Southern Illinois

Hiking Itinerary

Planning

Services

Planning for a hike in southern Illinois is hard.

You have nearly 300,000 acres of Shawnee National Forest to choose from.

There are over 400 miles of hiking trails in that, too.

Then there are state parks scattered all over the region.

If you’re from southern Illinois, it’s a lot easier to plan for your hiking adventure.

But planning your itinerary could be exhausting if you’re not from here and you want to spend the weekend (or longer) hiking the area. This is especially true if you’ve never been here before or want to experience new trails you’ve never seen before.

You got to choose the hiking trail…

You have to determine if there is good parking…

Is it a loop? How long is it? When’s the best time to hike it? Will you see a lot on the trail?

And then all the extras…

Hiking with Shawn Group Hikes

Where will you stay at?

Where will you dine at? Does it carry your type of food?

Where should you shop at? Gifts?

How about little sightseeing stuff?

What about the cheapest gas stations in the area?

Planning can be challenging!

Why not put that in the trust of someone who knows the area well?

Me!

I was born and raised in southern Illinois. I’ve hiked everywhere in the Shawnee National Forest and our state parks.

My mission is to help support the local economy by promoting outdoor recreation tourism. That means I want you and everyone else who visits to have the best possible time of your life in southern Illinois.

I’ll create the best itinerary for you around hiking, biking, and outdoor recreational activities.

And I’m very affordable, too.

Prices start at $30.

If you’re interested in my itinerary planning services, check my rates for more information.

Please Support Hiking with Shawn

Alrighty folks, I hope you have enjoyed this content. I provide it for free and it takes a while to create. If you would be so kind enough to support my efforts, you can do so by sharing this post with others, especially on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel to see my latest videos, shorts and live streams. Follow me on FacebookInstagramTwitter and TikTok for unique content that you will only find on those pages. You might also join my Southern Illinois Hiking & Outdoor Resources Group on Facebook, too!

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Thanks again for checking out another one of my articles and until next time, I’ll see you on the trail!

Shawn Gossman

Shawn Gossman

Founder, Hiking with Shawn

Howdy folks! My name is Shawn Gossman and I founded Hiking with Shawn. I’m an avid hiker, cyclist and outdoorsman here in the Shawnee National Forest. I was born and raised in Southern Illinois and never want to leave. Click here to learn more about Shawn Gossman

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