Taum Sauk Mountain

 You might think that there's no good hikes whatsoever in the Midwest, that's not necessarily true. While there's not many great hikes in Illinois (or Indiana!), you'd be surprised at the amount of trails and hiking opportunities there are just across the Missouri state line. 

One of my favorite spots is Taum Sauk Mountain State Park in Iron County, Missouri. It's only a four hour drive from Peoria and a great spot for a weekend trip, last summer I was driving down there nearly every weekend. 

The drive itself is beautiful, you'll pass by a ton of fields and rolling foothills as well as some historical sites. A notable one is a Civil War landmark from the Battle of Pilot Knob that you'll pass about a half hour before making it to the trailhead.

You'll also pass by Thee Abbey Kitchen, an old boarding school that was converted into a bed-and-breakfast - I highly recommend stopping there for a bite to eat before hitting the trail. As far as lodging goes, you'll want to stay at Shepherd Mountain Inn. With freshly-cooked breakfast and complimentary baked goods made daily, as well as phenomenal service and cheap nightly rates, you won't want to stay anywhere else. It's only a fifteen minute drive from the Taum Sauk trailhead and there's also a great bar right across the street from the inn. 

Obviously, the best part about the area is the park and trail itself. The trail wasn't too challenging, with a 436-foot elevation gain over three miles but there were some beautiful views about a mile into the hike. You also get a phenomenal view of the 132-foot high Mina Sauk Falls - while it wasn't technically on the trail I was able to do some rock climbing and climbed all the way down the falls and back up again. Climb at your own risk, it's off the marked trail and there's no real way to use ropes or a harness. 

The trail generally only takes 2.5 hours to complete, assuming that you don't go off the trail or do any rock climbing while you're there! If you choose to do that you can easily stretch this into a full day hike. 

There's also a connection to the Devil's Tollgate section of the Ozark Trail. While the entire portion of the trail is over 11 miles, I only did the first 2-3 miles before turning around and heading back to the falls. That section was pretty rocky and there was a lot of climbing involved - I had a lot of fun. 

Overall I would highly recommend this trail as well as parks in the surrounding area if you have a weekend to spare and don't mind spending a few hours in the car. If you're not scared of heights, it also might not be a bad idea to get some rock climbing in while you're there...just make sure you don't fall!