Hiking with Shawn Blog
Welcome to the official Hiking with Shawn Blog, where you can find my trail guides, gear reviews, and more! I try to post a few times a week! Please feel free to share my posts and leave a comment!
Hiking with Shawn Blog: Latest Posts
The latest posts from Hiking with Shawn!
The Ten Hiking Essentials for Every Hiker
The Ten Hiking Essentials for Every HikerAre you using the ten hiking essentials every time you go for a hike? If you’re not, you should be. These essentials are there to ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable hiking experience. A lot of things can happen on even a...
Hiking for Beginners: An Ultimate Hiking Guide
Hiking for Beginners: An Ultimate Hiking GuideAre you looking for an ultimate guide all about hiking for beginners? Well, you’ve come to the right blog. This guide is all about hiking for beginners. Even if you’re not a beginner, you might find some helpful...
2023 Annual Black Friday Hike
2023 Annual Black Friday HikeThe annual Black Friday Hike is approaching. It’s this Friday! Location: Jackson Falls Trailhead Time: 10:00 AM CST Hike: Trail 049 Loop (6 miles) Conditions and Difficulty: Moderately rugged with rolling hills, creek crossings, uneven...
Biggest Hiking Challenges: A Guide to Overcoming Common Hiking Problems
Biggest Hiking Challenges: A Guide to Overcoming Common Hiking ProblemsWhat are the biggest hiking challenges that you run into? Chances are, you’ve had some challenges with hiking. I know I have and still do, and I’ve hiked multiple days a week, every week, for the...
5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Hiking in the Shawnee National Forest
5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Hiking in the Shawnee National ForestThere are many things I wish I had known before hiking in the Shawnee National Forest. These are things I now know and practice regularly. But if I had known about them before, I probably would have...
20 Southern Illinois Scenic Overlooks to Hike this Fall
20 Southern Illinois Scenic Overlooks to Hike this FallAre you looking for the best Southern Illinois scenic overlooks around the Shawnee National Forest? I’ve got the perfect list for you. I’ve been all around southern Illinois looking for the best overlooks I can...
Hiking with Shawn Trail Guides
Free and detailed trail guides for navigating the Shawnee National Forest, State Parks, and Beyond!
Mill Branch Trail Guide
Mill Branch Trail Guide Mill Branch Trail is one of the most unique hiking trails in the Shawnee National Forest. (Moderate – 1.8 miles – Loop)There’s no other trail quite like Mill Branch. This trail can be accessed at Bell Smith Springs in the Shawnee National...
How To Go Caving at Illinois Caverns
How To Go Caving at Illinois CavernsAre you planning to go caving at Illinois Caverns this year? Illinois Caverns recently opened back up to the public a few years ago after being closed to help protect the native bat population from White Nose Syndrome, a disease...
Giant City Road Biking Route Itinerary
Giant City Road Biking Route ItineraryGiant City road biking is great for many different reasons. It’s scenic. It’s great for fitness. It’s lightly trafficked. Your selected road biking route can make or break your cycling adventure. You spent all that money on a road...
Glendixon Mountain Biking Trail Guide
Glendixon Mountain Biking Trail GuideHave you enjoyed some Glendixon mountain biking? Have you ever even heard of Glendixon? It combines words from the local mountain biking community in the Shawnee National Forest area. It’s short for Glendale and Dixon. Glendale...
Eagle Falls Waterfall Hiking Guide
Eagle Falls Waterfall Hiking GuideHave you ever heard of the Eagle Falls Waterfall? This amazing waterfall is attached to an old trail in the Bell Smith Springs area that is no longer being maintained, likely due to budget cuts. Access to this waterfall is rugged,...
Cache River State Natural Area Guide
Cache River State Natural Area GuideCache River State Natural Area is a nearly 15,000-acre Illinois state natural area with ample opportunities for fish and game, outdoor recreation, and educational programming. Visitors can enjoy miles upon miles of hiking, biking,...
Hiking with Shawn Gear Reviews
Check out my hiking, biking, and outdoor recreation related gear reviews.
Day Hiking Essentials: Bring these things on every hike!
Day Hiking Essentials: Bring these things on every hike!There are important day hiking essentials that you should bring with you on every day hike. These essentials will help you enjoy the best hiking experience possible. But not all hiking gear is created equal. Some...
5 Hiking Emergency Items Worth Taking on Every Hike
5 Hiking Emergency Items Worth Taking on Every HikeSome hiking emergency items are worth taking, just in case. You might plan for an uneventful day hike, but in nature, anything can happen. Humans really control nothing in nature, either. It’s rugged and unforgiving...
RightOnTrek Breakfast Meal Review
RightOnTrek Breakfast Meal ReviewI tried something new this morning. I ate a RightOnTrek breakfast meal. It was Cheesy Mushroom Egg Scramble. The name alone made it sound so delicious. I love cheese. I love eggs. I really love mushrooms. But I never thought about...
Hiking Gear List: What I Take on My Hikes
Hiking Gear List: What I Take on My HikesA lot of you have asked about my hiking gear list, and I wanted to write something that talks about it. Having hiking gear is essential to helping you make the best out of your outdoor experience. It allows you to push the...
10 Kayaking Gift Ideas to Get this Holiday Season
10 Kayaking Gift Ideas to Get this Holiday SeasonDo you need kayaking gift ideas this holiday season? Is there a special kayaker in your life that you want to treat? Look no further! In this article, you’ll see ten great kayaking Christmas gift ideas for that special...
10 Awesome Hiking Gift Ideas this Holiday Season
10 Awesome Hiking Gift Ideas this Holiday SeasonAre you looking for hiking gift ideas for that particular hiker in your life? Christmas and other holidays are almost here, and there is little time to shop. Hiking gifts are perfect for our outdoorsy significant other,...
Hiking with Shawn Blog Posts
My latest posts about the Shawnee National Forest, state parks, and beyond!
The Ten Hiking Essentials for Every Hiker
The Ten Hiking Essentials for Every HikerAre you using the ten hiking essentials every time you go for a hike? If you’re not, you should be. These essentials are there to ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable hiking experience. A lot of things can happen on even a...
Hiking for Beginners: An Ultimate Hiking Guide
Hiking for Beginners: An Ultimate Hiking GuideAre you looking for an ultimate guide all about hiking for beginners? Well, you’ve come to the right blog. This guide is all about hiking for beginners. Even if you’re not a beginner, you might find some helpful...
2023 Annual Black Friday Hike
2023 Annual Black Friday HikeThe annual Black Friday Hike is approaching. It’s this Friday! Location: Jackson Falls Trailhead Time: 10:00 AM CST Hike: Trail 049 Loop (6 miles) Conditions and Difficulty: Moderately rugged with rolling hills, creek crossings, uneven...
Biggest Hiking Challenges: A Guide to Overcoming Common Hiking Problems
Biggest Hiking Challenges: A Guide to Overcoming Common Hiking ProblemsWhat are the biggest hiking challenges that you run into? Chances are, you’ve had some challenges with hiking. I know I have and still do, and I’ve hiked multiple days a week, every week, for the...
10 Fall Hiking Tips for 2023
10 Fall Hiking Tips for 2023Would you like some fall hiking tips to start out within 2023? Make this fall’s hiking season a good one with some hiking tips aimed to help you better enjoy your outdoor experience.Fall Hiking Tips for 2034 Here are 10 Fall Hiking Tips for...
How to Road Bike on a Budget (Guide for Cheap Road Biking)
How to Road Bike on a Budget (Guide for Cheap Road Biking)I got the idea for this road bike on a budget guide after writing my recent guide about hiking on a budget. Road biking can be expensive. My basic entry-level race bike was over $3,000 when I bought it new. But...
Hiking with Shawn Patreon Posts
Premium blog posts only available to Patreon Members. Learn more at My Patreon Page.
Bushwhacking Off Trail: How to Effectively Hike Off Trail
Bushwhacking Off Trail: How to Effectively Hike Off TrailBushwhacking might sound a little taboo. Many folks are against bushwhacking off trail for a number of reason. One particular reason is ecology because you might harm sensitive plants or violate leave no trace....
Apps Hiking with Shawn Uses
Apps Hiking with Shawn UsesHowdy Patreon Supporters! In this exclusive Patreon-member only article, I’ll be going over each of the apps Hiking with Shawn uses on my phone and what I use it for. This will be apps Hiking with Shawn uses on my iPhone of course but I’m...
Hiking Hacks for Patreon Supporters
Hiking Hacks for Patreon SupportersWelcome to another Patreon Exclusive article! In this article, I’ll be focusing on hiking hacks or just tips and tricks to make hiking much easier. Many of these hacks are something I use and have changed hiking for me altogether....
Lightening your Load while Hiking and Backpacking
Lightening Your Load while Hiking and BackpackingLightening your load will reduce the weight you must carry while hiking or overnight backpacking through the forest. Most of us hikers deal with the issue of weight. Our packs get loaded with weight and sometimes it can...
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Hiking with Kids in the Shawnee National Forest
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Hiking with Kids in the Shawnee National ForestMany of you might have kids and your kids might be smaller kids that still live at home. Getting your kids involved in your hikes promotes outdoor stewardship and a healthy lifestyle. Kids nowadays seem...
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Top 5 Waterfalls Away From the Masses in Southern Illinois
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: Top 5 Waterfalls Away From the Masses in Southern IllinoisWaterfalls in southern Illinois are probably one of our better features of the Shawnee National Forest. But a lot of them can get pretty crowded on active days. Getting a good view or photo...
Write for the Hiking with Shawn Blog
I’m always looking for one-time guest bloggers as well as reoccurring guest bloggers. If you’re interested in writing outdoor-related articles for my blog, then I am interested in you. While I will allow you to have a link to a related websites (outdoor related), I don’t allow affiliate links or posts that are commercial in nature from guest bloggers. If you’re just looking for do-follow links, you should definitely look somewhere else. I’m looking for articles about Shawnee National Forest, southern Illinois state parks, local events related to the outdoors, state outdoor topics, and general hiking/biking/outdoor articles. If you’re interesting in writing for my blog on a one-time or regular basis, please Contact Me Today!
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