[Music] [Music] if you're after a change in scenery just head north I'm Wu's Lacy Spence and in this episode I'll share why you should take a hike to Star Brock State Park take a hike on weiu is supported by R king America's Farm and Home Store camping supplies kayaks fishing and pet supplies and more find your store and more information regarding ring at ring.com hi I'm Wei's Lacy 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 too far to find the beauty of the Great Outdoors come along with me as I visit a variety of parks and natural areas across Illinois and share why you should take a hike to each episode's location adventure and fun await in take a hike the miniseries thank you for joining us for the final episode of season 3 of take a hike the miniseries I'm your host Lacy Spence and today we have headed up north we are at starrock State Park and we have a fabulous guest with us here Miss Lisa would you please introduce yourself your title and what you do here I'm Lisa Suns I am the natural resource coordinator for Star Rock State Park and mat State Park we're part of region one for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources wonderful so in that what do you kind of do um in the day-to-day operations I manage The Visitor Center the State Park Visitor Center it is a great place to visit to help you plan out your trip especially with Trail suggestions you can view our exhibits and displays and learn a little bit more about the park before you hit the trails I also put together our programs and events all of them are free by the way thanks to the state and also thanks to funding from our friends group The Star Rock Foundation I manage and train volunteers that help in the visitor center as well as hike leaders and with some of our children programming and I helped design the displays and Exhibits and Trail signage out here at the park so it's kind of a catchall say my goodness here Jill of all trades wearing all of the hats uh so as we're heading out here today um we're based in Central Illinois so as we're driving north you know we notice things starting to get a little bit hilly and um as we drove into the park noticing there are canyons along the river so is that kind of the main like draw to Star roock yes this is the only area in the midwest where you can find continuous set of 18 Canyons all within hiking distance so that is the main draw for visitors here at the park especially 2.5 million visitors a year we have recently been rated in the top 10 with National Park standards and we are compared to Glacier National Park in Montana Joshua Tree National Park in California as well as Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah wow those are some high honors how's it feel feels good right it feels very good we are proud and we do the best that we can with what we have here at the park and most of our demographic are from Chicago and the suburbs but our sign-in book at The Visitor Center definitely showcases that we are known worldwide we get visitors on a weekly basis from other countries throughout the world wow that is so so exciting just to think um and for us I mean it was 2 and a half three hour drive but that's still very doable for a day trip or a long weekend so when people are coming out here um Trails we are just off of one of the trails here are there any that you'd like to start with to kind of highlight and talk about yes so we have Trail suggestions posted both on the DNR website as well as our main map in front of the visitor center and within the visitor center so you can plan before you head out to the park by visiting the website and downloading those Trail suggestions or you can come in and say hi to us at the visitor center and we'll help you those Trail suggestions are for everyone whether you are an avid hiker and you want to spend all day at the park we have 13 miles of trails here at star rock alone or if you just want a short Excursion maybe you just want to stretch your legs and you're on a longer road trip we have a trail suggestion from just 6 miles round trip from The Visitor Center to our namesake starve Rock which is a Sandstone but above the river or we have our only Loop in the Park which is the Wildcat Canyon Loop and it takes you out one mile to Wildcat Canyon also includes French Canyon and then brings you back along the scenic overlooks over the Illinois River such as beehive Eagle Cliff and lovers Lea and that's 2 mile roundt trip and so you're saying all of the other trails are out in backs basically it's a very linear trail system that follows along the river and primarily heads East from The Visitor Center there is one trail system that does Head West and you can pick that up from either the lodge or the visitor center and that heads out to our furthest Canyon um to the West which is is St Louis Canyon and so I'm not especially familiar with all national park systems but I just have to ask there's a I believe an interstate or a highway that runs through the park or along the park how does that kind of work yes we are flanked on the south by Route 71 and that connects over to Ottawa on our east side and that will connect to Route 23 which takes you to Interstate 80 that's how quite a few of our visitors come to visit the park some will also take Interstate 80 or route 39 to connect to Route 178 which brings you from the north side of the park through udica and across the Illinois River to our West entrance so 178 flanks us on the west and so um in a little bit we are going to go down into Wildcat Canyon so let's let's save that for later but uh you had mentioned St Louis Canyon that is your deepest canyon correct yes St Louis Canyon is roughly 110 feet deep the waterfall which is Springfed usually is around 80 plus feet whereas Wildcat Canyon's waterfall is the tallest waterfall at 90 feet that's impressive and um are there any of the other Canyons that you kind of like to highlight I mean we'd love to hit them all just so people know what what they should check out while they're here so there are eight Canyons out of the 18 total okay that the public has access to okay we're not hiding any Canyons or forbiding anyone you know saying no you can't see that the reason why there are only eight that are accessible is because the other 10 there's no feasible way to build a safe Trail or walkway into those canyons and those eight are St Louis Aurora French Wildcat LEL soon tonti we do have a capital development program going on that will restore the tonti bridge and then we go down into Ottawa casasia and Illinois Canyon gotcha so uh can you tell us a little bit about the uh I believe it is it the overhang the council overhang yes um please tell us a little bit about that because I've seen pictures and I hope to show viewers you know what that looks like too and it seems like it would be a big draw it is believe it or not every year we are approached by musicians specifically a drum circle and they play in Council overhang and Council over hang is a natural stone feature it's called an Al Cove you can just think of taking an ice cream scoop and you're scooping out of that fresh container of ice cream and you're leaving a divot you can just imagine a large ice cream scoop yeah carving out that sandstone and creating Council overhang that Al Cove and it it's a natural Amphitheater so it amplifies sound you can imagine what that drum circle sounds like when they're out here at the park and Council overhang has quite a bit of History including that it was once used as an indigenous Rock shelter for the archaic and for the paleoarchaic time period which dates back to 10,000 years ago then in the historic and even into the Mississippian time periods it was used as a conference area for local tribes because it naturally amplifies your voice so you don't have to do the hollering so much you don't have to the hollering and a lot of photographers enjoy Council overhang because if you stand at the very back of the AL Cove facing out towards the woodlands it frames the different seasons so we have pictures from winter and fall that just pop because that natural Sandstone provides that framing almost like you're looking from the inside of a snow globe out oh that sounds so pretty um I assume there's not a bad time a year to visit starv Rock but uh can you kind of walk us through the different seasons maybe what different things people could experience so winter we'll start off with with January and go through the year okay our winter season it does quiet down here at the park but you have to be prepared for winter hiking State Park trails are natural meaning that we do not salt or plow or shovel those Trails so the only trails that are actually maintained are those that are closest to the building such as the star Rock Lodge Park maintenance and the park office and Visitor Center when you get further away from those areas you're going to need to have your snow boots on and a traction device such as yak tracks or micro cleats not the larger cleats because those degrade the sandstone and those will help attraction as well as ski poles or walking boots definitely dress in layers but hiking in those situations are rewarded at the end because more and more bald eagles flock into the area because they're looking for food fish and the Lock and Dam right here at starve Rock actually provides a free fish buffet for them when the rest of the river is frozen over when we have a lot of precipitation from the previous fall those waterfalls will freeze over into ice Falls and rock climbing is not allowed anywhere in the state park but ice climbing by professionals with their own gear and they have to fill out a form and a signin log is available and visitors do enjoy watching those Ice Climbers in several of our Canyons such as Wildcat LEL and Ottawa Canyons so that's winter say that's just like January February we also have our ego watch weekend that happens at the end of January every year and that's between the star rock Lodge the starrock state park as well as Illinois Waterway Visitor Center across the river from us that's operated by the US Army Corp of Engineers so that's that's one of our largest events spring spring is one of my favorite Seasons here at the park because to me it's similar to I spy you're going out and you're looking for what's popping up out of the ground with those warmer temperatures and I'm in search of spring ephemerals or our spring wild flowers such as trout lily blood root hepatica and bellwart I enjoy springing because it's still somewhat quiet at the park the trails aren't congested just yet and it can be muddy so you want to prepare to have the appropriate Footwear okay I definitely recommend waterproof hiking boots still dressing in layers because spring just like fall it's very cold in the morning then it warms up in the afternoon and then it'll get colder again in the evening but we also do get quite a few reports in Spring of babies so whether it's baby birds baby chipmunks baby squirrels sometimes there's even sightings of baby deer turkey and fox summer summer kicks off our busy tourism season typically starts Memorial Day and extends all the way through the beginning of October and and that is not for the faint-hearted summertime do you will experience congested trails and we just ask visitors have fun enjoy nature while you're here be polite to other visitors on the trail everybody's out to relax and enjoy themselves get away from all the hustle and bustle and if you want more of an experience where you're not fighting the congestion or the packed parking lots I would recommend coming earlier in the morning okay both parks starrock and mat open at 7:00 a.m. in the morning and then they close at Sunset meaning the trails you have to be off the trails by Sunset so either coming first thing in the morning before 10:00 a.m. or arriving later in the day after 4:00 p.m. fall fall is another favorite season of mine mhm fall we start to see the leaves changing color and and typically fall Peak here at star rock hits around the second to third week of October again this isn't something where I pull out you know the magic eightball and shake it and ask what are the colors going to change it it's something that's more um dependent upon temperature and the previous growing season including how many days of sunshine how many days of precipitation did we receive sure fall we we tend to be quite busy on the weekends because everyone wants to see those vibrant colors I mean my favorite color is green obviously I work in a state park and but fall I do appreciate the changing of that season because you're seeing so many other colors that are camouflaged through the growing season now being able to shine such as your yellows your Golds your rust your orange your Reds and even your purples and I know that's what attracts visitors here in the fall they do enjoy seeing those and I enjoy seeing the school kids because they'll come through the visitor center and they have either their arms full or their hands full with their little leaf collection oh goodness and typically in a state park or national park we always say leave no Trace right you know take only memories leave only Footprints but if it's a leaf already fallen on the floor in the fall we do allow school children to collect those leaves for their little projects and that basically sums it up for our Seasons here at the park there's something for everyone every time of year and we do have a lot of repeat visitors that enjoy the area definitely well thank you for such a a nice overview because I feel like folks could say well I could visit in this month or in this month or oh that sounds good to me um you mentioned earlier talking about the waterfalls now sometimes there's uh you know drought conditions and we can't always catch those by chance is there a better time of year to maybe see when one is active or is it just kind of a luck of the draw there was a big rain and I I made it in that is a very great question and that is a question that we receive quite often at the park office and the visitor center the best time to view those waterfalls is in Spring okay March through May because that is when we get the most precipitation in our area and our canyons are are dependent upon that rainfall to develop those waterfalls over the canyon Edge and into the Illinois River so definitely March through early may they do dry out in the summer right now we are on a three-year drought for low County which is where we're located MH and our waterfalls dried out this year end of June gotcha but if we have a steady week of rainfall for UDA or Oglesby Illinois that is the time to come out and check out to see if it generated any of those waterfalls so there might be a chance usually St Louis and Lal Canyon are two of the Canyons that will show that rainfall first so as we're heading towards our last couple of minutes um I know you've covered a wide array of things but is there anything that you haven't talked about that we really should be talking about I would say most of our visitors that are coming to the park are are usually ask asking for a paper map or what is the best trail are the waterfalls flowing and I always recommend that they follow our Facebook page star rock and mat State Park I do all the updates on that page and we have gone paperfree here at the park 2.5 million visitors a year I was going through 500,000 Maps a year the trees and most of those Maps were finding their way onto the trail system as litter garbage cans or in the parking lot so you don't need a paper map here at the park the great thing about star rock is that every Trail intersection parking lot and trail head has a large stationary map complete with all the information and even a yellow Ur here Dot and those also correspond with Brown Trail signs that list the features you're approaching with directional arrows so you know I'm approaching this Canyon or I'm heading to that Overlook and they'll be consecutive leading you out and Trail markers are present on the trail system green if you are a canyon seeker and a waterfall Seeker you're going to stay on those green Trails because that means you're on an interior Canyon or connecting Trail Brown Bluff which we are on right now we're above the canyon and Red River Trail you're following along the river and those overlooks yellow dot means you're heading further out when you're tired you need that ice cold drink or meal from the lodge or you want to get back to your parked car in the air conditioning think of the White Flag as surrender and you're going to look for the white dots on the tra Trail markers and trees other than that stop in at The Visitor Center we're always happy to help that we have excellent displays and Exhibits and artifacts that explain the history and geology of the park and we have a movie theater system for those that might have Mobility issues or aren't used to hiking or aren't used to the plethora of staircases here at the park they can watch a short film that will give them a taste of the park and I feel like visitor centers I mean not to say they get a bad rep but they're just under appreciated because really a lot of the knowledge that you seek is often right there before you even get started yes I agree well wonderful okay so we are about to um transition from here we're going to head down into Wild cat Canyon so don't go anywhere take a hike we'll be right back [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] and we're back we have made it to the bottom of Wildcat Canyon after a couple minute Trek with all of our gear and Lisa is still here with us now Lisa uh you're telling me that there is obviously a lot of history you're just looking at it the geologic past so can you kind of walk us through how these structures form so many visitors when they come to the park they don't realize that they're actually walking on both a historical and Geological timeline here at the park when I take groups out on a guided hike or School field trips I like to take them back in time so we travel back in time whether they're a doctor who fan with a tardis or not and I usually say we're traveling back 460 million years ago 460 million years ago what we know of as the state of Illinois looked quite different and we'd also need a sun umbrella some major SPF and probably are swimsuits because Illinois was actually stationed just south of the Equator and the Sandstone that we see today was formed back then because Illinois was part of an ancient Shoreline next to a very shallow ancient sea and over years and years and years the motion of those waves broke up Rock particles wash them up onto the shore as sand and each year a new layer of sand was deposited now once you have layer upon layer upon layer that weight compresses down and creates a sedimentary rock such as the Sandstone that we're seeing today this is an example of that ancient Shoreline this is St Peter sandstone and St Peter's Sandstone is a silica sand it is a very fine grade think baby powder fine okay it's not your typical sandbox sand this is one of the reasons why we don't allow rock climbing at the park or going off Trail because that Sandstone will not support your weight on those edges and Falls do happen here at the park so stay on the trails please yeah and then we can fast forward from 460 million years ago when that sand was deposited to 14,000 years ago 14,000 years years ago clothing change wardrobe change we would be wearing a parka some snow boots yeah and we'd be walking on an ice sheet a mile thick this is part of the last glaciation period the last ice age the Wiscon Wisconsin era yeah and this ice sheet spread all the way from North of Us Canada Chicago down south into present day Bloomington Illinois that ice sheet also took away a lot of the remnants such as our Limestone caps from that shallow sea because limestone is fossilized animal shells basically the corals the clams the broop pods things like that so 14,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago we had a warming climate so temperature change something that is still happening today and during that temperature change a lot of the Flora and Fauna changed a lot of the sprues and some of the Pines even some of the animals moved further north whereas a lot of the grasslands were moving into this area because we are part of the Grand Prairie region of Illinois even though you can't tell because we're in the middle of a canyon but 10,000 years ago due to that warming climate what do you think happens to ice it melts it melts where's all that water going to go well that water came gushing through in several areas of Illinois and right here in the star rock region it came gushing through into the Illinois Valley shaping different creeks and rivers and also creating some of the first waterfalls coming over these Sandstone Bluffs can you imagine being able to go back in time and seeing those waterfalls and the magnitude back then compared to today and today the movement of water winds even our own foot traffic in time time are still shaping the Canyons they're still moving further back not to the same depth or Pace that they did 10,000 years ago sure but they are still moving in their own way and so where we're standing today you were telling me that at certain points of the year um we could be standing in some water yes so we are dry for this time of year but typically the water is already up in this area and usually there's a Creek Running along this Eastern edge of the canyon out to the Illinois River there is a bridge further down that connects those two Trails so you can cross that Creek spring we typically do see flooding in this area where our Visitor Center is in the main parking lot today is part of the Paleo channel of the Illinois River so when the river comes out of its flood Banks it does tend to come into that parking lot lot oh man but I will have those posted on the Facebook page if we ever do have to shut down for flood light conditions but like I said earlier we're on a three-year drought for lisal County so we have not had any of those issues recently well Lisa thank you so much for coming on take a hike you've been a wealth of knowledge you've you've showed us the you know Grand Tour and um yeah just thank you so much for being here today I appreciate it welcome thank you for having me of course and we thank our viewers for joining us for this season of take a hike and we hope that you'll enjoy the outdoors respect nature and uh we'll see you in the the next season hopefully of take a hike the minies [Music] [A.. [Music] [Applause] [Music] take a hike on weiu is supported by R king America's Farm and Home Store camping supplies kayaks fishing and pet supplies and more find your store and more information information regarding ring at ring.com