Saturday, April 5, 2025 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 6th public hike of the 2025 spring hiking season on April 5th. Hiking: Little Black Slough Trail (Johnson County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderately difficult in and out loop hike approximately 5.5 miles in length approximately 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-967-0019 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Wildcat Bluff access area. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. This hike requires the crossing of a rock ford on the Cache River, difficult to cross during high water and this crossing is located 1.5 miles west of the Wildcat Bluff access area. Hikers may get wet. For a map to the meeting location Wildcat Bluff access area click this blue link Wildcat Bluff Access Area and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Wildcat Bluff Access meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 22, 2025 Hike Summary

Saturday morning was bright and sunny as the River to River Trail Society met at the Knights of the Golden Circle trail head parking lot on the east side of Forest road in Gallatin county. Cody Evans  was there early to lead the hikers. We started off with 22 hikers and went to the rock formation known as “Knights of the Golden Circle.  We then headed down trail 1440, and wound around until we got to the Buzzard roost area. One hiker did opt out, to be led back to the vehicles. We continued on down the trail, dodging a few downed trees in the process. and finding the various cracks and crevices in the rocks. We ate lunch at Whiskey cave and another set of hikers from the Paducah Kentucky area took the group picture for us. A fossil was pointed out by 1 experienced hiker. We continued on to the rock known as Gorilla rock, then most opted to go on a few hundred yards into Rice Hollow Narrows, to view the Hidden waterfall. It was flowing, but, just barely.  We headed on back, using various trails, again, passing by Buzzard roost. We had encountered a few pairs of horse riders, but, this time, we saw 1 of the Largest groups of horse riders I have ever seen, probably about 75+ horses and riders, out for the day. 

Next weeks’ hike (Saturday, March 29th), will be meeting at the newly re-opened Shawnee Mart in Eddyville, Illinois. We will be hiking a section of the River to River trail, from Eddyville, over to Cedar Grove church road, crossing Hayes creek and passing/viewing Crowe Knob. 

Until then, “See ya’ll….On the Trail”.

Saturday, March 29, 2025 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 5th public hike of the 2025 spring hiking season on March 29th. Hiking: Hayes Creek Section (Pope County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate thru-hike for experienced hikers approximately 6 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-926-3250 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Shawnee Mart, Eddyville IL.. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. We will have plans to shuttle for this hike. We will have two stream crossings and there will probably be flowing water. Hikers will have to walk rocks to cross streams and their boots and or shoes may become wet. There may be some slick rock areas. For a map to the meeting location at the Shawnee Mart Eddyville, IL. click this blue link Shawnee Mart Eddyville, IL and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Shawnee Mart meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 15, 2025 Hike Summary

It was cloudy this morning and had rained just a few hours before Marcus Owens led 21 other hikers South down the upper trail at Jackson Falls. The first stop was the carving into the rock of the Civil war soldier, then on to the top of the falls. There had been enough rain to make the 3 waterfalls we saw run nicely. We stayed on top” on the West side of the falls. We made a few stops to just take in the views Above the valley. We continued to work our way north, bit by bit, until we came to the area that we slowly worked our way down toward the railroad tracks. Then, we headed south alongside the tracks for just a few hundred feet, then back onto the trail, along the lower bluffs. Today, we saw No horses, just a few other hikers at the parking lot, and No rock climbers at all, which was a bit unusual. We got to the bottom of the main falls, where we quickly ate our lunch, because it was starting to sprinkle/shower some rain. We took the group picture with the water tumbling Over the falls in the background, then headed out, to climb up and out through the keyhole. By the time we got up through the keyhole, the rain sprinkles had stopped. We crossed a few streams, then back to the parking lot. We were done by a few minutes after 1pm. 

Next weeks’ hike, on Saturday March 22nd, will be led by Corey Evans, meeting at the huge Knights of the Golden Circle parking lot, on Forest Road,  near Garden of Gods. 

Until then, “See ya’ll On the Trail”. 

Saturday, March 22, 2025 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 4th public hike of the 2025 spring hiking season on March 22nd. Hiking: Gorilla Rock (Gallatin County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a difficult thru-hike (Trees Down) approximately 5 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-559-0686 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at the Golden Circle Trailhead. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. We will have plans to shuttle for this hike. This hike is on forest service trails but with the amount of fallen trees across the trails we will have to do bushwhacking in some areas. Numerous stream beds to cross. Hikers will need to walk rocks when crossing streams and their boots or shoes may become wet if it has rained. There may be some slick rock in areas if it has rained. For a map to the meeting location at Golden Circle Trailhead click this blue link Golden Circle Trailhead and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Golden Circle Trailhead meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 8, 2025 Hike Summary

On another sunny Saturday, at the top of High Knob just north of Karbers Ridge, Todd Carr gathered 20 hikers, to lead off with some pictures of L.O. Trigg and  the beginning of the Shawnee National Forest. We headed down and around the base of the knob, then down the road a few ft.  to turn east on the River to River Trail. We saw several cabins…err..rustic but ready “b&bs”, and then turned North a few feet then found smaller trails, heading west.  Often switch-backing, crossing a few streams, with Todd stopping every so often and adding a bit of history, lore and whimsy to the hike. We crossed several streams, took a snack break, then continued on to the area where the Grindstaff family, brothers Robin & Preston had lived, and Hutt creek. From there, it was a few minutes until we got to Coulter spring.  We took the group picture with everyone on the North edge of the spring. This area was also not far from L.O. Trigg’s former “get-a-way” of Resthaven.  It was a house and small farm where Mr. Trigg would come to kick back, relax and think. Todd informed us about the “short grave” of Elizabeth Grindstaff and the area’s other legends. Mr. Trigg, of 1 political persuasion, was able to convince President Franklin Roosevelt, of the opposite political persuasion, to sign legislation starting the Shawnee National Forest.  From there, we hiked on out to the road where pickups were left to ferry the hikers back up to the top of High Knob. In all, we hiked a bit over 5 miles today.  The hike for Saturday, March, 15th, will be led  by Marcus Owens, in the Jackson Falls area, east of Ozark, Illinois.  Until then, See ya’ll On the Trail 

Saturday, March 15, 2025 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 3rd public hike of the 2025 spring hiking season on March 15th. Hiking: Jackson Falls (Pope County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a very difficult loop hike approximately 3.5 miles in length, 3 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-534-8139 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at Zion Hill Church, Ozark IL. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. We will have plans to shuttle for this hike. Hikers will need to walk rocks when crossing streams and their boots or shoes may become wet if it has rained. Hikers will need to navigate very steep grades when entering the canyon at the Northern access point and leaving the canyon at the Key Hole access point.  There may be some slick rock on this hike. For a map to the meeting location at Zion Hill Church, Ozark IL. click this blue link Zion Hill Church, Ozark, IL. and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the Zion Hill Church meeting area for your signature.

Saturday March 1, 2025 Hike Summary

On a Sunny, but, windy Saturday March 1st, Sam Morales gathered 28 hikers at the Indian Kitchen trailhead to hike into the Lusk Creek Wilderness. He had asked for and received special permission from the U.S. Forest service to take a large group into the area. We crossed the road and headed into the forest. Along the way, we saw a Lot of trail improvement work done by the Back Country Horsemen group. They had cut logs and put them in areas where erosion had been causing problems, and then filled the “rectangles” with rock. Nice work. And there were quite a few spots where they had “stockpiled’ logs to be used for the same purpose. It made for a great walk into the woods. Along the way, we also noticed a few new signs. Almost 1/4th of our hikers today were “new” to a River to River Trail Society hike. We were Very glad to have them. We made our way to the “tie-up” area, then worked our way slowly down to the creek. It was pretty full, with water running over the rocky areas. We then all headed back up to the ‘tie-up” area, ate an early lunch, took the group picture there, and hiked back out to the pickups that had been spotted at the end of Indian Kitchen road. It was a Great day to be out taking a walk in the woods with friends. 

Next weeks’ hike, on Saturday, March 8th, will be meeting at the top of High Knob, to be led by Todd Carr. 

Until then, See ya’ll On the Trail, 

Saturday, March 8, 2025 Hike Announcement

The River to River Trail Society announces its 2nd public hike of the 2025 spring hiking season on March 8th. Hiking: Grindstaff Hollow (Gallatin County). This hike is free and open to the public. This will be a moderate thru-hike approximately 4 miles in length, 4 hours hiking time. The leader of this hike can be reached at 618-499-9629 for more information. Hikers should meet at 10:00 am at High Knob Lookout Parking Area. This hike is intended for people in good health who have done some hiking. Hiking sticks and boots or sturdy shoes are recommended. Hikers should bring their own water and snacks. No dogs please. We will have to shuttle for this hike. Hikers will need to cross 1 stream for this hike and will need to be able to walk rocks to cross the stream. Hikers’ boots and or shoes may become wet. There may be some slick rock on this hike. For a map to the meeting location at High Knob Lookout Parking area click this blue link High Knob Lookout Parking area and a map will open up, and then click the Directions button and a driving map will be created which will allow you to plan your driving directions to the meeting area. Prior to participating in any hikes, the River to River Trail Society requests that all hikers read the 2023 Trail Society Waiver which can be found on the River to River website at the following link River to River Trail Society Information and then sign off on this waiver prior to the beginning of the hike. A copy of the waiver will be at the High Knob Lookout meeting area for your signature.