You don’t discover southeastern Illinois from the Interstate or while looking for a McDonald’s. There are no fast lanes here and the nearest McDonald’s is 25 miles away.
The state’s least populated counties, Hardin (5,383) and Pope (4,404), nestle side-by-side here, along the Ohio River, and 360 miles from Chicago. The Shawnee National Forest, 290,000 acres spanning the southern tip of Illinois, dominates the landscape–and can bring time to a screeching halt.
After all, who could recite long “things to-do” lists standing amid acres of rolling hills and hardwood forests, rock formations of awesome dimension and vistas dotted with bluffs, hollows and creeks?
A common refrain heard while showing city-dwellers photographs of the area is: “That’s not Illinois, is it?”
It is. And the National Forest Service has even designated a 70-mile National Scenic Byway through the area. Called Shawnee Hills on the Ohio; it is the first such route in Illinois.
The byway is a paved two-lane road with access to some attractions running along gravel roads. It starts on Ill. Highway 34, five miles south of Harrisburg.
Begin the journey with a byway map, available at Forest Service headquarters on the south edge Harrisburg. (Maps are in a case by the front door after office hours.)
Three miles down a gravel road, near the hamlet of Herod, is Williams Hill–Illinois’ second highest point at 1,064 feet above sea level, but not worth the dust. Trees obscure the view.
Instead, head south of Herod, where the byway turns onto Karbers Ridge Road for a trip back in time.
On the corner is Shaffer’s Grocery, a old-time country general store. Outside, they sell gasoline, propane and firewood. Inside, proprietor Monie Shaffer has tables where you can sip coffee or eat a made-to-order sandwich. She also has tourist materials.
Further down Karbers Ridge Road is the Garden of the Gods, the most spectacular area on the trip.
“There are very unique rock formations that are just fantastic,” said Pat Welch a recreational planner for the Forest Service.
The Shawnee Hills are millions of years old. Wind, rain and melting glaciers have carved out ancient uplifts from the limestone and sandstone formations.
Garden of the Gods has a half-mile trail overlooking a pristine 3,300-acre wilderness tract. Changing leaves flow in the fall like a massive patchwork of red, yellow, brown and green. Sunsets from this vantage point are breathtaking.
The area includes a picnic grove, 12-site camping area and easy access to wilderness hiking paths.
Continue on the byway to the Country Cream, a family-run ice cream stand under tall, hillside pines. It’s near Karbers Ridge, a sparse town with a post office half the size of a suburban garage. There, Postmistress Golden Rogers dispenses stamps and greets most patrons by name.
Two miles north up a gravel road sits High Knob, a rarely crowded picnic area with a magnificent vista. Further east, the byway winds through heavy forest. Watch for the occasional whitetailed deer or wild turkey.
At the Rim Rock and Pounds Hollow complex, a circular path winds through a cedar plantation along the edge of an escarpment–a plug of rock thrust up from the earth.
At one end are the remains of a wall natives built thousands of years ago to defend themselves.
“Pounds Hollow has a small lake, a summer swimming beach, picnic areas and campgrounds,” Welch said. Want exercise? You can rent a paddle boat.
The byway then leads to Illinois Highway 1 then south 12 miles to Cave-in–Rock (pop. 400), named for a large cave in a bluff east of town visible from the Ohio River.
French explorer M. de Lery first mentioned the cave in 1729. It later became notorious as a haven for bandits who preyed on travelers.
Today, the natives are friendlier.
Across the river on the Kentucky side, a large Amish community in Crittenden County is accessible via a free river ferry. On the Illinois side, the 200-acre Cave-in-Rock State Park has picnic areas, a lodge and restaurant.
“There are four duplexes you can rent,” said Hardin County Board Chairman Skip Brownfield, who works at the park. Rooms are $58 per night.
Heading toward Elizabethtown, the Hardin County seat, is Tower Rock– the highest point along the river and a delightful spot for watching river barges.
” people have never seen anything like these hills,” Brownfield said. “We see the river as something that raises up in the springtime and floods us, but visitors see the boats and enjoy watching them.”
Elizabethtown is home of the Rose Hotel that’s high above the Ohio. Now closed for renovation, it had been the state’s longest operating hotel.
Across the street is the River Rose Inn, a charming five-room bed and breakfast in a Greek Gothic mansion. Rooms range from $59 to $90.
A few miles away is Rosiclare, the fluorite mining capital of the U.S. The industry has seen better days; today just one mine operates. But a Fluorite Museum is being built in Rosiclare to chronicle the history of the Illinois state mineral. Local stores sell specimens of the crystal.
Between Rosiclare and Golconda, the seat of Pope County, you pass San Damiano, a Catholic retreat center with cottages that rent for $50 to $78. Located above the Ohio on carefully manicured grounds, it is open to all adults.
The new marina in Golconda rents boats; the downtown is designated a national historic district.
“This area is truly a diamond in the rough,” said Don Phillips, mayor of Elizabethtown and chairman of the Hardin Rural Development Council that promotes tourism.
“The climate is a real plus; it is typically 15 or 20 degrees warmer in the winter months than Chicago,” Phillips said. “It makes the area enjoyable and useable year around.”
Come January, the only thing warmer may be Phillips’ invitation:
“If you have an appreciation of nature and you are looking for the way that things used to be, this is a very lovely place.”
DETAILS ON THE BYWAY
Getting there: From Chicago take Interstate Highway 57 south to Exit 71 (Illinois Highway 13) then east to Benton. At the Courthouse Square pick up Ill. Highway 34 through Harrisburg to the National Forest Service Scenic Byway, which begins on Illinois 34 just south of Mitchellsville. It is a six-hour drive.
Getting around: The National Scenic Byway is a good two-lane hard surface road. Watch for deer, which are plentiful and stray onto the highways.
When to go: Locals say the best time to visit is in the fall when the leaves are turning color. The height of the color change is the third week in October. But the area is delightful year around.
Information: The National Forest Service will send maps call 800-699-6637. For a Hardin County tourism brochure and map call 618-287-8811 or write to P.O. Box 78, Elizabethtown, Ill. 62931.
