Although short, I had a great time exploring the park. The trail that I really wanted to see was inaccessible because of construction. The visitors center is also wonderful and I highly recommend exploring this park especially in spring or Fall. There are several accessible trails. read more

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Even though me and my wife were disappointed that we didn't have time to check out the Welcome Center since it was closed down Memorial Day we were able to check out a few of the trails at Giant City state park. I enjoyed the mixed variety of Trail Lengths mainly just because I'm not much of a hiker myself. The state park is actually a solid place to check out if you're in the area or are coming to the area since there's many things to check out especially on this side of the Shawnee National Forest compared to the east side. There's plenty of parking spaces and amenities at most of these trailheads. The area is still a well-kept secret in my opinion that I don't feel like a lot of tourists still come and check out. Overall, the state park is actually worth checking out and thankfully the parking is free or you don't need a parking pass of any source read more

Giant City State Park - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

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Beautiful rocks and park! Here is some info that maybe helpful before your visit: - Internet connection is not good at some spots in the park. - Fat Man's Squeeze has no signage on it, or around the park. It only says "Nature Trail" on the rock. It is a very tight giant crack. You will not miss it. - Also there is no sign that indicates Venomous Copperheads hibernate in between those rocks. I heard stories about it, but we only saw warning signage about ticks and some bugs. - The visitor center is nice. It has bunch of valuable info about the park and taxidermy. Also 1 live tortoise and a black snake live in the tanks inside. There are picnic tables around. The area is so peaceful. - Alcohol is banned between September & May read more

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We knocked off several short trails this day but ended with the Giant City Nature Trail. Overall, the park is worth a visit as it has great rock formations. If you do a lot of hiking, plan to eat at the Lodge for dinner! read more

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I grew up nearby to Giant City and always took it a bit for granted. Now that I have lived away for the last decade and a half I recognize it for the gem it truly is. Southern Illinois is filled with rolling hills. Giant City makes the best use of them. There are a number of hiking trails, a stable for horseback riding, a lodge, spots to camp, and a number of quality park shelters. There is always something to do. The lodge is something I always enjoyed as a kid. The CCC style building is something special. It was also featured in the movie Gone Girl! The nearby watertower is worth the hike up the stairs for a nice view of the area including bald knob cross. Right near the lodge there are cabins that you can rent. I've never stayed myself, but I have heard good things. read more

Yummy country lunch at the park plus the gardens are beautiful - They also serve cocktails. Mojito and chicken and dumplings

Giant City State Park is a hidden gem. Make a trip there every year and have never had a bad experience. There are several short trails that are well maintained. Food and service at the lodge have always been top notch. The lodge building itself is a historic structure with several cabins to choose from. Cabins were clean. The pool was lightly used, which turned into a relaxing expierience. There is a horse stable at the park. Reserving a ride was easy and was a good way to experience the forest. read more

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Giant City State Park was one of our favorite spots during the weekend trip to Shawnee National Forest. There were many things to do in the area - enjoy the spectacular waterfalls, hike on the trails, hunt mushrooms, and view the astonishing sandstone structures. We even spotted an owl in the woods! Although the thunderstorm at the beginning of our trip made the trails slippery, it deterred the bugs in the area lol. read more

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Gorgeous, well-kept and well-marked trails. The nature trail is very pleasant, and I plan to come back for more next time I'm in the area.

A perfect little park if you are looking for something fun and rewarding to do with your kids. Try the nature trail -- the slabs of stone make for some really neat passages, with lots of extra things to climb over and under for those so inclined, combined with beautiful views, all packed into a joyous one mile loop. read more

Beautiful side scene, walking trail perfect place for a picnic day with family. Horse back riding read more

Giant City State Park - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

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Variety of hikes, amazing scenery, HIGHLY recommend eating at the lodge for homemade fried chicken and dumplings. read more

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Great spot for trails right outside Carbondale. They range from easy to difficult. A must visit if you are at SIU or visiting Shawnee National Forest. Amazing scenes and views of the bluffs. read more

My husband and I love adventure and being in the outdoors so when we were in Carbondale for the Shawnee Wine Trail, we decided to start our 2nd day off with a bit of hiking before the wine(ing). Giant City State Park is a very nice park located just a few miles outside of the Carbondale city limits. We stopped by the visitor's center to read up on the area and to ask the rangers which trails they suggest we explore. The Nature Trail and Indian Creek Trail were 2 of the top so we eagerly hiked both of them. There is so much rich history at this park including original rock "drawings" from the first people who founded the park. The trails range from easy to hard and there's tons of picture opportunities as well as benches to rest. The park is located within the boundaries of the wine trail so if you go the opposite way of the main entrance, you'll be right on the trail and ready to sip the rest of the day away! read more

Great stuff. So much to offer. Its a nice drive or a nice day of hiking. There are also many good picnic places here. The water tower is worth a climb and the lodge is a great place to get some fried or bbq chicken. great place to spend the day! read more

Giant City State Park - Water tower - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

Thank s review is for the campground. Came in on a Sunday and wanted to take a shower after setting up the rv. Went to shower house but it was filthy but thought it was probably a busy weekend and just hadn't been cleaned yet. Went back Monday night and it was still the same pit. Now this is in October and only about 20 campers here on Monday. Too bad it's a pretty campground just poorly managed by rangers maybe need new campground hosts. Won't be back. read more

I just spent the weekend here, camping alone. The walk in sites are fine, but close to the playground. Read: kids playing loudly as soon as the sun comes up. In this case, 6:45am. I only used the vault toilets and they were clean. There are hiking trails located in the park, but nothing too rugged. You do have to drive to most everything in the park so be prepared. My only concern is that the raccoons have been trained to come up into the campsites. People, do not leave food out! I had to run raccoons off on my last night camping and that is never fun! read more

This was my first time hiking Giant City. They have 5 different trails for you to hike. The Welcome Center is the very first place to stop and get a map. The person working the desk was very friendly and informative. My friend had a certain trial that she wanted to hike. The worker gave us our pro and cons of the t trail. The trails are clearly marked. We hiked three of the trails. Two of them were loop trails and the one up and back. It was a great place to hike. One of the trails we encountered a SNAKE Great way to spend a day. Lots of place to enjoy a picnic before or after your hike. Plenty of restrooms and bonus they had toilet paper, however washing your hand was an issue. read more

Giant City State Park - Rugged trail here we come - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

Great hiking trails, from easy to rugged. Park was very clean and well taken care of. Will definitely be back again!

I love the outdoors, but sadly this park was false advertising. According to all the pictures it looked like a city. With the visitors center closed in the winter there was no way to determine where these cool places of the park were, or if there was a fee or any other interesting information. Definitely was a pretty park, just not what was expected on my 2 hour detour off my road trip. I wont be able to come back in the good season to see all the cool parts and full leaf coverage, but definitely recommend it to others. read more

This park stays on top of my list for local natural attractions. The trails continually change their colors throughout the season, and stay clean and clear and passable all year long. The staff, though unnoticeable, does a great job staying out of the way of hikers' relationships with nature. In the spring, the river rushes down the beginning of Stonefort trail with great excitement, and the wildflowers on Trillium trail turn their shiny faces toward the sun, hoping to soak up the life force that hangs in the air all around them. Go for a group hike as a family or as friends, or go as a solitary walker looking for a healing, natural silence, but, by all means, GO! read more

My husband and I hiked the Red Cedar Trail this weekend. As he noted, it was "unremarkable." Probably a great hike in high foliage season but a rather dreary walk in mid-November that gets a bit treacherous with all the leaves covering the path. It was still nice to do an overnight away from the city. We stayed at the primitive campground halfway around the Red Cedar Trail which has outhouses, garbage cans, fire pits, and picnic tables. You can still hear the sounds of civilization (train, cars, hunters) but, again, nice to get away for a couple days. We saw only one other couple the entire 12 miles of trail. We missed the "giant" rock formations. Wish I'd read a bit more before going so as to not miss those! read more

I really enjoyed my two day getaway at Giant City state park. The first day, we hiked a few of the smaller trails... found some really cool mushrooms. (Be careful on the wooden bridges on some of the trails...if they're wet, they are slick. I took a pretty hard fall.) We stayed in one of the historic cabins. It was small, but not cramped, and very clean. The food at the lodge was wonderful and the waiters and waitresses were very professional. The second day, we had a delicious breakfast at the Lodge and set out on the 12 mile equestrian trail. The pamphlet we were given did not explain that there are actually 2 trails here, the Red Cedar and the horse trail, and we got pretty confused a few times. The red cedar trail was incredibly dense and not very well maintained. I'm not sure if the maintenance crew just hadn't been out there to bushwack yet, or if walking through heavy underbrush is supposed to be part of the appeal. After a while, we ditched the red cedar for the equestrian trail, which was wider and better taken care of. The rock formations on this trail are SPECTACULAR. I've never seen anything like it. I would recommend Giant City to anyone who is fond of treks through nature. It's quiet out there, a good place to get away from the panic paradox of the modern world. read more

Giant City State Park - Our cute little historic cabin. - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

Just took an afternoon walk and did a few trails great place ... Lodge was good for food Cabins were not clean enough to stay read more

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If you like to hike and are looking for something a little different, this is a great place to enjoy nature. Before you begin your trek, I'd recommend stopping by the visitors center for a listing of the trails and locations. And on many weekends, you can watch people rappelling down the one cliff. That is pretty interesting watching some of the newbies on their first trip over the side. read more

Giant City State Park - Between a rock and a hard place. - Parks Near Me - Makanda, Illinois

This has got to be the most beautiful spot in Illinois. It's a schlep, but it's worth it for some legit hiking. We hiked the Trillium Trail in winter. I've also hiked the Giant City Trail. You'll forget that you're in Illinois. Tons of wildlife, too. read more

Didn't find much info about this park b4 we came to Shawnee National Forest. We made a short stop here as this was recommended by the B&B place we stayed! It was surprisingly quiet on the Friday late afternoon right before July 4th weekend. The visitor center closed at 3:30pm. Without in park map and clear road sign, we had a hard time finding Devil's Stand Table Trail. Luckily, a park staff happened to drive by us and lead us there. And later we found Giant City trail down the road! What nice shady trails we took! Thoroughly enjoyed the the moderately easy walk. Although the Giant City Trail was one mile with suggested time of one hour. We finished in abt 40 min and we took plenty of time to stop and snap pictures on the way. The rock formations didn't disappoint. The trails were quiet and beautiful. If we have time to come back to this park before our short vacation, will definitely try the other trails. read more

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This is a great park. Very well maintained trails and facilities. We stopped here at the end of a camping and hiking weekend in Shawnee and quickly did three of the trails. The Giant City Nature trail is very pretty, and very easy. Anyone can do this trail and should, the big rocks and forest the trail cuts through is beautiful. Bridges, steps, and ramps keep this trail very easy to maneuver. We also did the Devil's Stand table trail. Also very beautiful. It pretty much wraps around a large rock formation that you can climb on, around, and even a little bit under. Very cool and again pretty easy for anyone. The third trail we completed was the Stonefort Trail. A little bit of an incline getting up to the trial loop, but not too bad. The stonewall is kind of small, but neat in it's history i guess. The views on this trail are neat and most of it is along a cliffs ledge, so keep your dogs on a short leash. It's very short so an easy trail to tag on at the end of the day. Overall great park. While we didn't camp out here this time we plan to in the future. Much more for us to see! read more

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The trails are all beautiful, but for some reason they are not interconnected so you have to drive from one trail to another. There is a lovely lodge with tons of taxidermy. read more

A beautiful state park located within the Shawnee National Forest. While at SIU, I know some clubs would have picnics here. Also, the forestry department would bring classes here to learn. The Giant City Lodge is great and has an excellent restaurant. The gift shop has a selection of items to buy. I would definitely go here again. read more

Beautiful location. Many well-maintained walking paths. Enjoyed dining in the lodge and staying in a cabin.

Wonderful trails for all kinds of hikes. I go regularly and the fall is so beautiful especially after the frost and no need to worry about insects. Watch the kids on the trails because some spots are next to cliffs. The information center is helpful and friendly. I love Giant City! read more

GORGEOUS! Each trail was different from the one before. The wonderful cliffs and rock formations are worth the drive. Stop at the visitors center first to get a map and brochures about each trail, so you can fully appreciate the beauty and unique qualities of each. Like the iron veins running through causing the amazing honeycomb and internal artwork. I wish I had gone sooner in life, I can't wait to go back again in the fall, and in the spring when the many unique wildflowers are in bloom. read more

The owner refused to honor what I was told when making a reservation for a cabin several months in advance for their busiest weekend in the fall. Not knowing if we could keep the reservation for sure I was told that as long as "I gave them plenty of advance notice I would get my complete deposit back". They only take checks and not credit cards. So two months in advance I called to cancel and was told by the owner that there was a $25 charge. As I tried to tell him in a calm and considerate way that this was not what I was told when I made the reservation, he refused to listen and just kept saying it was his policy and there was no exception to his policy. His attitude was extremely poor and very unprofessional, to say the least. Even though I got the last room available and the weekend I reserved was sold out months in advance, he continued to argue that their was no guarantee the room would get booked! It was a totally absurd defense. As a matter of principle, I will never go there again. I refuse to patronize a place who does business that way and treats people the way the owner treated me. Beware, if you have an issue of any kind you may just get told that's your tough luck. read more