It's weird to see sand dunes and cacti in central Illinois, but that's what's going on here. They're not large Sahara dunes or anything, but the regular black soil of Illinois has been replaced with sand in this area, which adds an interesting challenge to your hike. A couple different trails make for decent half-day hikes, but except for the aforementioned sandy hills, there's nothing too special here.
There is really no other place like this in Illinois. Other than the temp, it really felt like I was hiking in South Florida. Can't wait to go back.
I will probably never return to Sand Ridge State Forest. Came for a two-day camping trip, but left early because we found multiple ticks on us. The trails are very sandy, which was neat but hard to do. There were lots of people riding horses, which is probably the better way to enjoy the trails.
I grew up in the area so I love just going to listen to the wind thru the trees.
No water, poorly maintained trails. Could be great. Isn't.
Amazing place to go for a hike. We took the Orange Trail which was stated as 5 miles, but it was actually 6.2 according to our GPS. Out of the 6+ miles, one of us did end up with 1 tic, which is why I took 1 star off.
Sand Ridge State Forest is a US Park based in Forest City, Illinois. Sand Ridge State Forest is located at Forest City, IL 61532, USA.
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