Hiking with Shawn Blog
Welcome to the Hiking with Shawn Blog! You can expect weekly blog posts featuring hiking, camping, cycling, and kayaking tips. I also post trail guides around Southern Illinois and beyond. You’ll also find gear reviews on the Hiking with Shawn Blog, as well.
Latest from the Hiking with Shawn Blog
The Hiking with Shawn Blog will feature one post a week featuring outdoor recreation tips, trail guides, and gear reviews.
Required Hiking Permits: Should we pay to use hiking trails?
Required Hiking Permits: Should we pay to use popular hiking trails?This article questions and debates the required hiking permits for using popular trails. In most cases, permits for hiking trails will cost money. Some may cost a few dollars, while others could cost...
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...
Top 10 Causes of Death While Hiking and How To Avoid Them
Top 10 Causes of Death While Hiking and How To Avoid ThemThere are many causes of death while hiking that you can take practical steps to avoid. For the most part, hiking is generally safe for everyone. But like with any activity, there are dangers present. Some...
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...
Top 5 Most Popular Hiking Destinations in Shawnee National Forest
Top 5 Most Popular Hiking Destinations in the Shawnee National ForestAre you looking for the most popular hiking destinations in southern Illinois? Well, it just so happens the Shawnee National Forest is down here, and we have quite a few popular spots. I’d have to...
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,...
Hiking Hydration: How much water should you take?
Hiking Hydration: How much water should you take?Hiking hydration is extremely essential to your safety and health. I recently published an article about items not to take on a hiking trip. The main idea for the article was to make it humorous. I failed to make that...
18 Easy Camping Hacks to Make Camp Better
18 Easy Camping Hacks to Make Camp BetterAre you in search of some easy camping hacks? Well, I’ve got 18 camping hacks just for you. These hacks are bound to improve your camping trip, whether you’re glamping or backpacking to your camp spot. Camping should always be...
16 Things Not to Pack for Hiking
16 Things Not to Pack for HikingDISCLAIMER: due to some of the content from comments made on this blog post, I’ve decided to add this disclaimer. first of all, my reasoning for this article is mainly geared at hikers who are looking up cut weight. If you were with...
Latest Trail Guides
Check out the latest trail guides published in the Hiking with Shawn Blog.
Dixon Springs State Park Visitor Guide
Dixon Springs State Park Visitor GuideDixon Springs State Park is an amazing Illinois State Park. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out. Save this guide for a future visit! If you’ve been and had issues finding things in the park – you’ll appreciate this free...
Tunnel Hill State Trail Guide
Tunnel Hill State Trail GuideTunnel Hill State Trail is a 50+ mile rail trail in Southern Illinois. The trail was once a bustling railroad line during the 1800s into the 1900s, back when there was a coal mining boom in the region. The railway transported coal and...
LaRue Pine Hills Snake Road Guide
LaRue Pine Hills Snake Road GuideLaRue Pine Hills Snake Road is the only road in the world that closes annually so snakes can migrate across, and that road is located in the Shawnee National Forest. The road closes two times a year. During the closer-horseback,...
Latest Gear Reviews
Check out my latest outdoor gear reviews posted in the Hiking with Shawn Blog.
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I am currently accepting guest contributions from outdoor enthusiasts and local businesses and organizations that are interested in posting on my blog. For the most part, guest posting is free as long as it’s non-commercial in nature. Just to be clear, I do not sell links. While I do accept paid sponsored posts from time to time, I reject around 9 out of 10 of sponsored post requests. If the content isn’t of the highest value to my readers, I will not accept it.
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