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 Outdoor Economic Summit
The Outdoor Economic SummitAbout a week ago or so, I sat in on the Outdoor Economic Summit at SIU’s Touch of Nature Educational Center in Makanda. It was put on by the folks at Southern Illinois Now, which is an organization with an aim to help people move to, stay...
Hiking Gear Essentials: What to Pack for Your Next Adventure
Hiking Gear Essentials: What to Pack for Your Next AdventureAre you carrying the important hiking gear essentials with you on your day hikes? The last thing you want to do is get stranded in the forest and not have the right tools to keep you safe and sound while you...
Ultralight Backpacking Guide
Ultralight Backpacking GuideUltralight backpacking is a type of multi-day hiking that emphasizes bringing less amounts of gear and focusing on lighter-weight items. The idea of going backpacking with ultralight in mind is for when you want to go faster, travel...
13 Different Types of Hiking to Try Today
13 Different Types of Hiking to Try TodayThere are many different types of hiking styles to choose from. Whether you’re into day hiking, backpacking, or specialized hiking, there is a style of hiking that is best for you. You might find yourself trying out many...
Top 10 Hiking with Shawn Videos in 2023
Top 10 Hiking with Shawn Videos to Watch TodayReady for the top 10 most viewed Hiking with Shawn videos in 2023? Now that 2024 is here – let’s rewind back to last year and see what videos were the best that I put out. I always like to review this sort of thing just to...
How to Hike in the Winter: Your Ultimate Winter Hiking Guide
How to Hike in the Winter: Your Ultimate Winter Hiking GuideDo you hike in the winter? Many do. Some don’t. For those that do hike during the winter, they enjoy many different benefits of winter hiking. Those benefits include fewer biting bugs, most snakes are asleep,...
Hiking with Shawn Trail Guides
Free and detailed trail guides for navigating the Shawnee National Forest, State Parks, and Beyond!
Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area Guide
Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area GuideHave you ever visited Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area in southern Illinois? It's an amazing spot for all different kinds of recreational uses. Whether you're a boater, kayaker, fisherman, hunter, cyclist, hiker,...
Abneyville Rock Trail Guide
Abneyville Rock Trail GuideThe Abneyville Rock Trail is a short but very remote hiking trail located in the northwestern Shawnee National Forest near Sand Ridge, with the closest city being Murphysboro. The trail is around four miles out-and-back and has roughly 600...
Bork Falls to Cedar Bluff Hiking Guide
Bork Falls to Cedar Bluff Hiking GuideHave you ever hiked Bork Falls to Cedar Bluff (or reverse)? If you haven’t yet, and you’re looking for a nice long out-and-back hike, this would be an excellent hiking trip for you to enjoy. This hike is around 10 miles out and...
Lake Glendale Recreation Area Guide
Lake Glendale Recreation Area GuideLake Glendale Recreation Area has something for everyone, and it’s located in a central part of the Shawnee National Forest that, gives you easier access to many great areas around the forest and southern Illinois. Lake Glendale is...
Indian Point Trail Guide
Indian Point Trail GuideIndian Point Trail, or the Backpackers Trailhead, is a short trail within Garden of the Gods Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. This is a popular hiking and overnight backpacking trail used throughout the year. This...
Illinois Iron Furnace Guide
Illinois Iron Furnace GuideIllinois Iron Furnace isn’t just a nice spot for a picnic on a warm sunny day. It’s the last remaining Iron Furnace in the region. It’s a piece of southern Illinois history worth seeing for yourself. Illinois Iron Furnace is the last iron...
Hiking with Shawn Gear Reviews
Check out my hiking, biking, and outdoor recreation related gear reviews.
3 Osprey Hiking Backpack Reviews for Different Hiking Trips
3 Osprey Hiking Backpack Reviews for Different Hiking TripsThe Osprey Hiking Backpack is well known for being a prominent pack for the hiking community. Osprey Packs is a widely-known hiking backpack brand. It is usually a little bit more expensive than other brands,...
Shop Southern Illinois Local this Holiday Season
Shop Southern Illinois Local this Holiday SeasonThe holiday season is upon us, and you can help your neighbors by choosing the shop Southern Illinois local this year. By shopping locally, you can get the best locally made or sold gifts for your friends and family...
10 Most Important Hiking Gear Items for the Shawnee National Forest
10 Most Important Hiking Gear Items to take to the Shawnee National ForestAre you carrying the most important hiking gear items that you should be? The Shawnee National Forest is a small forest consisting of just shy of 280,000 acres spread across the southern portion...
Oboz Waterproof Hiking Boots Review
Oboz Waterproof Hiking Boots ReviewSince I’ve recently purchased my second pair of Oboz waterproof hiking boots, I figured that was a good time to create a review for it. I’ve used these new Oboz Mid Bridger waterproof hiking boots for a few months and those before...
Day Hiking Gear: 4 Essentials for a Successful Day Hike
Day Hiking Gear 4 Essentials for a Successful Day Hike When it comes to day hiking gear, we tend to think that we don’t need to pack that much day hiking gear because we’re not going to be out in the forest that long. However, we tend to forget the underlining issues...
MPG Cycling Shorts Review
MPG Cycling Shorts ReviewYes, I am a Cyclist... I've been an adult cyclist since 2012 after realizing that I was 300 pounds of fat and laziness. I would become out of breath bending down to tie my own shoes - no joke! So I got a bicycle and started riding every other...
Hiking with Shawn Blog Posts
My latest posts about the Shawnee National Forest, state parks, and beyond!
Ultralight Backpacking Guide
Ultralight Backpacking GuideUltralight backpacking is a type of multi-day hiking that emphasizes bringing less amounts of gear and focusing on lighter-weight items. The idea of going backpacking with ultralight in mind is for when you want to go faster, travel...
13 Different Types of Hiking to Try Today
13 Different Types of Hiking to Try TodayThere are many different types of hiking styles to choose from. Whether you’re into day hiking, backpacking, or specialized hiking, there is a style of hiking that is best for you. You might find yourself trying out many...
Top 10 Hiking with Shawn Videos in 2023
Top 10 Hiking with Shawn Videos to Watch TodayReady for the top 10 most viewed Hiking with Shawn videos in 2023? Now that 2024 is here – let’s rewind back to last year and see what videos were the best that I put out. I always like to review this sort of thing just to...
How to Hike in the Winter: Your Ultimate Winter Hiking Guide
How to Hike in the Winter: Your Ultimate Winter Hiking GuideDo you hike in the winter? Many do. Some don’t. For those that do hike during the winter, they enjoy many different benefits of winter hiking. Those benefits include fewer biting bugs, most snakes are asleep,...
10 Amazing Southern Illinois Frozen Waterfalls Away from Crowds
10 Amazing Southern Illinois Frozen Waterfalls Away from the CrowdsTis the season for Southern Illinois frozen waterfalls. As I’m writing this post, the temperature outside feels like -6 degrees. What does that mean aside from it being dangerously cold? It means water...
How to Start Backpacking: A Guide to Multi-Day Hiking for Beginners
How to Start Backpacking: A Guide to Multi-Day Hiking for BeginnersBackpacking is a great way to fall in love with outdoor recreation. This is especially true if you already enjoy camping and hiking. You’re simply combining the two activities together and enjoying...
Hiking with Shawn Patreon Posts
Premium blog posts only available to Patreon Members. Learn more at My Patreon Page.
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: 5 Less Populated Areas of the Shawnee for Viewing Fall Colors
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: 5 Less Populated Areas of the Shawnee for Viewing Fall Colors This article is a Patreon Exclusive meaning it was created exclusively for Patreon members of Hiking with Shawn and will not be released to the public outside of Patreon subscribers. The...
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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