Photos: Waterfalls: Unexpected seasonal beauty of Southern Illinois
Nestled into the heart of Southern Illinois are several waterfalls that can be spectacular. The falls in Southern Illinois are seasonal, but they can be magnificent during the spring snow melt or after a heavy downpour.
Upper Burden Falls, located east of Ozark, is readily accessible from Shawnee National Forest roads.
Burden Falls, located east of Ozark in Shawnee National Forest, is the most accessible of the waterfalls. Spring rains bring a special beauty to Burden Falls.
Most visitors drive through the stream that feeds the falls as they enter or exit the tiny parking lot. Upper Burden Falls are located just a few steps from the parking lot.
Winter can also be a wonderful time to visit Burden Falls.
Jackson Falls, also in Shawnee National Forest, is just a few miles south and west of Burden Falls. It’s a bit more of a hike to the upper falls, but certainly less than 15 minutes. Jackson Falls is a magnificent place to visit on a winter day.
The scenery on the short hike to Jackson Falls makes the trip worthwhile.
The view from atop Jackson Falls.
The other major waterfall on public property is at Ferne Clyffe State Park, located on Illinois 37 just south of Goreville. The falls, known simply as Ferne Clyffe Waterfall, is at the end of Big Rocky Hollow Trail.
It is an easy half-mile walk from the trailhead. This easily accessible waterfall is located at the end of the Big Rocky Hollow Trail at Ferne Clyffe State Park.
The pool at the base of the Ferne Clyffe Waterfall makes for an excellent swimming hole on a hot summer day.
Bork’s Waterfall is in the Cedar-Draper’s Bluff portion of Ferne Clyffe. Although not as tall as the Ferne Clyffe falls, it is fed by a larger watershed and tends to flow more often and longer.
Visitors explore the area around the waterfall at the end of the Big Rocky Hollow Trail in Ferne Clyffe State Park on Tuesday near Goreville.
WATERFALL VIEWS
Bork’s Waterfall flows from recent rains west of Goreville in the Shawnee National Forest on Monday. Mild, dry weather is expected through the weekend and into next week.
Visitors to Giant City State Park walk along the cascade on the Stonefort Trail on Monday near Makanda. Area streams and rivers are flowing fast after weekend rains. More rain is in the forecast for today into Thursday.
Waterfalls are shown at Burden Falls.
Small waterfalls are pictured at Ferne Clyffe's Rebman Trail.
This photo was taken on April 19 in the Hidden Cove Waterfall, the namesake of the Shawnee National Forest's Waterfall pilot project.
A stream goes through a series of waterfalls in Giant City State Park in 2018.
Chasing waterfalls
Stonefort Creek flows through Giant City State Park on a Tuesday afternoon near Makanda.
Wading in the waterfall at Blue Sky Vineyards provided much relief from the heat and humidity Monday, Aug. 21, 2017.
When the water is flowing over the spillway at Kinkaid Lake, its beauty rivals just about any other waterfalls in the area.
Snow melt created this frozen waterfall in the Shawnee National Forest.
ABOVE: Small waterfalls can be found in the park after spring rains. TOP: Ferne Clyffe’s diverse plant life includes a variety of fungi.
A waterfall at Ferne Clyffe is raging on Dec. 28, 2015, after days of rain in Southern Illinois.
A small waterfall at Ferne Clyffe State Park.
Bill Reynolds, former site superintendent at Ferne Clyffe State Park, where this waterfall is located, said IDNR employees leaned on other agencies to keep parks operational in the early 2000s.
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Nestled into the heart of Southern Illinois are several waterfalls that can be spectacular at certain times of the year.
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