I’ve written about Starved Rock before (here and here). It’s a beautiful state park 100 miles southwest of Chicago. I’ve gone hiking there several times this year. But last weekend, I grabbed my buddy Matt for a weekend camping adventure.
We arrived on Friday and set up camp…fast.
Matt is a long-time friend who I reconnected with a few years ago. Light-hearted and fun, he was the perfect co-conspirator to pull of this camping caper! We arrived on Friday afternoon, set up camp then enjoyed fancy Japanese-inspired chicken skewers for dinner. (Matt is fancier than I am.)
Saturday morning, we had brekkie and relaxed before heading to the Starved Rock State Park Visitors Center. We talked to Pam, a charming 45-year volunteer, who tipped us off to her favorite canyon: St. Louis Canyon. It was a 3-mile roundtrip walk. Perfect!
The walk to St. Louis Canyon is a gorgeous 1.5 miles each way.
Our journey was perilous. Not gonna lie. 
Humungous fungus among us 
Rusting rocks 
St. Louis Canyon! 
Those “caves” were created by melting glacial waters! 
A panorama of the canyon 
Silica rock and sand 
Final selfie in gorgeous St. Louis Canyon 
It’s the only spring-fed canyon. (I think) 
Full moon over the fire after an incredible adventure
St. Louis Canyon was stunning beyond belief. We got some great pictures, but they don’t do justice to how gorgeous it is. Starved Rock has around ten natural canyons, and this is the fourth or fifth I’ve seen. They’re all uniquely beautiful. I can’t wait to get a chance to go back and see more!