Illinois has plenty of natural wonders, but there’s one that stands head and shoulders above the rest like a towering white pine – aptly named White Pines Forest State Park in Mount Morris.
Picture yourself wandering through the northernmost native pine forest in Illinois, where 300-year-old trees reach skyward and clear streams flow over limestone bedrock that predates your great-great-great-grandparents by, oh, just about 500 million years.
When city life has you fantasizing about trading your office chair for a hiking boot, this 385-acre woodland sanctuary awaits just two hours west of Chicago in Ogle County.
It’s the kind of place that makes you wonder why you’ve spent so many weekends binge-watching shows about nature instead of actually experiencing it…