Into the Clouds at Pere Marquette State Park | Illinois
#peremarquettestatepark #illinoisstateparks #mcadamspeak
Instead of going south I switch things up and head north across the Mississippi River into Illinois and hike the Outer Loop Trail in Pere Marquette State Park. The day started off rainy and wet, but made for a beautiful hike into the clouds along the cliffs of the Illinois River. At 7 miles this Illinois loop trail is a great hiking trail an hour north of St. Louis.
AllTrails Stats
Pere Marquette | Illinois
Type: Loop | Rate: Moderate | Traffic: Heavy | Length: 5.9mi | Elevation Gain: 990ft
I recorded 7 miles on my hike and that’s probably because of the different overlooks I checked out, which were worth it!
What is the Outer Loop Trail?
AllTrails names this route as the Outer Loop Trail, but when you arrive at Pere Marquette you won’t find an Outer Loop Trail. This route is actually comprised of several trails connected together. I hiked clockwise starting on the Goat Cliff trail which started me off with a climb and took me to the bluffs and scenic overlooks first. After the overlooks you can follow Goat Cliff back down to the parking lot for a 1.5 mile hike, or take a left at every fork to circle around the entire park via the Hickory trails (North and South) and Fern Hollow trail.
Who is Pere Marquette?
Pere Marquette, or if you know your French “Father” Marquette, is actually Jacques Marquette, a French-Canadian Jesuit missionary/explorer in the 17th century (1637-1675). Most of his live was spent around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, but upon an invitation from the Native American Illini Confederacy he was the first European to map the northern portion of the Mississippi River Valley. Pere Marquette State Park sits just north of where the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers converge near Grafton, Illinois.
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Outer Loop Trail Review
Pere Marquette State Park is a pretty massive Illinois state park with camping, boat harbor, equestrian centre, repelling, scenic drive, and even a lodge and conference center. The AllTrails Outer Loop trail circles the entire park, but rarely did I see any of the activities just mentioned so it felt secluded and peaceful. It was raining for the first two hours of my hike, so that probably helped with the solitude. Over all the trail is well marked, well maintained, and generally a good moderate hiking trail.
I was also really surprised by Alton, IL (the first city across the river) and closer to the park Grafton, IL on my drive up. Grafton is a totally summer tourist town with bars and restaurants on stilts in the river flood plane that has the same vibe of gulf coast beach town, complete with a bar called Palms and everything. I’m looking forward to heading back once the world opens up a little more.
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If you’re looking for a new hiking shoe, seriously consider the Wildhorse series from Nike. I absolutely love my pair of Wildhorse 6 which I wore on this hike and they performed beautifully in the wet rainy conditions.
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