Starved Rock State Park

It was a great day for a weekend excursion to Starved Rock State Park near Utica, Illinois. The Chicago forecast was for mostly cloudy skies and temperatures near 70; but Utica, about 60 miles west experienced cloudless skies and temperatures into the mid 70's.
srock_leap

Starved Rock got it's name from an event that took place between the Illiniwek Indians and Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes in the 1700's. Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa tribe, was killed by the Illiniwek. Battles began to avenge his death and a group of Illiniwek Indians climbed up the sandstone cliff now known as Starved Rock to seek refuge. The Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes surrounded them and fought until the Illiniwek group starved to death.

srock_river
The views from the top of Starved Rock, Lover's Leap and other buttes are great, but the hike to get to them is difficult if you have a toddler with a stroller!

srock_stairs

The Illinois River runs along the edge of the park, providing great views, fishing and the reason Fort St. Louis was established by the French on top of Starved Rock in 1682-83. It's easy to see why this point was chosen, the butte allows views both up and down the river for miles.

srock_view

This is a definite destination for our next Summer, Fall and Winter hiking, the canyons, streams and waterfalls (after a rain) are great.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

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