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.
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...
How to Pack Your Hiking Backpack the Right Way
How to Pack Your Hiking Backpack the Right WayIf you don’t pack your hiking backpack properly, it could make you hate hiking. Knowing how to pack your backpack correctly can do a lot for you. It can prevent pain. It can prevent wear. It can ensure you keep your mind...
Leave No Trace in the Shawnee National Forest
Leave No Trace in the Shawnee National ForestWould you like to know how to Leave No Trace in the Shawnee National Forest? Leave No Trace is an excellent practice to follow. This is especially true and important in fragile areas. One of the biggest problems in Shawnee...
Hand Warmers
Hand WarmersDo you ever use hand warmers when hiking? Michelle and I don’t necessarily like cold weather. We tolerate it because you can see more and explore areas of the forest that are usually harder to get to during warmer months. But we’re not exactly fans of cold...
Adopt Your Favorite Trail
Adopt Your Favorite TrailHave you ever wanted to adopt your favorite trail? Guess what! You don’t have to ask for permission. Just do it. I mean, you have to have permission to do maintenance on the trail that would be big enough to need tools, saws, and stuff like...
Garden of the Gods Settlement: Chasing Stories Series
Garden of the Gods Settlement: Chasing Stories SeriesWe found a Garden of the Gods Settlement not too long ago that all started with a story on social media. Welcome to a new article series where I blog about exploration and adventure in the Shawnee National Forest...
10 Best Shawnee Forest Towns to Visit
10 Best Shawnee Forest Towns to VisitAre you looking for the best Shawnee Forest towns to visit this year to add to your adventures? Then you’ve clicked on the right article. I live in Southern Illinois. I live minutes away from the Shawnee National Forest. I’m...
10 Shawnee Forest Hidden Gems You Need To See
10 Shawnee Forest Hidden Gems You Need To SeeAre you searching for Shawnee Forest hidden gems? You’ve come to the right place. I am Hiking with Shawn, after all. I go hiking every chance I get, and it is my goal to almost every acre of the nearly 300,000 acres of...
Latest Trail Guides
Check out the latest trail guides published in the Hiking with Shawn Blog.
Hiking with Shawn’s Trail Guide Series: Bulge Hole Ecological Area
Hiking with Shawn’s Trail Guide Series: Bulge Hole Ecological AreaBulge Hole Ecological Area or Bulge Hole EA for short is a wonderful hidden gem of the Shawnee National Forest. The ecological aspects of Bulge Hole deals with precious plants and flora that could be...
Hiking with Shawn’s Trail Guide Series: Packentuck Waterfalls
Hiking with Shawn’s Trail Guide Series: Packentuck WaterfallsPackentuck Waterfalls are a series of unofficial trails located in the Shawnee National Forest off Packentuck Road. This area borders private property as well as Camp Ondessonk so a map/app with boundary...
Ultimate Trail Guide: Bell Smith Springs Recreation Area
Hiking with Shawn’s Ultimate Trail Guide Series: Bell Smith Springs Recreation AreaBell Smith Springs Recreation Area is a popular recreation area of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. It contains over 8-miles of various types of hiking trails and many...
Latest Gear Reviews
Check out my latest outdoor gear reviews posted in the Hiking with Shawn Blog.
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Interested in Writing on the Hiking with Shawn Blog?
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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