Backpacking Shawnee National Forest
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- Three days and two nights in the Shawnee National Forest. I visited Garden of the Gods, camped on the Indian Point trail, hiked at Rim Rock, and finally spent a night camping at Burden Falls.
The SNF was (and is) absolutely stunning. I saw some beautiful country while I was there, but I KNOW there is so much more to explore. There will be more videos of Shawnee in the future.
Special shout out to Sam Stearns and the Friends of Bell Smith Springs. Sam helped me out of a tough spot and I owe a lot to him. He has put a lot of work into preserving the beauty in Shawnee National Forest, and I am hoping to bring more awareness to his work. Thank you for everything Sam!
thanks for captions
Thinking about heading to this same trail this Memorial day weekend. From what I have seen it will still be open for backpacking.
Yes this is federal forest land, dispersed camping is allowed there just won't be any campgrounds or bathroom facilities open
Hey watching your video! Man, did you pick some Honey spots to visit of Shawnee National Forest. But as you suspect, there is much more to see! I posted a recent overnight trip to Indian Point, it was my 1st time on that trail and I was blown away. Camped a lot in Jackson Falls, after a good rain you can catch 4 different waterfalls there, it's a premiere rock climbing spot too. Posted some videos of that too (not of rock climbing though). Lusk Creek, just started venturing there myself, but wow, gorgeous. Yeah, you'll have to come back down!
P.S. Good for you not giving UP!
Hey man, thanks for watching! Hope the video was entertaining, I'll be sure to check yours out! Feel free to subscribe, I'm planning lots of videos in the future. Definitely planning another trip to shawnee hopefully soon!
Hey buddy, hope you enjoyed illinois. Thanks for uploading. I live in Chicago and want to start backpacking and camping. As a beginner this is very helpful. Thank you and good luck on your adventures.
Glad you enjoyed it! If you ever have questions, hmu!
I had to watch this one too. Unpredictable weather and no cell service in the woods, welcome to southern Illinois 😐 Shawnee forest has been my place for camping with friends and family since the early 90’s. It’s such a beautiful place, everywhere you go. Love your videos man. You should have way more subs and views 👍
Thanks!! Much appreciated!! I love the shawnee too, currently making plans to get down there soon!
Thanks for the great video of you Shawnee adventure. I'm headed out for my second trip there ..went in Sept.'18 ...was extremely hot ( 90"s ) so now will return next week Mar. '19 for 5 day trip. I was happy to come across your video because rain is predicted also for the first 2 days of my trip, you gave me some good tips...you are spot on when you mentioned finding your way around Shawnee. I have now prepared a mapped out , googled out, drawn out, searched out and much more to find the spots I want to visit.... I was to GOG, Rim Rock, Burden Falls and many more, drove a lot.. long hot days and lots of hiking..... my pet peeve was "Lot's of Bluffage but no Signage... I had maps but sometimes hard to find and cell reception is not the best. I'm not a tent camper ( retired and in my 70's ) so a cabin is more my style....I can tell that you were absolutely thrilled with being out of the city, you're young and have lots of years ahead to experience the great parks and forests that this great county has to offer. GO for it... I started hiking in my mid 60's. Again thanks for sharing your trip, your video made me feel good, I was happy your experience there made for more visits. Keep up the good work!!!! Thumbs up and I subscribed.....
Hope you go this week. I’m taking my husband down to start the River to River Hike tomorrow morning. He’s starting in Elizabethtown. We live an hour away and I must say I’m kind of worried about him doing this by himself.
I was on the fence about heading down there (I live just outside Chicago). You’ve convinced me the drive is worth it! Awesome vid 👍🏽 thanks!
Thank you! And enjoy man! My only recommendation is make sure you plan where you're going if you don't know your way around. Cell service is spotty just about everywhere down there. If you can, pick up a map at a ranger station. But i went to Garden of the Gods, Rim Rock, and Burden Falls. Some other places you can check out are inspiration point, jackson falls, and panther den. Should keep you busy!
Also check out these youtube channels;
Hiking With Shawn
Old Goat In The Woods
Both of those guys make videos primarily about SNF. In case you need any additional info about the place!
Love to see gear getting good use. Fun stuff!
Nice one great trip out loved the site you picked
I'VE BEEN TO CAVE IN ROCK STATE PARK TOO IT'S AWESOME BEAUTIFUL INTERESTING CAMEL ROCK GARDEN OF THE GOD'S CAVE IN ROCK STATE PARK ARE EDUCATIONAL I LOVE ❤ IT
Fun trip. I've been right there. Going again in September.
Hope you have fun! This trip was my first time there, I am really hoping to go back soon. There's no way you can see all of Shawnee in one trip. Right now I'm trying to showcase some different parks closer to Chicago before winter hits, so it will most likely be next year.
I'VE BEEN TO CAMEL ROCK AND GARDEN OF THE GOD'S IT'S AWESOME
I’ve sat on that round rocks in the beginning at GOG with a few diff chicks smoking weed lol
Nice video, gave me some ideas on how the trails are down there. I'm going to be heading down there very soon for a 3 day camping trip and your video gave me some ideas on how the trails look. But great video, definitely got my sub :)
Thanks!! Glad you liked it! I'll have some more videos out over the next couple of months. A buddy of mine is doing a thru hike of the river to river trail and I'll be meeting him to hike a section of it and give him his resupply. Hope your camping trip is fun!
You picked a great place to escape the city at :D
Hiking With Shawn Thanks man! I will be back one day soon!
This trip sounds a lot like how mine go. I am so eager just to get out, then I get there with no reception for google maps and have no idea where to go.
Yeah, i hear you. It's hard to plan your first time to this place tho, at the time there wasn't much online about the place. I just went back last weekend for the first time since this video and had a great time, there's so much to explore there that you definitely can't do it all in one trip.
You should have kept following the water...you would have found a wonderful surprise
The cave you camp at near the river to river trail? Awesome spot you had
I had to delete my other comment, I misread and thought you asked if this was near a river haha. Yes, it is near the river to river trail! I believe the trail passes right alongside the parking lot for the Indian Point loop.
Hey I am headed down there tomorrow with my son! Last-minute trip. Looking to hike a 10 -20 mile loop near garden of the gods for two nights. Any suggestions??? Help would be greatly appreciated :-)
Hey Dan! Thanks for watching! I hate to say it but there aren't really any long trail loops down there. They are mostly wilderness areas where you can camp anywhere that isn't restricted (for example, garden of the gods wilderness is open to camping but you cannot camp near the actual garden of the gods preservation by camel rock). That's fun because you can get off the beaten path, but i understand that not being as fun as a loop trail. SNF is more of a "go out and explore" kind of place. However, there is a trail that runs through SNF called the River to River trail (crosses the southern tip of illinois). You could park somewhere on the trail and do an out and back. The following areas are great places to check out:
Garden of the gods wilderness
Lusk creek wilderness
Panther den
Burden falls
Jackson falls
Inspiration point
Indian point (there's a loop trail about 2 miles long, i camped on it in this video)
Hope this helps!
You should also check out the following channels, both of them upload content exclusively for SNF:
Hiking With Shawn
Old Goat In The Woods
I highly recommend stopping at one of the ranger stations and picking up a map of the forest. Cell service is spotty around there so the maps are super useful. They'll tell you a lot about what's around in the forest too.
found some beautiful rattlesnakes on them trails..
Hey bud, I plan on going backpacking with my pup at garden of the gods soon. What are the requirements for camping? Did you have to get a permit? If so how did you go about doing that? Any advice will be appreciated
Hey Mandy! Thanks for watching! No permits are required for camping in Shawnee National Forest unless it is at a designated campground. There are campgrounds nearby Garden of the Gods (like right there, you'll almost be in the same parking lot) that are first come first serve. Dispersed camping is free and does not require a permit anywhere in the national forest as long as it is not private land, designated pay-to-camp campgrounds, or a recreation area. Garden of the Gods is one of those areas, but not all of it. I recommend parking at the Indian Point trailhead and camping somewhere along that trail if you want to do it for free. Check out the state forest website for more info: www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/shawnee/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=10685&actid=51
I'm from KY. I'm a red river guy. But I want to visit shawnee. Is it OK to camp in Rock shelter? Can you dispersed camp anywhere? Or just in the spots located on the gov website
That's awesome! The RRG is on my list for sure, just have to find the time to make it down there! I am not sure where Rock Shelter is, but you can camp anywhere within one of the 7 designated wilderness areas for free, so long as you are outside of any recreational sites such as the Garden of the Gods by Camel Rock. Those sites are usually marked on the maps posted at trailheads when you are about to enter a wilderness area. If you have the time, I'd recommend stopping at one of the forest service offices on your drive in to pick up a map. I ran into a NFS ranger when I was there and he gave me a very detailed map, was great to have because I lost cell service a few times while I was driving around.
Do you know if it's a long walk from the Backpacker's parking lot to the wilderness area of Garden of the Gods? I was hoping to take a cooler, but can do without.
Might be a little tough getting a cooler in there. It's not long in terms of hiking but for lugging in a cooler it is.
I'm taking the dog. Garden of the Gods didn't look like a good place for dogs. Any suggestions?
I think it's a great place for dogs. As long as it's on a leash. You probably won't be able to go climbing around like I was but there are a lot of trails and I usually see dogs there whenever I visit (this video was a few years ago and I've visited many times since).
Not sure if I missed it but what cellphone service provider did you have during this trip?
I was using Sprint which has now merged with T-Mobile I believe, so we'll see if the service is any better next time I'm there. My reception was spotty most of the time. Interestingly my wife's phone had great reception and we're on the same plan. Can't explain that lol
What kind of walking stick was that? I couldn't understand what you said.
It was just a collapsible trekking pole made by mountain warehouse. I don't even use it for hiking anymore lol, i actually use it for wading in rivers when i go fishing
@@EscapingTheCity it seems the older I get, the more I need something to help get over rocks and such. Thanks for responding 🙂
@@christyj24 if you're looking for a decent set of trekking poles that won't break the bank, look at the Foxelli brand on amazon. I was gifted a set and I've used them on every trip over the last 3 years. If they ever broke or got lost I'd buy another pair immediately, they are game changers for me especially when going up and down hills, over rocks and logs, etc.
@@EscapingTheCity oooo, thanks!!!
rocks are slippery when wet..be careful
Yeah I kept my distance from the edge. Seems like there's at least one fall a year around the SNF. People get a little too greedy for their pictures.
Do you have a copy of the trail route you hiked and camped
I'm not sure if I still have my map. I moved apartments since this trip and a ton of stuff got lost in the shuffle. I'll look for it and PM you if I find it. The map I had was more of a map for the whole of SNF, but I'll highlight the areas I went to. I drove around a lot there to different trails which were short, we're talking less than 5 miles. But it gives you a lot of freedom to roam around and set up camp.
You wouldn't have the coordinates of that first campsite would you?
I don't unfortunately. It wasn't far off the trail tho. It's definitely a heavily used site which is why i chose to go there instead of creating a new site. Leave no trace as much as possible!!
Escaping The City how far in the trail did you have to go to get there?
Great video! What did you use for food storage?
Just a roll-top dry bag from walmart. I think they are from outdoor products. I froze the brats the night before leaving so they stayed cold all day until i cooked them the first night.
re-do on sunny day...disappointing
Check out my other videos, I've been back a few times since this, all on sunny days! Lots to explore around the Shawnee.