Garden of the Gods Wilderness

Garden of the Gods is a 3,955-acre wilderness area and recreation area in Shawnee National Forest.  The area contains beautiful rock formations and hoodoos carved into sandstone by wind and water.  The wilderness area surrounds Garden of the Gods Recreation Area, which contains a campground, parking and the paved Observation Trail with the best views of the garden.  Many miles of trails run through the wilderness area including the River-to-River Trail.  The wilderness area was designated by Congress in 1990 with the Illinois Wilderness Act.

Directions:

From Harrisburg, head south on IL-145 for about 6 miles and turn left on IL-34 south.  Go 9.4 miles and turn left on Karbers Ridge Road.  Go 2.8 miles and turn left on Garden of the Gods Road.  In 1.4 miles, turn left onto Forest Road 115 and go 1.3 miles to the parking area.

Map:

Trails:

Observation Trail:

Observation Trail is a quarter-mile trail passing through the best views of the Garden of the Gods.  Part of the trail is built into the rock.

Points of Interest:

Camel Rock:

Camel Rock has a remarkable resemblance to a camel.

Devil's Smokestack:

Devil's Smokestack is a 30-foot high sandstone pillar.

Wildlife:

Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)

Blog Entries:

02-Sep-2020: Garden of the Gods

External Links:

US Forest Service website for wilderness: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/shawnee/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=82129

US Forest Service website for recreation area: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/shawnee/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=10685

Wilderness.net website: https://wilderness.net/visit-wilderness/?ID=198