Starved Rock State Park is a gorgeous area on the edge of the Illinois River. Visit for the sandstone formations and scenic overlooks!
We love a gorge. Big ones like New River Gorge in West Virginia. Narrow ones filled with waterfalls, like Watkins Glen in New York. Of course, there are the slot canyons out west. Fantastic, all of them.
Add to that list one for the Midwest: Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. Its layers upon layers of eroded stone are just so visually stunning, and extra fun to hike through.
Starved Rock is in north-central Illinois, a couple of hours outside Chicago. Here's a glimpse at the park!
What is there to do?
First, let's establish that there are a couple of things that are not permitted in the park. Rock climbing and swimming/wading are prohibited at all times.
You'll most likely want to do some hiking while you're here. There are over 13 miles of easy to moderate trails. Some of them involve multiple sets of staircases.
Starting your hike from the Visitor Center will allow you to explore towards the larger east side of the park in a fairly linear format. With the addition of some trail spurs, you can see around a dozen different canyons before doubling back.
Taking this approach, the canyon farthest from the Visitor Center is a 4.7-mile hike, one-way.
(Some of the individual canyon trailheads can also be accessed from other dedicated parking areas if you want shorter spurts of hiking.)
Bear in mind that creek levels and waterfall activity will be hugely dependent on the weather. If there hasn't been a big rainfall or snowmelt, you might not see much water.
You could also choose to take the river trail, which connects multiple gorgeous overlooks high above the Illinois River.
The river trail has several connecting points to the canyon trails too. Essentially, you can create your own route in this park, going from the river side to the canyon side and back again. After a couple miles of this, it turns into just one trail.
A smaller trail section west of the visitor center traverses four more canyons.
Throughout 2026, trail improvements are being made, which may mean that portions of the route get closed down temporarily.
What else can you do around the park? You can kayak on the Illinois River (by yourself or on a guided tour). You can take a river cruise (lunch or sunset timings are available).
During the winter, ice climbing is allowed in a few of the canyons if the park has determined that conditions are favorable. You must sign in and out for this activity at the Park Maintenance Building.
The lodge offers a number of trolley (bus) tours that can take you around the area to look for bald eagles or other winter wildlife, or to check out other area attractions.
Other than that, just keep an eye on the park's events page for art workshops, special guided hikes, and other programs scheduled throughout the year.
Lodging at Starved Rock State Park
There's a large park campground, part of which is open year-round. It tends to be popular in peak season, so advance reservations are best, although walk-ins are also allowed.
The campground has bath houses and a camp store that's open seasonally.
The lodge also has rooms available (there's a historic CCC-built wing, as well as a more modern one). There's an indoor pool, hot tub, and saunas.
You can also book one of several historic 1930's-era cabins, all furnished and having their own bathrooms.
What's Available for Food?
The lodge restaurant is open all day (with a special brunch buffet on Sunday) and takes reservations. But wait, there's more!
You can get cocktails or craft beer from the Back Door Lounge, outdoor dining (and live music on some summer evenings) at The Veranda, and a quick breakfast, lunch, or artisan ice cream at the Starved Rock Cafe.
Hikers in need of a snack or light lunch can get something at the snack bar over at the Visitor Center.
If you prefer to get something as you're heading into or out of the park, there are several other restaurants a few minutes outside the park in the direction of Oglesby or North Utica.
Starved Rock is definitely one of Illinois' most scenic parks. Let us know which canyons or overlooks were your favorite!
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