POTA Notes: Southern Illinois 2025 Winter Trip
When looking for a place for a short vacation, our requirements were relatively simple: Somewhere to the south with a hot tub. An Airbnb in Carbondale, Illinois fit the bill and, as a bonus, it included a sauna. Sadly, a winter storm cut our trip short, but that didn’t stop us from visiting a few parks in the area.
# Fort de Chartres National Historic Site (US-7367)
Fort de Chartres is an old French fort that was built in the early 1700s to protect French troops in the area. Located in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois, about an hour south of St. Louis, the fort was the center of French colonial power in the area. Much of the old limestone fortification has been restored, including the powder magazine building, presumed to be the oldest building in Illinois. The grounds host a historical reenactment every year in June.
We visited the fort on the way to our Airbnb in Carbondale, the first park of the trip. It was a cold and very windy day, so any thoughts about activating from a park bench or the shelter were quickly abandoned. I set up to activate from my car; we had the entire parking lot off Stringtown Road to ourselves. There appear to be two outhouses a few feet away from the shelter, but it was so cold that we didn’t really walk around the site. We will definitely be back; it might be fun to activate from inside the fort.
# Shawnee National Forest (US-4482)
The Shawnee National Forest covers nearly 500,000 acres across multiple counties in southern Illinois. The forest isn’t a single contiguous area, but rather a collection of parcels, including a number of wilderness areas such as the Garden of the Gods and the Little Grand Canyon. Some boundaries are easy to determine, but finding part of the forest closest to Carbondale with a good parking area took a bit more research.
In this case, I found a small parking lot with a boat launch ramp on the west side of Cedar Lake. The parking lot does have a privy but no other obvious amenities. There is a nice view of the lake, and a short walk from the boat ramp is a small patch of muddy grass with even better views. Had the weather been better, I would likely have set up there with camping chairs. Similarly to Fort de Chartres, we didn’t see anyone else the entire time we were at the park. I activated from my car with the same setup I used at the previous park, enjoying the view of the lake and boat ramp.
# Giant City State Park (US-0996)
Giant City State Park is about 20 miles south of Carbondale. The park’s gorgeous lodge and visitor’s center were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s using limestone from the area. Sadly, the lodge and restaurant were closed for the season when we visited; a roadblock across the street to the lodge prevented us from even seeing it from the car.
We stopped by the interpretive center and talked to the park staff, who were very friendly and suggested a gravel parking area across from the stables on Giant City Road would be the best place to activate from. We spent a few minutes driving around the park and saw plenty of spots with great views and more picnic tables than I’ve ever seen at a park. The park’s rock formations and terrain may make some spots less than ideal for propagation.
We drove back to the parking area the park staff suggested, but there was a hunter there who seemed a bit annoyed by our presence. We decided to drive back to the interpretive center and set up in the parking lot in the same way we did at the previous parks.
If we return, we will definitely visit the lodge and restaurant and explore more of the park. Of particular interest is the observation tower which might be kind of fun to activate from if I can figure out a good antenna setup.
Sadly, we had to leave a day early due to the winter storm, which was forecasted to dump snow and ice in the area. Even though the trip was cut short, we had a great time. The hot tub and sauna at the Airbnb were definitely appreciated, and the hosts were very friendly. We will be back in the spring to explore more of the parks in the area and likely stay at the same place.