Summer at Starved Rock

This Summer I visited Starved Rock State Park with my family for the first time ever. Starved Rock is a beautiful state park located about 2 hours southwest from Chicago in the small town of Utica. This was also my first time going hiking and it was an amazing experience! Being surrounded by so much nature was very relaxing and  it was a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life. The hike took around an hour and a half from where we parked to reach French Canyon, which is located right in the heart of the canyon. It’s a small waterfall that people can walk behind that you have to cross a river to get to. Although the hike was very long and surprisingly took a lot of stairs to climb, it was so worth it to see the beautiful view of the canyon. 

I definitely recommend checking out Starved Rock at least once. It’s a great place to go hiking for the day or for a weekend trip to camp, hike, climb mountains and even go fishing. It’s also very family and dog friendly, so it’s a great place where everyone can have fun. It was really relaxing to take a break from the busy city life and go back to nature for a little bit. Being in the city can sometimes get overwhelming and stressful. It’s good to take a breather and be with nature once in a while!

– Noreen Jahan