The 9 Most Scenic Illinois Towns

In Oglesby, the Illinois River has carved eighteen sandstone canyons that run with waterfalls in spring and freeze into blue ice columns by January. In Grafton, two of the country's great rivers meet beneath 300-foot bluffs. In Pomona, a 90-foot sandstone bridge arches over a forest creek most people never find. This is the scenery that hides out in the Illinois countryside, and these nine small towns are the best places to go looking for it.

Makanda

This tiny Jackson County village is the front door to Giant City State Park, and the park is the whole reason to come. Its 4,000 acres are stacked with the towering sandstone bluffs that give the place its name, plus waterfalls and forest threaded by quiet trails. The best short walk is the 0.3-mile Devil's Standtable Nature Trail, which loops past the Devil's Standtable itself, a mushroom-shaped rock pillar balanced beneath steep cliffs.

Makanda also butts right up against the Shawnee National Forest, which opens the door to bigger adventures. For the biggest, the Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour sends you zipping across the treetops on a string of ziplines, with the forest canopy dropping away beneath your feet.

Oregon

Oregon sits on the Rock River with a state park on either side of town. Castle Rock State Park covers more than 2,000 acres of woodland, sculpted sandstone, and deep ravines along the river, with an overlook that earns the climb. Across the water, Lowden State Park is crowned by the Black Hawk Statue, Lorado Taft's 48-foot concrete figure known as "The Eternal Indian," which has gazed out over the Rock River since 1911.

To see it all from the water, rent a paddleboard, kayak, or tube from White Pelican and drift the calm river. Or take in the scenery at a gentler pace from the fairways of Silver Ridge Golf Course, tucked among the rolling hills and trees just outside town.

McHenry

McHenry calls itself the "Heart of the Fox River," and it is the gateway to the Chain O'Lakes, the busiest boating region in the state. The 2,200-acre Moraine Hills State Park packs woodlands, glacial lakes, wetlands, and rolling hills into one place, with biking, fishing, and wildlife-watching year-round. Downtown, the McHenry Riverwalk serves up the best in-town views of the Fox.

For a quieter walk, the Stickney Run Conservation Area runs trails through trees and around a small pond. And for something unexpected, the Cold Blooded Parties Reptile Mini Zoo lets visitors get close to tortoises, giant pythons, and alligators.

Grafton

Grafton sits at the meeting point of two of the country's great rivers, the Illinois and the Mississippi, and the water views are the main event. The Great River Road runs 25 scenic miles through town along the bluffs, and for an even bigger perspective, the Grafton SkyTour gondola carries you up the 300-foot bluff for a sweeping look over the confluence.

Just outside town is Pere Marquette State Park, the largest state park in Illinois at more than 8,000 acres. Its riverside trails, limestone bluffs, and rustic 1930s stone lodge make it a four-season base for camping, hiking, fishing, and some of the best fall-migration birding in the region.

Oglesby

Oglesby is the base camp for the most famous scenery in the state. It hosts Starved Rock State Park, where the Illinois River has carved 18 sandstone canyons that run with seasonal waterfalls in spring and freeze into blue ice columns in winter. It is the most-visited state park in Illinois, and it borders Matthiessen State Park just to the south, which adds its own canyons, cascades, and dells.

For a jolt of adrenaline, Vermillion River Rafting runs whitewater trips and kayak runs down the only consistent whitewater in the state. Back in town, Lehigh Memorial Park offers a shady downtown breather under old-growth oaks.

Pomona

Pomona is a dot on the map deep inside the Shawnee National Forest, and that remoteness is the appeal. Its signature sight is the Pomona Natural Bridge, a sandstone arch about 90 feet long that stands roughly 30 feet above a small creek, framed by old hickory, oak, and beech. An easy, well-marked loop trail gets you there.

Pomona also sits on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, Illinois's first designated wine district, which strings together hillside vineyards like the Hickory Ridge Vineyard and Winery. The tasting-room decks come with some of the best bluff-top overlooks in southern Illinois.

Highland Park

North of Chicago on the Lake Michigan shore, Highland Park trades river bluffs for a Great Lakes coastline. The award-winning Rosewood Beach wraps a quiet, undeveloped nature cove around a sandy swimming strip, with wide-open views across the lake. Inland, the Heller Nature Center protects 97 acres of oak-hickory forest, oak savanna, and wetland laced with trails.

There is more green just outside the center of town. The 435-acre Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve pulls in hikers, bikers, and cross-country skiers with its mix of restored prairie, wet prairie, oak woodland, and a 20-acre wetland.

Lisle

This DuPage County suburb is built around one of the best botanical collections in the Midwest. The Morton Arboretum spreads 1,700 acres of trees, gardens, and trails along the East Branch of the DuPage River, and it is best known for the giant wooden troll sculptures tucked into its woods, a hit with kids and photographers alike. Nearby, the PrairieWalk Pond and its loop trail make a quick, pretty escape around a two-acre pond.

Come winter, Lisle leans into the slopes at the Four Lakes Ski Area, a local snowsports hub where skiers, snowboarders, and tubers of all ages take to the hills a short drive from downtown Chicago.

Galena

Galena is famous for its perfectly preserved Victorian downtown (85 percent of its buildings are on the National Register), but the scenery around it is just as good. The Galena River Trail runs along the water on an old rail bed past wooded bluffs and overlooks, and Grant Park, named for the town's most famous resident, Ulysses S. Grant, sits above the river with a hilltop gazebo and sweeping views over the rooftops.

Just outside town, Chestnut Mountain Resort tumbles down a forested bluff straight to the Mississippi River, with downhill skiing in winter and an alpine slide, zipline, and gondola the rest of the year. The view from the top, 475 feet above the river, is one of the finest in the state.

Illinois Off The Interstate

From the canyons of Starved Rock to the river bluffs above the Mississippi, Illinois hides a surprising amount of scenery once you leave the highway behind. Paddle the Rock River out of Oregon, chase waterfalls near Oglesby, taste wine over the Shawnee Hills in Pomona, or watch two great rivers meet at Grafton. Nine towns, nine very different landscapes, and not a single one more than a short drive from somewhere you already know.