Matthiessen State Park

Spontaneous Road Trip Find

We decided to stop at Matthiessen State Park on our way home from southern Illinois. It is located a few miles south of the more “famous” Starved Rock. The park was named after Frederick Matthiessen w...

Waterfalls dry in the summer

the waterfalls are frozen over in the winter and flowing in the spring. They are dry in the summer. We spent time both at starved Rock as well as this State Park. I thought '70s would be great h...

Small with waterfall, stairs galore and crowded

MSP has a nice waterfall. To get there many stairs. Parking is funky. Many visitors go there for the picnic area. If you are not lucky to park close you will need to walk about 1 mile to get to the tr...

A quiet, quaint state park - pretty trails

Figured we would give the “Hocking Hills of Illinois” a shot for our 30th anniversary based on photos we saw online. Stayed in a lovely Airbnb in North Utica to stage ourselves for our hiking and biki...

Less Busy than Starved Rock

This is a beautiful state park with trails that everyone can enjoy. It is never as busy as nearby Starved Rock. Trails are well marked with maps along the way to help you stay on track.