Use this statewide Zone for Illinois-wide trail, stewardship, policy, funding, and organization topics. Local trail reports, club activity, event planning, and county-level questions belong in the regional and cross-state Zones listed below.
Illinois stretches from the Chicago metro area and Lake Michigan south through prairie, farm country, river corridors, the Illinois River valley, the Mississippi River bluffs, and the Shawnee Hills. Its outdoor landscape includes state parks, forest preserves, rail trails, river trails, nature preserves, conservation lands, and major trail corridors connecting communities across the state.
We have divided it into these regions:
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota & Wisconsin - Driftless
Illinois & Missouri - St. Louis
Please go to those regions for local information, organizations, and topics, reserving this statewide Zone exclusively for statewide topics.
Statewide trail information, stewardship, and volunteer resources:
Illinois Department of Natural Resources:
Illinois State Parks and Outdoor Recreation:
Illinois DNR hiking opportunities:
Grand Illinois Trail:
Volunteer at Illinois DNR:
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission:
Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves: