Giant City State Park located in the Shawnee National Forest just 12 miles south of Carbondale, IL. This park boosts many impressive hiking trails, horseback riding, fishing, and camping to keep the outdoor lover well occupied. bluffs of sandstone formed 12,000 years ago.
Giant City State Park was named for the unique impressions made by its massive sandstone structures that were formed 12,000 years ago.
Giant City Visitor Center
We enjoyed the visitor center which has a few displays on the local geology, plants, and animals. The ranger was very knowledgeable and we talked for awhile about spring flowers that had just started to come up in the park. There was also some information on the history of the park and photo ops the girls couldn’t pass up.
Giant City Lodge and Cabins
The Giant City Lodge is a quaint typical CCC style lodge and it features a lounge which is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon during a spring thunderstorm. We ate lunch and had some of the cocktails from the Bald Knob dining room – the food and the drinks were amazing! We highly recommend eating here. There is also a gift shop for souvenirs. Right next to the lodge there are a few rental cabins, a tower, and outdoor swimming pool. For reservations visit the Giant City Lodge website.
Giant City Hiking
There are 8 different hiking trails in Giant City State Park. A map of the area and trails can be found here. We did the Devil’s Standtable and were rewarded with lots of interesting rock formations and a “mushroom rock” and a hidden staircase to a mini-waterfall. Giant City Nature Trail contains all the rock formations the party is famous for and we highly recommend this hike. Stonefort was steep uphill but it’s not far and the stone wall at the top is worth the inclined hike.
- Post Oak Nature Trail – 1/3 mile paved trail
- Arrowwood Tree Identification Trail – 1/3 mile easy Trail
- Devil’s Standtable Nature Trail – 1/3 mile moderate Trail
- Indian Creek Shelter Nature Trail – 3/4 mile moderate Trail
- Giant City Nature Trail – 1 mile rugged Trail
- Stonefort Nature Trail – 1/3 mile rugged Trail uphill
- Trillium Trail – 2 mile rugged Trail
- Red Cedar Backpacking Trail – 12 mile rugged trail with a campground halfway
- Post Oak Nature Trail – 1/3 mile paved accessible trail
Giant City Stables
Giant City also has a equestrian campground with electric and water and a 12 mile trail. For those of us without our own horses, Giant City Stables offers a guided trail ride and a pony ride for the little ones. We didn’t take advantage of this amenity while we were there. Find more info here: Giant City Stables
Fishing
There are several ponds located in the park for bank fishing with a fishing license. They provided this Fishing Map.
More information can be found about this park here.
CAMPING
Giant City has two campground that are very close to each other. There is a class A campground with water, electricity, and showers to accommodate RVs and tents. There is also a class C campground with walk in sites for tests near the Red Cedar trail (6 miles of hiking). Click on the ExploremoreIL link to reserve a campsite here. Here is a link to their campground map.
