Trip Advisor

Starved Rock Falls

Just outside of the third-largest city in America, travelers will find a spectacular woodland oasis filled with trails, canyons, and waterfalls. Starved Rock State Park is a sandstone butte that sits 125 feet above the Illinois River near Oglesby, Illinois. It was designated as Illinois' second state park in 1911. The many creeks that drain into the Illinois River created the park's 18 canyons, vertical, moss-covered walls of St. Peter Sandstone. These canyons were formed by glacial meltwater that slice dramatically through tree-covered sandstone bluffs, creating many waterfalls that can be seen on the Green Interior Canyon Trails.

According to Native American tradition, Starved Rock received its name for an event that occurred around 1770, when some Peoria Indians came under attack by a war party of Potawatomi Indians. The legend says the Peoria people suffered starvation when they were trapped on the rock without food or water.

Once visitors have hiked to the top of the rock itself, they will be situated at the highest point in the park. Informational interpretive panels are located at each deck on top of the sandstone formation, including information about the “Legend of Starved Rock”, the construction of the Illinois Lock and Dam, the Native American culture of the first nations people, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, who helped build the trails, shelters, great hall in the lodge, and cabins at the park.

Unfortunately, due to the topography of the park, there are no handicapped/accessible trails to the canyons or waterfalls.

Enjoy Illinois

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The historic Starved Rock Lodge was erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and has an architecture that matches national park lodges.

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