Ottawa Loop
(map)
Description:
The Pleistocene epoch went out with a bang in northern Illinois as the southern shore of “Lake Chicago” gave way, sending an untold volume of glacial melt water barreling along the young Illinois River. The result? One of the most ornate river valleys in all of the Midwest, carved 125 feet deep into an 80-mile stretch of Paleozoic bedrock. Visual evidence of this incredible event exists in the sheer sandstone bluffs which line the southern bank and accompanying tributaries of the Illinois River between the towns of Marseilles and Utica. The best examples of these can be found at Illini, Matthiessen, Buffalo Rock and Starved Rock State Parks. For the best view of Starved Rock itself, visit the Illinois Waterway Visitors Center. While touring the loop, be sure to visit Catlin County Park, which hosts one of the best remaining chinquapin oak savannas in the state.
Download the Ottawa Loop Guide in PDF format
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