2009 April « Mcleansboro's Weblog

Tour of Cave-In-Rock

April 23, 2009

There are so many wonderful outdoor places to visit here in southern Illinois. Close to home we have Dolan Lake, Ten Mile Creek, and the city reservoir to name but a few. But today I decided to go further afield and visit a state park on our Ohio river border, Cave-In-Rock State Park.

There is a lot of legend and lore attached to this river cave and anyone who’s seen How The West Was Won knows that in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s riverboat pirates used to frequent the cave and entice unwary river travellers into stopping for a spell. After lulling their victims into a false sense of security, the pirates would murder the people and take their property and canoe or boat. Government troops cleaned the place out later on but not before many people were killed and cast into the river never to be seen again.

Today the cave is a part of Cave-In-Rock State Park located in the town (pop. 350) of the same name at the southern tip of Illinois 1 in Hardin County, Illinois. Highway 1 ends at the Ohio River where you can take a ferry ride across the river to Kentucky.

Cave-In-Rock ferry

Turning left at the ferry and making a slight jog in the road, you are now on your way into the State Park. At the top of the narrow lane is the Cave-In-Rock Lodge and Restaurant where I enjoyed a great meal with a friend of mine today along with a fantastic view of the river. Down from the lodge are cabins for rent for a nice little vacation get-away.

cave-in-rock-lodge

cave-in-rock-cabins

Following the road past the lodge brings you to several shelters. Today I saw two in use where people were enjoying a nice picnic lunch in the 70+ degree weather. You can park at most any shelter and take the stairs down to the cave. The walk does take a little effort but at the bottom you are right at the cave entrance. Standing there it’s easy to imagine a pirate beside you calling out to some unsuspecting traveller, “Come on inside the cave. We’ve got food and drink aplenty.” And then under the pirate’s breath, “aaargh.”