SPRING 2024 – SHAWNEE GROUP SIERRA CLUB OUTINGS
Piney Creek Ravine Petroglyphs Hike, Sunday, March 10, 2024
Meet at the Murdale shopping center parking lot in Carbondale before 10:15 am, or at Piney Creek Ravine before 11 am. This is a joint event of the Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club and the Illinois Extension Forestry. Piney Creek Ravine is a designated Illinois Nature Preserve with unique natural communities and prehistoric rock art. The trail is about 2 miles long and of moderate difficulty. Bring water, a hiking staff and wear appropriate shoes. You must contact Kevin Rohling at 618-695-3383 or krohling@illinois.edu in order to attend the hike or if you have questions or need accommodations. You can also register for the hike at https://extension.illinois.edu/events/2024-03-10-piney-creek-ravine-ecology-hike
Ferne Clyffe Hike, Sunday, April 21, 2024
We will hike scenic Ferne Clyffe State Park. This will be a moderate hike of 3.5 miles. Meet at the Ferne Clyffe Lake parking lot before 10 am. Wear appropriate hiking shoes and bring water. You must call Jon Womack at 815-263-9625 to go on the hike.
East Trigg Trailhead Loop Spring Wildflower Hike, May 5, 2024, 10 am to 1 pm
Register here to join us as we explore the East Trigg section of the River to River Trail starting and ending at the East Trigg Trailhead in Pope County (37.49845, -88.70793) (also known as Cove Hollow, but not the Cove Hollow by Cedar Lake). We’ll observe some of the best scenery southern Illinois has to offer while enjoying spring wildflowers! The trail is somewhat rugged and could have equestrian impacts (e.g. trails may be very muddy depending on conditions). The trail is approximately 3.2 miles round-trip. For those wishing to carpool, we will meet at the Marion, IL Rural King near the farm implements before 9:15am on 5/5/2024, or you may choose to meet us at the trailhead at 10:00am. Please dress appropriately for the weather and bring water and a snack. In case of thunderstorms, this event will be postponed. See the map on this page that shows the East Trigg Trailhead and the Cove Hollow Loop (001T).
Contact Kevin Rohling with questions at krohling@illinois.edu or office phone 618-695-3383
This is a joint program of the Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club and University of Illinois Extension Forestry. University of Illinois Extension Forestry provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, email krohling@illinois.edu. Early requests are encouraged to allow time to meet individual requests.
Browse the lower right Index on our old blog page for numerous southern Illinois hiking trail descriptions and explore some of these during your own time: http://shawneegroup.blogspot.com/. Check the Illinois Chapter listings for other outings across the region: https://www.sierraclub.org/illinois/events-calendar.
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Service Outings – Help Save High Quality Natural Areas
Shawnee Group is committed to helping rid high-quality natural areas of non-native invasive plants (NNIS) that are threatening to crowd out our native plant communities at La-Rue Pine Hills Research Natural Area (Snake Road) and at Fern Rocks Nature Preserve (Trillium Trail) in Giant City State Park.
To volunteer, contact Barb at 618-549-9684, babitaji@aol.com or text 618-534-7440.
Other Outings:
Piasa Palisades Group Outings Chair: Carol Klinger, 618-288-5506, ciklinger@yahoo.com
http://www.sierraclub.org/illinois/piasa-palisades
Eastern Missouri Group Outings Chair: Doug Melville 636-288-1055, douglas.k.melville@gmail.com
http://sierraclub.org/missouri/eastern-missouri
See http://content.sierraclub.org/OUTINGS/local-outdoors and http://sierraclub.org/missouri/eastern-missouri/outings for more outings.
Bob Tyson, former Outings Chair for the Sierra Club, compiled a list of beautiful, scenic trails which are basically level and easy to walk. Open the .PDF files below for more information. We have printed a limited number of trail guides and distributed them to select locations in southern Illinois. Easy Trails for Seniors