Starting this spring until fall, my friends and I have promised ourselves outdoor adventure every weekend. Last weekend we hiked the trails of Starved Rock State park which is about an hour and half away from Chicago. Starved Rock State Park is a hidden gem of the Midwest and known for its rugged canyons, scenic waterfalls and vivid foliage. The forest preserve is huge and the drive to the State park was very scenic. The lush mint lemon colored trees and red bud flowers on both the sides looked beautiful. I could see a lot of bikers enjoy their bike ride in the warm and sunny weather. We arrived at the park before noon and were all geared up and excited to trek and explore it.
We started our day with the Board walk trails, hiking uphill along the steep steps to reach the Lover’s leap which was the highest point of the park. It had a great panoramic view of the Illinois river, rock formations and forest preserve. Walking further down along the winding pathways by the river, we headed towards the Lasalle Canyon which was about two miles away. We enjoyed climbing tree tops in the perfectly breezy weather which kept us going towards the Canyon. We trekked for about 4 miles in all and were exhausted by the end, but it was all worth it when we caught a sight of the beautiful falls at the Lasalle Canyon. We relaxed by the flowing stream of water for a while and then made our way back to the visitor’s center.
Now that I loved this hiking experience at the Starved Rock State Park, I am even more excited to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park at Colorado during my long weekend travel at the end of this month. Do you love to hike? Which was your best hiking experience? Which other outdoor adventures do you enjoy?
May 6, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Loved it!
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May 6, 2015 at 6:36 pm
Me Tooo…. 🙂
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May 6, 2015 at 7:26 pm
Thank you Raagavi and Aayush 🙂 I am so glad you like it.
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May 6, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Loved this post. Another place that I should visit! I love to hike. Yosemite was the most beautiful place that I have ever hiked. I loved all of the waterfalls there!
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May 6, 2015 at 8:04 pm
You should definitely check out, it is beautiful 🙂 I have heard a lot about Yosemite. Can’t wait to visit that one , may be next year 🙂 Thank you Michelle for stopping by.
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May 6, 2015 at 8:32 pm
I hope that you get the chance to. Nothing short of amazing!
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May 7, 2015 at 12:57 am
Enjoyed reading. Yes hiking biking or even trekking is a great way to go 🙂 lovely pictures too.
That’s what I say is high energy living.
Thanks Niki.
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May 7, 2015 at 3:10 am
Thank you Dilip for your encouragement 🙂 Joining your journey and looking forward to read more of your stress free life living posts 🙂
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May 7, 2015 at 7:17 am
Ha ha that’s so cool 🙂
Have a lovely day.
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May 7, 2015 at 4:53 pm
I have lived in Northwest Indiana (just right outside Chicago) for about 12 years and I still haven’t made it to Starved Rock. This needs to change soon because I keep hearing many good things about it!
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May 7, 2015 at 4:57 pm
Oh you should definitely plan sometime this summer or fall. It is beautiful 🙂 I am soon going to visit the Indiana beach and state park too. I have heard a lot of great things about it. Thank you for stopping by.
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May 7, 2015 at 5:02 pm
It’s been a while since I went to Indiana Beach, but I remember loving the vibe of a smaller amusement park! The hike on the dunes is pretty awesome as well.
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May 7, 2015 at 5:16 pm
Can’t wait to check it out 🙂 Thanks Donna.
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May 8, 2015 at 8:26 pm
Looks like a wonderful hiking experience !
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May 8, 2015 at 9:24 pm
Oh it was great day, both breezy and warm, just perfect for hiking. Thank you Darwin for stopping by.
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May 9, 2015 at 5:31 am
Hiking every week with friends in beauty like this can be a very enjoyable promise to keep.
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May 10, 2015 at 3:55 am
Yes it is soo much fun and keeps us all dit too 🙂 Thank you Iva for stopping by.
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May 11, 2015 at 3:55 pm
I love your idea of doing an adventure every weekend. A great way to explore and try new things. Well I love trying most anything in the adventure area. As you know i love cycling, have done a lot of rock climbing and hiking. One of my favorite trips was rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
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May 11, 2015 at 4:02 pm
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences here. Rafting is such a fun outdoor activity 🙂 You are such an inspiration of outdoor activities. Keep it up 🙂
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May 12, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Looks awesome…adventure in such places is always going to be fantastic. On the tree you have made a point.
Inspiring post to planning something for my weekend.
😀
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May 12, 2015 at 5:59 pm
Thank you Nihar for stopping by 🙂 I am so glad you found my post motivating for your weekend plans.
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May 13, 2015 at 1:31 am
My pleasure.
😀
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May 17, 2015 at 10:24 am
Looks like a great hike! I love the spring / summer for hiking!
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May 18, 2015 at 3:11 am
Thank you Amanda 🙂 I had such a great time. We gotta go out and enjoy the next three months of summer 🙂
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August 11, 2015 at 5:35 am
Niki….really liked the fact that you have promised your friends to try a new adventure every weekend. I must admit that the promise with friends is a good strategy to take everyone out for doing something fun and enjoy nature. It appears that promise lead to this blog and other blogs yet to be covered by me. Loved your description of nature “The lush mint lemon colored trees and red bud flowers on both the sides looked beautiful”…you have got great talent to express what you see and experience , that goes without saying I guess. Great description of experience and activities done. Very nice clicks especially the waterfall and the one on tree. This blog should be posted on their web site to get more tourists. By the way, didn’t you find any lovers at Lover’s point…lolz…:)
Thank you for sharing and describing your experience in such beautiful words and encouraging us all to get out on weekends too ;). Your promise , pic with woods, love for nature and passion to travel reminded me one of my fav lines that I dedicate to you for now…
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
keep travelling and writing . Maybe one day our paths cross someday at some scenic spot.
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August 12, 2015 at 5:36 pm
Thanks for your kind words. Glad you like it 🙂
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September 20, 2015 at 4:46 am
Niki, so finally I got to go here today with 4 of my friends. Driving was fun and the trekking too. We went to Starved Rock, Lover’s Leap, Eagle Cliff Overlook, Wildcat Canyon and LaSsalle Canyon from where we started our return back to Visitor center. On way back, we stopped by at French Canyon which turned out to be best canyon (in our view) among all Canyons we saw. There was less or no water in most of the canyons but still Wildlife Canton and French Canyon were a delight to see. Mayb, next time we see water too and do some water sports such as Kayaking. Your inputs in blog had helped to plan the trip and shortlist what to cover while trekking 🙂
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September 21, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Ankit , oh wow what a coincidence, I was there yesterday at Matthiessen state park, right by the Starved Rock state park. I checked out the french canyon at Starved rock too. Weather this weekend was fab. I am so glad you had a great time there. Looks like you guys did a pretty long hike too. Thank you for your kind words 🙂
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September 22, 2015 at 5:55 am
what a coincidence !!! I did notice Matthiessen state park and few other State Parks while driving, didn’t know you were near Starved Rock else would have stopped by….lolz…maybe next time when you plan something in city or nearby, feel free to invite and be the knowledgeable travel Guide….m open to Donwtown biking too 🙂 yet to be done…..ya weather was good. I could have walked more but then majority wins..;)…
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September 22, 2015 at 3:02 pm
Sure. Enjoy last few days of summer!
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