Starved Rock State Park

Sometimes one feels the urge to go into nature. As a Chicago resident I mean. Chicago is a cool metropolis with all the nice and livable things an international metropolis brings along. Yet, it doesn´t have a green aspect to it, as compared to Berlin or Washington D.C., the two cities I´ve lived in prior to moving to Chicago. There were many more green spots and lots of natural habitat, many examples of integrating nature into city planning. Chicago has a lot of impressive steel, concrete and glass, especially concrete in all forms and variations. There is a lot of surface and area that is simply concrete: roads, highways, byways, sidewalks and even most recreational spots have a concrete base. Lake Michigan has a concrete shore for the most part, the Chicago River is confined between concrete walls and the Navy Pier is a massive concrete slab. The space between Millenium and Grant Parks is rather green and not vertical, yet doesn´t have a classical public park structure and also has a lot of concrete. Lincoln Park is the only exception within the inner city core. Even though it also has road incisions, its an open green space with a view and without vertical surroundings. But that´s the way the urban development went and that´s perfectly ok for this city. It´s an architectural city, it shows off its short but impressive history that way. When moving here, one feels at home quickly and it doesn´t take long to dive into the enjoyments of the urban jungle. Yet, after a while there´s that aforementioned urge to flee the city. But that´s not so easy as it sounds. A trip outside has to be planned and can´t be done spontaneously for two reasons. One is the vast urban overdevelopment that surrounds the city and keeps it in a restrictive concrete grip. The other is the selection of daytrip goals, most of which are further away and require at least a one and a half hour drive by car if it is to be outside of Chicagoland, the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area.

So, once in a while we plan to venture outside. We look up the list of things to do and places to go and plan the trip to a spot we don´t yet know. Beautiful Starved Rock State Park is one such spot with many hiking trails in wooded and hilly terrain and views of the Illinois River. We drove there on the first warm and sunny spring weekend and were amongst many other visitors. The crowd was an interesting mix of Chicagoans and people from the rural areas surrounding the park, many also from Iowa (which I could tell by licence plates on the parking lot and the sports and college themed attire many wore).

This view of the Illinois River gives a nice impression

of the flatness of the surrounding Prairie landscape

Looking down on Starved Rock Dam

People who don´t expose themselves to natural

surroundings a lot, need clear signposts

The hills, canyons and waterfalls were particularly nice to see, as most of Illinois is pancake-flat.

Highest natural point is 376 meter Charles Mound in the states northwestern Driftless Area,

highest artificial point is 442 meter Willis Tower in downtown Chicago

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