Shawnee National Forest
One of America's largest planted forests

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     Just across the Ohio River from Crittenden County is one of the regions top attractions. The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 270,000 acres of federally managed lands.
     In August of 1933, the Forest was acquired by the government. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared these purchase units to be the Shawnee National Forest in September 1939.
     Most of the land obtained for the Forest in its first decade of existence was exhausted farmland. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the Civilian Conservation Corps planted pine trees to prevent erosion and help rebuild the soil. However, the Forest is also home to many hardwood trees and other plant and animal species characteristic of the region.
     Since the 1980s, there has been an active history of conservation and protest efforts by local, regional, and national environmental groups and individuals ranging from radical movements such as Earth First! to mainstream organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Green Party. The wise use movement has also played an active role in lobbying for its vision of the Shawnee National Forest.

Anvil Rock

Monkey Head Rock

    
     Garden of the Gods is located about halfway between Cave-In-Rock and Harrisburg, a wilderness area of extraordinary rock formations. Directions: From Exit 54 at Interstate 57 and Illinois 13, drive 25 miles east on Illinois 13 to US 45 in Harrisburg. Turn right onto US 45 and drive 1 mile to Illinois 34. Turn left onto Illinois 34 and drive 16 miles to Karbers Ridge Road. Turn left onto Karbers Ridge Road and drive 3 miles to Garden of the Gods Road. Turn left onto Garden of the Gods Road, and follow the signs.

     Little Grand Canyon is located within the Shawnee National Forest. This is accessible off Illinois Route 127 south of Murphysboro, Illinois. A small creek with a tiny watershed has carved an impressive rock canyon, more than 200 feet deep, leading down to the Big Muddy River. The southern edge of the ice sheet was just to the north of Little Grand Canyon. Blocks of ice slid off the face of the glacier, carried by enormous volumes of meltwater, to carve this tiny canyon. In the deep shade of the canyon are relictual species of arctic plants left over from its ancient origin.

     Cedar Lake is an artificial lake formed by damming Cedar Creek. The lake is accessible off Illinois Route 127, south of Murphysboro, and off U.S. 51, south of Carbondale. In this area, the Illinoian Glacier climbed the Shawnee Hills at its southern margin. The glacier blocked the waterways flowing north down the hills. This drainage formed a creek running northwest along the face of the glacier. This became Cedar Creek, the watershed of which is extremely asymmetrical. While the watershed extends only a few thousand feet to the south, up the face of the terminal moraine, the creek is also fed by waterways extending miles to the south.