Starved Rock is located in Utica, IL. Most people come to this park to see it’s great canyons and high cliffs. The most popular landmarks are ‘Starved Rock’ (the rock itself,) ‘Lover’s Leap Overlook’ and ‘Wildcat Canyon’. However, there are some great things to view at the eastern edge, a few miles from these landmarks. The pictures below are primarily the ‘Council Overhang’ and ‘Hennepin Canyon Overlook.
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- Even the trails to the landmarks in Starved Rock are glorious.
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- The Council Overhang is a huge dome-like hole in the side of one of Starved Rock’s stone walls.
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- Another view of the Council Overhang.
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- Another view of the Council Overlook
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- It’s really hard to capture the depth of the Council Overhang. The stone wall curves over my head in this picture.
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- I tried to give the feeling of how big this natural ‘room’ is. Notice that the sun is out, blue sky, and inside is pretty dark.
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- Just another view looking out.
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- In this picture, I tried to capture the hieght of The Council Overhang.
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- This is the path from the closest parking lot to get to Hennepin Overlook.
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- Hiking in Starved Rock is such a work out. You go up a hill and down a hill and up a hill and down a hill…
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- Part of the same path.
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- Closer to the Overlook. That is the Illinois River. It is pretty wide around Starved Rock.
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- Another view of the river.
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- The Hennepin Overlook is a spectacular view. If you are lucky, you may see a bald eagle nesting around here…
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- This is a great view of the river.
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- In this view, you can see the railing of the wooden deck I am on. It’s sturdy, but I still wouldn’t recommend bringing little kids here.
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- I like this picture because it captures the rich colors of fall. Well, the tail end of it anyway.
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- Hard to tell, but it is a long way down.
