Little Grand Canyon in Shawnee National Forest, IL

Hike Little Grand Canyon Shawnee National Forest, IL

Class 2 3.6 miles 400 gain 2-4 hrs Loop Jul 25, 2015
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Little Grand Canyon GPX Track

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The Little Grand Canyon is an incredibly unqiue feature, located in Shawnee National Forest, IL. The loop begins with an easy walk leading quickly to a gorgeous green chute with ferns and mosses and a flowing stream that give the spot a fairytale-like quality. After descending the chute into the canyon, I was met with a completely flooded trail and uncountable mosquitoes, forcing me to turn around to do the other side of the loop hike from the opposite direction, rather than completing the loop. After a boring ridge hike wide enough for a truck, I got to a pretty overlook and then headed down into the canyon again through lush greenery. Of course, at the bottom, I was met with a flooded trail and the mosquitoes rejoiced to see me again. For the sake of removing confusion, the photos below are in order of the full loop (as if there wasn't any flooding), rather than my haphazard way of doing this hike.

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Entering Little Grand Canyon, IL.
Entering Little Grand Canyon, IL.
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Gorgeous mosses on the slickrock.
Gorgeous mosses on the slickrock.
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Little Grand Canyon.
Little Grand Canyon.
Close-up of the beautiful mosses.
Close-up of the beautiful mosses.
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Toward the bottom of Little Gran Canyon.
Toward the bottom of Little Gran Canyon.
The northern portion of the loop.
The northern portion of the loop.
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Trail is very obviously flooded during my visit.
Trail is very obviously flooded during my visit.
This shot is on the other side of the flooded section, working my way around the south side of the loop.
This shot is on the other side of the flooded section, working my way around the south side of the loop.
Ascending the south side.
Ascending the south side.
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A nice little waterfall on the way.
A nice little waterfall on the way.
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Pretty overlook before taking the ridgeline back to the trailhead.
Pretty overlook before taking the ridgeline back to the trailhead.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!