Fried Chicken. More importantly, and according to a family friend,
the World's Very Best Fried Chicken served in an all you can eat family
style. That, is what truly brought me to Giant City State Park, located
just outside of Carbondale, IL. But what I found, besides the absolutely
delicious fried chicken, was an astoundingly gorgeous and completely
unique area, filled with a hiker's wish list of things to do, see,
explore and, of course, eat!
With so many different
trails to explore in Giant City State Park I've decided to break them up
into more easily "digestible" single review trails, starting here with the Stonefort Nature Trail...
We began our whole excursion in Giant
City State Park pondering exactly what a "Stonefort" was, and since we
all had a different idea of what it may actually be we decided to make
the Stonefort Nature Trail our first official stop. Little did we know, but we actually
caught a glimpse of the Stonefort Nature Trail's breathtaking
observation point from atop an 80 foot sandstone bluff as we entered the
main park.
So, Exactly What Is A "Stonefort"?
This
one-third of a mile loop trail took us on a tour of an ancient
"stonefort", one of ten wall-like structures, constructed entirely of
heavy stone, believed to have been erected in the Late Woodland period
between 600AD - 900AD in Southern Illinois. Each of these ancient arrangements have been discovered on top of hills or promontories and were once
believed to have been used as some type of stone fortification, thus
giving them the name "Stonefort". These unique walls, consisting of
heavy stones, are now believed to have been constructed as meeting
places or perhaps ceremonial locations. The original wall that sat atop
this particular trail was actually removed, dismantled by early European
settlers to the area, who used the heavy stones as building materials.
The low stone base is all that really remains of the original site,
however, in 1934 the Civilian Conservation Corps (whom I can't thank
enough) rebuilt the wall into the site that we see today. During the reconstruction of the wall, the CCC found many Native American artifacts including a good deal of pottery. "I personally
love sites like this that carry that hint of ancient mystery, sites such
as this and
Rock Pile Mountain always
pique my curiosity of early Native Americans and, while marveling at
their accomplishments and ingenuity, I also find myself theorizing on what these sites may have
been used for.
But What About The Actual Trail?
The Stonefort Nature Trail itself is
well worn, with many roots and rocks embedded in its surface, which some
may find a bit difficult to walk on. The trail also winds it's way up
the side of a small hill, where you instantly come upon the structure
itself upon arriving at the top. If you continue the loop, around the
top of the hill, you will come to a spectacular overlook from an 80 foot
sandstone bluff which overlooks the park's entrance. A word of warning
for those of you with small children and faint hearts, it is a STEEP,
LONG drop to the bottom of this bluff and there are no handrails. The
trail also narrows a bit here making it a somewhat dangerous portion of
the trail. For those that continue along the loop, you'll find another
overlook along the way along with a carpeting of moss, ferns and
wildflowers, sheltered beneath a wide canopy of local hardwoods an
evergreens. This trail is well worth the short hike, even if you decide
the breathtaking 80 foot overlook perhaps steals a bit too much of your
breath.
Directions (click the Google Map below to enter in your address)
Giant City State Park
235 Giant City Road, Makanda, IL 62958
(618) 457-4836
More Information:
Local Treks on facebook
Giant City State Park Devil's Standtable Nature Trail - Be sure to hit this trail too!
Giant City State Park - Official IDNR Homepage
Giant City Trails - A list of all eight established trails
Giant City Visitor Maps - Maps provided by the IDNR of the entire park
More Photos From Giant City State Park - My Flickr Album for Giant City State Park
