can go and see when you come to plainview campground we also have the sand ford trail which is basically two loops the top loop is about one mile and the far loop the back loop that that's connected that's about another mile and a half the san ford is separated by a ford so in the springtime if you get a heavy rain it's it's a gusher so it's hard to get through there but sometimes you find some beautiful plants down at the base of the sanford trail so those are on land opportunities very diverse uh one it feels like you need your smart watch make sure you count those steps and track that heart rate um what about moving on to the water what kind of water opportunities are there well we have boats that are for rent at the concession stand we also have kayaks and canoes that are for rent at the concession stand it's free to come out here to bring your boat and launch into the lake uh you can fish here you have to have a fishing license but there's no launching fee and you can bring your own kayak here uh you don't have to have a license or a sticker for a kayak and it's a nice quiet lake too where it's a nine-nine motor limit so you're not going to be run over by big boats and jet skis and stuff so kayaking the lake here is just really peaceful and the bird life and the plant life on the shores is just beautiful and you were telling me earlier that there's no just like swimming for the average person but there are people who are allowed to traverse this lake and swim it can you talk about that well we do have a special program that's for triathletes and also for open water swimmers usually you know when the water's not really cold but on mondays and wednesdays in the evenings in the summertime if you want to practice your open water swimming skills you can come out here and i manage that program too and you sign a waiver and you have to wear uh a safety buoy but we we get in a little bit of training here in in the lake that's incredible and then there is uh there's one more piece of equipment um that's out here on the dock that i don't want to glance over and it's a water bike yeah there's two water bikes yeah uh those are for rent from the concession stand and uh i've never personally used one but i've seen other people use it looks like a lot of fun you're you're on two little pontoons and you're you're biking you're pedaling a bike and i've seen people just go across the lake doing that and it's it looks really neat and speaking of bike um any of these trails are they able to be traversed by either bike or horseback while no horses are allowed in the park at all a lot of people like to do road biking around the five mile loop of the park itself it's a really a great park for that there's some really killer hills here that a lot of people really enjoy we also have we'll talk about another trail later but the airstrip trail you can bring a mountain bike on that as well and it's it's not a lot of hills so it's not a mountain bike trail that requires a lot of skill but it's it's a good way to see the whole airstrip trail definitely and you were mentioning earlier that there's a lot of good plant and wildlife to check out while you're here let's talk about the wildlife a little bit is there anything that really peaks your interest that folks should keep their eyes peeled for well there's really not too many places in southeast central illinois where you can find the amount of bird life that you see at lincoln trail state park we have bald eagles here all the way all over the place in the park and just a few minutes ago i saw a kingfisher fly across and in the springtime there are so many warblers spring warblers that come here then their their migration going north so this is a great spot for bird watching that's just fantastic to see too there's also some endangered species that live here in the park the jefferson salamander is only found in clark county and edgar county in the state of illinois and we've got a bumper crop of jefferson salamanders and there are a lot of biologists that are studying the lifestyle of that that little salamander it's kind of interesting and a lot of uh fishing opportunities you were telling me what uh yes what's the best to catch out here uh the red ear uh sunfish people love in and you can catch big red ear sunfish and crappie and bluegill too there are a lot of big bass i've been on the fisheries boat before where they were shocking up and doing their surveys of the bass so there are gigantic bass that are found even around the dam so there's some great fishing here it's a lot of fun and it's quiet and people really love to come out here and fish what would you say is the busiest time of year for lincoln trail we're getting ready to start getting into that busy time of the year um in september and october when the weather starts to cool off that's when people really love to come out here and hike and they love to see the fall colors and they love to camp and then the water temperatures start to cool off and that's when a lot of folks come out here and catch a lot of fish they do in the early spring too and early spring april through early june this park is really active and really busy and beautiful wildflowers everywhere and so just throughout the year in general what type of maybe programs or events should people kind of mark in their calendar ahead of time we do have a kids fishing rally that is usually in june mid-june i don't know the date of it coming up this year but last year where i think we had 55 kids come out and there's a lot of people from the community here in marshall that that donate a ton of things lures fishing poles and all kinds of stuff and you know the restaurant donates food for this as well so the kids have a hot dog they fish for a while and they have a really good time so that's one thing that we do we do a lot with the schools here in marshall we have a earth day in the park program for the high school kids and then for the sixth grade they all come out all of them come out and we have about eight different stations and we get biologists and experts sometimes from all around the state that will give them a 20-minute program of what they do and what they can see in the park and just talk about the natural sciences and earth day as well and they kind of plant that seed so that the kids know how important it is to take care of their environment to when you bring something into a park to take it back out is it really cool for you to see these uh these younger kids maybe get some of their first taste of the outdoors at lincoln trail that's the most gratifying thing i do here is when i when i talk to school kids and give presentations i enjoy that a lot more than anything else and i hope that when we give our presentations that there might be two or three kids out of the 150 that we talked to that day that would want to be a biologist or want to get into natural sciences and and you know kind of help heal the ears definitely and if there are um people who are watching who are interested in potentially giving back to lincoln trail or wanting to get more involved is there any programs they can take advantage of to do that we um there is a group of people that are trying to start a friends of lincoln trail and that would be a non-for-profit group that would just basically act as a advocate for the park and also as a fundraising arm so that there might be some some good things that that they can donate to the park in the future and and just you know have the community help to support the park for years to come and how long have you been at lincoln trail i've been here eight years going on nine november first is when i started in 2012. well almost happy anniversary thank you for when we are taping this and in that time what maybe changes or things have you seen come to the park anything the the biggest change is that we do a lot of prescription burns here in the park and for a long time this this area didn't burn that much or maybe parts of it did but the more that our biologists and up-and-coming biologists have learned about prescription burning the more we're applying it here to the park and to get rid of non-native shrubs and non-native plants in the park and bring back an ecosystem it requires fire fire has been a part of this ecosystem for thousands and thousands of years so we've added fire back into the landscape here at the park and there are areas where you can definitely see it and in the spring you'll see tens of thousands of wildflowers where we burned in the fall so that's that's the one thing that i think we did our first prescription burn on day nine that i was here and uh there was an area actually right behind us the oak ridge area that had never burned before and it was just an incredible burn it was a very hot burn but the results that we saw in the spring and in the summer were just astounding and we're still continuing that today and getting rid of the non-native shrubs that uh you know shade out all of our native plants and i think one of the coolest things that lincoln trail kind of offers or keeps up on is social media so that a lot of the people can follow up and keep tabs on what you all are doing out here how important is it to you to kind of build that online community to then get them to the real outdoor community well i i kind of started that during the pandemic because i i like to lead wildflower walks and bird walks and stuff and then when the pandemic came and for two months i think we were closed i just i don't know the nervousness in me i just felt like i had to do something so i started doing these these videos and i have a cousin that works for the movie industry in california and he started giving me tips and started telling me different things i needed to do and uh and then it just took off from there and it's just a lot of fun to do that you know it's like a two minute video and people will get a little bit more informed and if they can share that you know some of the videos that we put on the facebook page you know people see in canada and in other countries in japan and places like that so it's it's interesting so that everybody can see how nice lincoln trail is and before we wrap up is there anything else besides our trailer we're going to talk about in a minute uh that we didn't hit about the park that you'd like to talk about um well i've been studying botany for my entire life and this park has not disappointed me the different shrubs that we have here native shrubs native plants it's just astounding it's like an oasis and you know surrounded by a sea of corn and beans yeah uh but it it is just incredible in our you know our beautiful oak trees and hazelnut trees and such i mean you know this this park is just uh fantastic for that and if i'm a wildflower gal what uh what kind of wildflowers do you have lurking around here wow there's a lot uh and and i find new ones every year too this is the time of the year where there's a lot of asters that are in bloom and and we've got i think at least 10 different species of asters grown in this park and then one of the asters i did a video on it the other day the new england aster that's going to be blooming into november in some of our sunnier areas so that that's really neat to see but oak ridge is a great place to go in the spring to see the spring wildflowers certain areas they have the shooting star and other plants that are just incredible wild ginger blood root all kinds of really neat plants and you see a whole ton of them and so it's a neat thing to see well it sounds like there is something for everybody out here at lincoln trail state park and so we're going to take a quick break do a little transitioning to the air strip trail yes and give you a great look at that so don't go anywhere hiking is a great way to exercise and explore the world around you but before you hit the trail it's important to know exactly what you're walking into the pros recommend you only take on a hike that you can handle at your personal fitness level you won't have fun if you're pushing yourself harder than your body can handle try to let someone know when and where you'll be hiking if you don't return when they expect you to they can take steps sooner to launch a search knowing the location and how long the hike will take is crucial as well you shouldn't set out on an all-day trek without making sure you have enough water food and supplies to last the whole day make sure you're aware of the weather conditions and be prepared for them to change remember you can never be too prepared when going for a hike taking these factors into consideration will help you have a better experience on the trail after a short trip in the rtv we have made it to the airstrip trail and tom hintz is going to give us the grand tour via the best way four wheels let's go well the main part of the trail is 2.62 miles and there's a little shortcut for people that might not be able to walk the whole trail so when you combine all of it and plus the little uh spur that takes you up to the the cyberley prairie it's a little over three miles so if you you want to come out and get a good run this would be a great place this summer within two months we covered the entire trail the entire expanse of it with rock so that it'd be a more pleasurable experience for you and all this was done through what we call an rtp project which is called the the regional trails projects and that's money that comes from the federal government through idot and they give it to the idnr to do other trail projects so we're still working on more things on this it's taken a while to get it all done materials are hard to come by especially lumber due to the pandemic but um this is uh this is really taking shape now and so yeah this used to be places where people landed planes which is crazy so as we're driving this a little bit can you talk a little bit more about the history of uh like you said things have really grown up here um you wouldn't expect people to land at planes here so what's the history behind it i think it was in uh 1955 or 1954 is when they had the license to be able to have an air landing strip and uh in in from the stories that i heard is that they set this here that to have the landing strip in case the governor ever wanted to fly from springfield and land here uh to do things press conferences what have you but uh that i'm not really too sure about uh but the they continued to have planes landing on the airstrip until the early 80s is when they said that it uh it was time to to stop with that and probably maybe it just ran its course so i've got to make sure that i'm driving slow here sure thing um but a lot of people love to come out to this trail and go for a hike especially on a day like today a lot of people that train for triathlons and stuff they'll come here to uh they'll come here to train for different running races and triathlons and such so it's a nice thing to have and it's just a a beautiful trail to have for the community here it's uh it'll take you a good you know hour or two to get through the whole trail at times and even longer if you're trying to take in the the diverse plants or the birding yes exactly and there are a lot of bird species that you can see here and uh eventually we're gonna have some more benches in here that's part of the project that we want to put in some benches where you'll be able to come come out here and just sit down and just listen to nature for a while and that that's a lot of people need to do that not enough people get out into natural areas and just sit and listen and don't do anything we're all wired to be looking at our phones and constantly having some sort of stimulation i think sometimes we all just need to come out and just sit down and not say anything and be quiet for a couple hours just slow down exactly on this trail you were telling me that uh in the past they used to have some sort of a fun competition with the planes yes yeah there was a club i think that had you know like single planes and stuff and uh they put an x on the landing strip and they would take sacks of flour and try to throw it out the window and see who can get close to you know the the x kind of like a dive bombing type of a thing uh so that that's kind of an interesting story uh you know it's uh i don't know how many people in the area still remember that or how many people uh uh actually participated that in the area but it's just kind of a neat story to bring up the the uh white flower that we see here that's all white snake root and there's a long story about the white snake root um if cattle were to eat that plant the milk that the mother cow would produce would be infected and it would kill the calves or it could even kill a human being nowadays our dairy farms are all grain fed and they're all in a pretty controlled environment so we don't really have too many dairy cows that graze in forests anymore but there's two stories to it and it involves abraham lincoln that this plant changed the course of history that it was either abraham lincoln's mother that drank milk infected from this and she died or also there's another story about abraham lincoln was dating a young woman in new salem illinois and that young woman's mother drank the milk infected from this plant and she died and then that young woman had to go back to the east coast with family and then later abraham lincoln met mary todd and she became mary todd lincoln and she was the one who really pushed abraham lincoln into politics so it's funny how a plant can change the course of world history though wow yeah and it's it's everywhere here and it once you burn a lot of times the white snake root just kind of takes over for a while but then it fades back and other plants take its place and so it's it's a native plant it's a little invasive at first it's a opportunistic from some of the disturbances but it starts to fade back it's it's not a problem all right ready onward and upward here we go so yeah there's several of these ponds here in the park i think this was an actual just a this was a uh like a watering hole for cattle or pigs or something like that there was a farmstead kind of close to here and um then somehow they found the jefferson salamander out here and the illinois natural history survey based out of champagne comes out here several times a year and monitors their the health of the population and we we got a lot of them out here which is great and again only two counties in the state of illinois uh has them recorded and we're one of them so we've wrapped up our grand tour of the airstrip trail we end with a little wildlife little wildflowers behind me and we want to thank tom hintz for the grand tour of lincoln trail today we hope you'll join us for our next episode of take a hike [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] take a hike on weiu is supported by rural king america's farm and home store camping supplies kayaks fishing and pet supplies and more find your store and more information regarding rural king at ruralking.com