Today was the last day of our Spring 2018 Adventure Road Trip. We're currently staying in Galesville before we drive back up to International Falls on Monday. We began our day in Bloomington/Normal and made the short drive north to Mathiessen State Park where we went on a very interesting hike into the Dells. The area is very close to and very similar to nearby Starved Rock State Park.
We bundled up at the trailhead parking area and hit the trail. Almost immediately we descended to the edge of a canyon, crossed a bridge and then headed into the canyon.
There was a decent amount of water flowing through the canyon, and not wanting to get our feet wet on this cold morning, we opted to turn around where it would have been tricky rock hopping to continue on. We climbed out of the canyon and headed upstream on a trail along the edge. Soon enough we came to a trail and wooden stairs
that led down to Cedar Point. Here we could see a group headed downstream from where we had come.
We opted to follow the trail upstream.
On this section of trail we found an interesting little sandstone arch,
and a small waterfall.
At a viewpoint of Lake Falls,
the trail crossed the stream
and headed up a set of stairs to the top of the canyon. At this point we caught a view of what Sierra described as a "creepy" looking shelter house
overlooking a lake.
We used the restrooms near the shelter and then continued on the trail on the other side of the canyon. Every now and then there were interesting views down into the canyon.
Eventually we made our way to the entrance to the lower part of the canyon,
what they refer to as the "Lower Dells". We made our way down an interesting set of stairs and started to make our way upstream.
There were icicles hanging from the rocks in some areas.
We decided to stop at a point where we probably would have gotten our feet wet trying to make our way upstream. Still, we could see a large waterfall off in the distance.
We made our way back to the staircase, stopping at a rock shelter
and a view of a side canyon on the way.
We returned to the trailhead via a trail on the opposite side of the canyon from where we had come.
There were a few wildflowers blooming on the south facing slopes there. Then, we took one last look of the canyon we had just emerged from
before heading back to the car for the drive to Galesville.
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