Starved Rock State Park

A glacial flood, the Kankakee Torrent of some 14,000 to 19,000 years ago, cut through the St Peter sandstone here, leaving many narrow canyons running back from the Illinois River, several with waterfalls at their heads that flow after rain and snowmelt and dry up in summer. In January those falls freeze into ice columns that climbers use under permit and that draw large numbers of walkers. The name comes from a tradition, recorded later and not verified, that around 1769 a group of Illiniwek were besieged on the butte by the Ottawa and Potawatomi and starved; historians treat it cautiously. The park is heavily used - being under two hours from Chicago means summer and autumn weekends bring crowds that the trail system struggles with, and erosion from foot traffic is a management problem.

The landscape

• Sandstone canyons - cut by a glacial flood.
• Seasonal waterfalls - flowing after rain, dry in summer.
• Ice columns in January - climbed under permit.
• The butte the park is named for - and a tradition historians question.

When to go

April to June for waterfalls; January for ice. A full day.

Good to know

Waterfalls are dry for much of the summer. Weekends bring severe crowding and full lots. Trails are eroded and closed in sections for repair. Ice on the wooden stairs in winter is a genuine hazard.

Nearby

Matthiessen State Park is adjacent; Ottawa is east.

Key facts