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72 records · 103,184 acres
Illinois State Parks and Recreation Areas
State parks, recreation areas, historic sites and trails where IDNR fact sheets list hunting, with seasons offered, acres, counties and quota hunts.
Photo: Forest Service, Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Illinois State Parks and Recreation Areas: what is on this hub
Illinois lets hunters into a good share of its state parks and recreation areas, but usually only for some seasons and often by permit. 72 records (49 state park, 18 recreation area, 3 historic site and 2 state trail) add up to 103,184 acres and 57 counties. Among 72 records with a grid, archery deer is open at 69, firearm deer at 38 and spring turkey at 51. A permit, lottery or reservation applies on 52 of the 72 records. Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit drew the most hunter trips in 2025-26, 5,785.
State parks and recreation areas, record by record
Filter the 72 records by name, county or kind.
| Place | Kind | Counties | Acres | Seasons open | Trips 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park | State park | Lake | 900 | 4 of 15 | 0 |
| Apple River Canyon State Park | State park | Jo Daviess | 1,052 | 14 of 20 | 702 |
| Argyle Lake State Park | State park | McDonough | 900 | 15 of 18 | 403 |
| Beall Woods State Park | State park | Wabash | 516 | 1 of 10 | 153 |
| Beaver Dam State Park | State park | Macoupin | 430 | 6 of 18 | 355 |
| Buffalo Rock State Park | State park | LaSalle | 150 | 1 of 11 | – |
| Butterfield Trail SRA | Recreation area | Iroquois | 120 | 7 of 18 | 166 |
| Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site | Historic site | St. Clair, Madison | 702 | 1 of 11 | 149 |
| Castle Rock State Park | State park | Ogle | 1,620 | 8 of 18 | 960 |
| Cave in Rock State Park Kaegi Tract | State park | Hardin | 175 | 17 of 21 | 16 |
| Cedar/Draper Bluff Hunting Area | State park | Pope | 1,275 | 11 of 18 | 94 |
| Chain O'Lakes State Park | State park | McHenry, Lake | 2,500 | 13 of 22 | 0 |
| Clinton Lake SRA | Recreation area | De Witt | 3,693 | 22 of 25 | 2,678 |
| Eagle Creek State Park | State park | Shelby | 520 | 10 of 21 | 217 |
| Eldon Hazlet State Park | State park | Clinton | 1,699 | 15 of 21 | 417 |
| Ferne Clyffe State Park | State park | Johnson, Union | 450 | 14 of 18 | 223 |
| Fort Kaskaskia Historic Site | Historic site | Randolph | 140 | 2 of 14 | 61 |
| Fort Massac State Park | State park | Massac | 1,287 | 18 of 21 | 250 |
| Fort de Chartres Historic Site | Historic site | Randolph, Monroe | 800 | 15 of 21 | 204 |
| Fox Ridge State Park | State park | Coles | 1,082 | 15 of 20 | 461 |
| Frank Holten State Park | State park | St. Clair | 300 | 3 of 14 | 72 |
| Giant City State Park | State park | Jackson, Union | 2,891 | 16 of 19 | 573 |
| Hennepin Canal State Trail | State trail | Bureau, Henry + | 350 | 5 of 18 | 261 |
| Horseshoe Lake State Park Gabaret, Mosenthein & Chouteau Islands | State park | Madison | 2,329 | 16 of 22 | – |
| Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County | State park | Madison | 2,000 | 10 of 22 | 3,722 |
| Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail | State trail | Will, LaSalle + | 1,000 | 1 of 6 | 38 |
| James Pate Philip State Park/Heron Woods SHA | State park | Cook | 415 | 1 of 11 | 182 |
| Johnson Sauk Trail SRA | Recreation area | Henry | 862 | 10 of 20 | 798 |
| Jubilee College State Park | State park | Peoria | 2,900 | 14 of 22 | 0 |
| Kankakee River State Park | State park | Kankakee, Will | 4,000 | 17 of 23 | 2,585 |
| Kickapoo SRA | Recreation area | Vermilion | 2,356 | 14 of 20 | 1,130 |
| Lake Le-Aqua-Na SRA | Recreation area | Stephenson | 560 | 4 of 15 | 39 |
| Lake Murphysboro State Park | State park | Jackson | – | 1 of 6 | – |
| Lincoln Trail State Park | State park | Clark | 857 | 5 of 18 | 276 |
| Lowden Memorial State Park | State park | Ogle | 80 | 2 of 14 | 29 |
| Matthiessen State Park | State park | LaSalle | 1,915 | 11 of 21 | 623 |
| Mississippi Palisades State Park | State park | Carroll | 1,500 | 4 of 13 | 374 |
| Moraine Hills State Park | State park | McHenry | 2,000 | 4 of 13 | 0 |
| Moraine View SRA | Recreation area | McLean | 1,191 | 14 of 21 | 905 |
| Morrison Rockwood State Park | State park | Whiteside | 950 | 6 of 18 | 2,097 |
| Nauvoo State Park Max Rowe Unit | State park | Hancock | 30 | 8 of 17 | 2 |
| Pere Marquette State Park | State park | Jersey | 5,000 | 14 of 18 | 1,060 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit | Recreation area | Perry | 6,105 | 16 of 21 | 5,785 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Denmark Unit | Recreation area | Perry | 4,385 | 17 of 21 | 5,785 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area East Conant Unit | Recreation area | Perry | 2,824 | 15 of 21 | 5,785 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Galum Unit | Recreation area | Perry | 2,520 | 17 of 21 | 5,785 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area- Park Unit | Recreation area | Perry | 2,754 | 14 of 18 | 5,785 |
| Ramsey Lake State Park | State park | Fayette | 1,610 | 12 of 21 | 895 |
| Randolph County SRA | Recreation area | Randolph | 820 | 10 of 18 | 1,107 |
| Rauchfuss Hill SRA | Recreation area | Pope | 70 | 7 of 18 | 24 |
| Red Hills State Park | State park | Lawrence | 736 | 10 of 18 | 179 |
| Rock Cut State Park | State park | Winnebago | 2,570 | 7 of 18 | 151 |
| Sahara Woods SRA | Recreation area | Saline | 3,800 | 16 of 18 | 316 |
| Sangchris Lake State Park | State park | Christian, Sangamon | 2,480 | 14 of 21 | 2,506 |
| Shabbona Lake State Park | State park | DeKalb | 776 | 6 of 21 | 1,980 |
| Siloam Springs State Park | State park | Brown, Adams | 3,095 | 13 of 18 | 1,114 |
| Siloam Springs State Park- Buckhorn Unit | State park | Brown | 2,272 | 14 of 18 | 827 |
| Siloam Springs State Park- Fall Creek Unit | State park | Adams | 190 | 2 of 10 | 0 |
| Starved Rock State Park | State park | LaSalle | 2,817 | 9 of 17 | 955 |
| Stephen A. Forbes SRA | Recreation area | Marion | 2,580 | 11 of 21 | 801 |
| Walnut Point State Park | State park | Douglas | 603 | 5 of 18 | 281 |
| Washington County SRA | Recreation area | Washington | 750 | 10 of 18 | 1,109 |
| Wayne Fitzgerrell SRA | Recreation area | Franklin, Jefferson | 1,500 | 8 of 19 | 3,200 |
| Weinberg-King State Park | State park | Schuyler, Brown | 760 | 16 of 17 | 189 |
| Weinberg-King State Park Cecil White Unit | State park | Hancock | 33 | 8 of 18 | 15 |
| Weinberg-King State Park Scripps Unit | State park | Schuyler | 730 | 15 of 18 | 441 |
| Weinberg-King State Park Spunky Bottoms Unit | State park | Brown | 778 | 19 of 21 | 108 |
| Weldon Springs State Park | State park | De Witt | 100 | 1 of 6 | 514 |
| Weldon Springs State Park Piatt County Unit | State park | Piatt | 770 | 7 of 17 | 514 |
| White Pines State Park | State park | Ogle | 300 | 3 of 13 | 52 |
| William W. Powers SRA | Recreation area | Cook | 459 | 4 of 13 | 360 |
| Wolf Creek State Park | State park | Shelby, Moultrie | 500 | 10 of 21 | 374 |
What the state parks and recreation areas open, season by season
Counting the 72 season grids line by line gives the table below. At one end, deer – archery shows as open on 69 of 69; at the other, deer – special cwd on only 4.
| Season line | Offered | Not offered | Share offering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer – Archery | 69 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Deer – Firearm | 38 | 31 | 55 percent |
| Deer – Late-Winter Antlerless | 15 | 54 | 22 percent |
| Deer – Muzzleloader | 29 | 40 | 42 percent |
| Deer – Special CWD | 4 | 64 | 6 percent |
| Deer – Youth Firearm | 22 | 45 | 33 percent |
| Turkey – Fall Archery | 55 | 6 | 90 percent |
| Turkey – Fall Shotgun | 20 | 40 | 33 percent |
| Turkey – Spring | 51 | 10 | 84 percent |
| Turkey – Youth Spring | 30 | 31 | 49 percent |
| Waterfowl – Ducks, Coots and Mergansers | 24 | 2 | 92 percent |
| Waterfowl – Geese | 24 | 3 | 89 percent |
| Waterfowl – Snipe and Rail | 9 | 18 | 33 percent |
| Waterfowl – Youth | 18 | 9 | 67 percent |
| Upland game birds | 35 | 20 | 64 percent |
| Dove | 40 | 16 | 71 percent |
| Rabbit | 39 | 17 | 70 percent |
| Squirrel | 51 | 5 | 91 percent |
| Woodcock | 23 | 33 | 41 percent |
| Furbearer hunting | 45 | 21 | 68 percent |
| Furbearer trapping | 45 | 20 | 69 percent |
| Crow | 3 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Controlled pheasant hunting | 5 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Falconry | 2 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Disabled hunter hunt (Disabled Archery Deer Hunting) | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Disabled hunter hunt (Disabled Deer Firearm Hunting) | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Disabled hunter hunt (Disabled Hunt) | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Disabled hunter hunt (Disabled Hunting) | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Disabled hunter hunt (Disabled Waterfowl Hunting) | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Youth controlled pheasant hunting | 3 | 0 | 100 percent |
| Dog training | 1 | 0 | 100 percent |
Counted from the IDNR Hunt Illinois fact sheets in lands.json; checked November 13, 2026.
State parks and recreation areas mapped
Map points exist for 72 of the 72 records.
Where the state parks and recreation areas sit by region
The five IDNR regions share these 72 records as shown.
| IDNR region | Records | Acres listed | Quota-hunt records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | 16 | 19,302 | 14 |
| Northeast | 7 | 11,274 | 6 |
| East Central | 11 | 11,792 | 8 |
| West Central | 20 | 25,338 | 11 |
| South | 18 | 35,478 | 13 |
2025-26 trip leaders among the state parks and recreation areas
Report rows cover 69 of 72 records, and the eight busiest are listed.
| Place | Hunter trips | Animals reported | Deer reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit | 5,785 | 577 | 301 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Denmark Unit | 5,785 | 577 | 301 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area East Conant Unit | 5,785 | 577 | 301 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area- Park Unit | 5,785 | 577 | 301 |
| Pyramid State Recreation Area Galum Unit | 5,785 | 577 | 301 |
| Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County | 3,722 | 373 | 14 |
| Wayne Fitzgerrell SRA | 3,200 | 65 | 59 |
| Clinton Lake SRA | 2,678 | 1,229 | 209 |
IDNR Public Hunting Areas Report 2025-26 (report PDF); checked November 13, 2026.
A low waterfall over limestone ledges at Blackhawk Forest Preserve in Kane CountyPhoto: Joseph Gage (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Fall color across forested ridges in the Shawnee National ForestPhoto: Forest Service, Eastern Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Upper Burden Falls spilling over a sandstone ledge in the Shawnee National ForestPhoto: Joseph Gage (CC BY-SA 2.0)
State parks and recreation areas: common questions
What does the state parks and recreation areas hub count?
72 records appear, led by Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit at 6,105 acres.
Where is the largest of these places?
The largest listed is Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit, 6,105 acres. Pyramid State Recreation Area Captain Unit page.
Which state parks and recreation areas use permits?
The records mark 52 of 72 as quota hunts. Lottery guide.
What is the source for open and closed seasons?
Each season grid is copied from the IDNR Hunt Illinois fact sheet for the site, with its exceptions.
What do the sources say about Sunday hunting?
Sunday hunting is not addressed in the Digest or fact sheets we read.