Disgraceful! I took my 69 year old mother and my 1 year old grandson today to swim $32!!! We were…read moreso disappointed!

the staff was so terribly rude, lifeguards mostly. Way overly aggressive, especially to little ones…read more(2-4 especially.) I understand enforcing the rules and sometimes having to be just a little meaner, but the lifeguards were so disgustingly rude to all parties involved. Not to mention there was a middles aged man, looking in from the gym touching himself, while there were little kids swimming. there should not be a way to see the swimming area from the gym that clearly. disgusting.

Had a really nice weekend at Ferne Clyff. There are 18 trails that are maintained and for various…read morelevels, but be aware that nearly every trail has poison ivy just at the edge of pathways. There's lots to do, whether you're there to hike, bike, climb, or relax in nature. The camping grounds are a bit crowded, but most everyone keeps to themselves and are very friendly. There are lots of primitive restrooms throughout the park, but maintained with plumbing restrooms are only available for overnight paid guests. If you forget firewood, there is a place near the main campground restrooms where you can get bundles of firewood from a vet owned business. As of 5/8/2026 when I'm writing this, each bundle is $5 and can be paid in cash or QR.

This is my go to hiking park when I need to introduce someone to the beauty of SoILL on a tight…read moretime budget. The Waterfall Trail is flat and wide and boasts a fun waterfall in wet seasons, but also lovely bluffs and wildlife even when it's dry. My favorite hike was on a cold January day. We started with flurries, and the ground was completely white when we completed it. My kids are also HUGE fans of the Hawks Cave hike. Lots of fun boulders to climb on and explore. It's a short (though a bit steeper) hike, but begs you to linger at the cave.

Very friendly and easy to rent from. They will bring the boat to you and they offer more than just…read moreboats. Prices are very reasonable.

Truly the best boat rental I have ever done. The boat was clean, comfortable and in perfect shape…read more Our group was very impressed and everyone had a good seat. Jamie delivered our boat right on time and reviewed safety and running features. He showed us where the life vests were and even had a life vest for the leader of our party, a six year old named Emelia. A Fabulous rental experience!

I was looking up things to do in the Carbondale area and this place caught my eye. I don't have any…read morekids nor am I one but I had to visit the park and I got to hear the story about how this park was built and how it came to be. This park is very well kept! I've never been to an active park that is so well maintained and the fact that it has no graffiti on it! This park is so Interactive and I thought it was convenient that it had porta potties next to it as well. Even the ice cream man came by to visit. Plenty of great Interactive things that check out that are one-of-a-kind like climbing got a dragon and even the playground is big enough for grown-ups to walk around without actually it's time to climb on stuff. This place was like walking into a Renaissance fair , I highly recommend checking this place out!

Really good park we really like the castle I love this park specially Corbin, and Paisleyread more

Friendly staff. Horses well taken care of and easy to ride. Beautiful trail ride with…read moreknowledgeable guides.

Lovely folks, lovely horses and mules, fantastic experience! But watch out for ticks in the woods -…read morebe sure to spray yourself down with bug spray before hand!

My grandson received an injury while attending a week long stay at Ondessonk in June 2026. The skin…read morewas scrapped off his knee completely. His mother received a voicemail saying that he had been injured but that it was not bad. He spent the night in the clinic and the next day his father picked him up as it was the last day of camp. The knee was wrapped and no one came out to explain what had happened. After the 2 hour trip home the leg was unwrapped exposing the injury. They rushed him to a nearby clinic to have it properly diagnosed and evaluated. The Camp and the Belleville Diocese although being informed has not made any efforts to apologize or check on his well being. I will not be sending my grandchildren there in the future due to their inept handling of this situation.

Catholic youth summer camp, located about 2.5 hours drive from St. Louis, in Southern Illinois…read more Kids sleep in rustic "cabins" (not fully enclosed, so bring mosquito netting!) in the woods, segregated into multiple named camps (groups of cabins), with the boys all on one side of the lake, girls on the other. Lots of fun activities, including swimming, hiking, horseback riding, archery, target shooting, climbing wall, ropes course, crafts, outdoor skills, nature exploration, and more. It's not convenient for us to get to, but everyone we've known who's gone has loved it and wants to do it again the next year. Be careful about using Google for directions. If you punch in the address, it correctly finds it, but if you just search for Camp Ondessonk it puts a pin in the map in the wrong location, looks like a few miles away from the actual camp, at somebody's house. Hopefully they'll get this fixed soon.

Nice walk from a very small parking area. Gate is closed but go around it to follow main path…read more About a mile in to get to the creek which is beautiful view of the bluffs and the stream. Cross over the stream( rock jumping) and take a look at the Rock Art which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hard to follow path after leafy fall .

People don't even realize how big the Shawnee National Forest is. It basically stands most of…read moresouthern Illinois. It would truly take you about a week or more to truly experience everything in this entirety or at least the most out of it. Most of your activities if you come to the show National Forest are on the west side. Many things I wish we could still check out where the Little Grand Canyon that were on my bucket list but unfortunately we couldn't make it. Due to time restraints. The east side of the Shawnee National Forest is basically home to the very popular Garden of the Gods and I recommend the Rimrock Trail as well. I have yet to visit the central part of the Shawnee national forest as well as a few other parts. This place was beautiful to check out it says I felt like I was not even in Illinois, it felt like I was back parts of the Smoky Mountains. I do recommend if you come out to bring plenty of bug and Sun spray because these bugs do bite out here and you should be prepared especially in the summer

Loved the many places in the Shawnee National Forest! Of course we came down to this area for…read moreGarden of the Gods which is five stars, top three places in Illinois to visit! And we hiked there as well. The Shawnee is large and stretches east and west, so it's really like, two National forests in one! The town of Marion was lovely, and we camped at Cave in Rock on the Ohio River. I also visited Scratch Brewing in Ava, IL. There's so much to do on all sides of the Shawnee, I'd love to return to do more hiking!