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!
Snake Road Survey
Snake Road SurveyPlease take this Snake Road Survey. This survey is mainly meant for southern Illinois locals. This is for everyone in southern Illinois to determine their perception of Snake Road. Take the Snake Road Survey, whether you’re for or against it. Take the...
Giant City Trillium Trail Guide
Giant City Trillium Trail GuideGiant City Trillium Trail is a popular trail located near Makanda in Southern Illinois. Trillium Trail is a part of Giant City State Park. The trail is also known as Fern Rocks Nature Preserve. As a designated nature preserve, it is...
Keeping Public Land Secret
Keeping Public Land SecretThe entire phrase “Keeping Public Land Secret” all on its own brings about mystery, curiosity, and even anger. What is this secret land you tell me about? How do I find out more? How dare you keep land secret from me! Some people do not like...
How To Plan An E-bike Camping Trip
How To Plan An E-bike Camping TripCamping is considered one of the perfect ways to spend time with nature either alone or with friends and family. The closer you get to nature, the more lively you feel. However, to reach the camping spots, people usually prefer cars...
What Do You Want To See Next?
What Do You Want To See Next?What do you think about this blog? What articles does it lack? What do you want me to write about? Do you want me to keep writing every day? Please leave me a comment and let me know how I can improve this blog. I’m all ears (or eyes since...
Hammock versus Tent: Which one is Better?
Hammock versus Tent: Which one is Better?Let’s discuss the hammock versus tent debate and see which is better. This article shows the pros and cons of sleeping in a hammock. You’ll also see the pros and cons of sleeping in a tent. After reading the hammock versus tent...
Hiking with Shawn Trail Guides
Free and detailed trail guides for navigating the Shawnee National Forest, State Parks, and Beyond!
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,...
What to do at Garden of the Gods Illinois?
What to do at Garden of the Gods Illinois?Garden of the Gods Illinois consists of a recreation area, natural areas, and a designated wilderness area. Garden of the Gods is located in southern Illinois and part of the Hidden Springs Ranger District of the Shawnee...
Glen O Jones Lake Visitor Guide by Hiking with Shawn
Glen O Jones Lake Visitor Guide by Hiking with ShawnGlen O Jones Lake is an Illinois state-managed fish and wildlife area. Other than fishing and hunting opportunities, there are numerous other recreational activities, too. You can kayak the lake. There is a bicycling...
Rim Rock National Recreation Trail – Shawnee National Forest – Trail Guide
Rim Rock National Recreation Trail Shawnee National Forest Trail GuideRim Rock National Recreation Trail is a premier recreation area in the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. Rim Rock offers multiple hiking opportunities, historical sightseeing, nature...
One Horse Gap Hiking Guide – Shawnee National Forest
One Horse Gap Hiking Guide for the Shawnee National ForestOne Horse Gap is a beautiful area located in the Shawnee National Forest. There are ample hiking opportunities available at this location. Other great activities in this area include fishing, paddling,...
Hiking with Shawn Gear Reviews
Check out my hiking, biking, and outdoor recreation related gear reviews.
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 Gear Tag – 5 of My Favorite Hiking Gear Items
Hiking Gear Tag The Hiking Gear Tag is a tag challenge going around within the hiking, backpacking, bushcraft and outdoor communities on YouTube. I was a recipient not once, not twice but three times of the Hiking Gear Tag challenge. So three channels challenged me to...
Hiking with Shawn Blog Posts
My latest posts about the Shawnee National Forest, state parks, and beyond!
Best Shawnee Forest Biking Locations
Best Shawnee Forest Biking LocationsAre you searching for the best Shawnee Forest biking locations? Look no further. The Shawnee National Forest is a great cycling destination for all sorts of biker riders. Whether you’re into shredding down mountain bike...
5 Hiking Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be Making
5 Hiking Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be MakingHiking mistakes happen. Like any mistake, there are mistakes in everything. But we should try our best to avoid mistakes whenever possible. The same goes for the mistakes we make during our hiking adventures. It’s easy to make...
8 Rules of Hiking Etiquette
8 Rules of Hiking EtiquetteDo you use hiking etiquette when enjoying the trails? Hiking etiquette isn’t there to ruin your fun. It’s not there to interfere with your right to public land. It isn’t there to boss you around and make you feel controlled. Etiquette...
How to Leave The Trail Better Than You Found It
How to Leave The Trail Better Than You Found ItHave you ever heard the saying, how to leave the trail better than you found it? It’s like Leave No Trace but with some extra effort from you to make the trail even better. You can do a couple of things to leave the trail...
5 Hiking Exercises to Improve Your Hiking Skills
5 Hiking Exercises to Improve Your Hiking SkillsIt’s good to do some hiking exercises to help strengthen your body and muscles for general hiking abilities. Hiking itself is a great exercise. However, it’s often low impact and doesn’t give you the strengthening you...
How to Adjust Your Hiking Backpack the Right Way
How to Adjust Your Hiking Backpack the Right WayDo you know how to adjust your hiking backpack the correct way? You make your hike miserable by not adjusting your backpack how it should be. Poor adjustment can result in pain, strain, and wear on your body. In...
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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