Sep072017

An Afternoon at Pere Marquette State Park

Lagom Adventures- Pere Marquette State Park

Aaron and I set out this past weekend with the good intentions of checking out the Japanese Festival at the Botanical Gardens with the backup plan being the Greek Festival. We were going to head out early and then I wanted to go a little further north and check out a trail from the book 60 Hikes Near St. Louis. (I didn’t tell him about the hiking until the morning of because he isn’t always a fan. Hiking is a love/hate relationship for him. I didn’t want him to dwell on the thought of having to hike.)

Our plan started out well, we left home about 9:30 am with the hopes of getting to the Festival right after they opened and to be able to take in the drum demonstration. Our timing was spot on but our desire to be around people was not.

I suppose the perfect weather inspired EVERYONE to get out on Saturday. We really thought getting there early we may miss some of the crowds. We didn’t. Just getting off the highway into the vicinity of a parking lot turned out to be tedious. It was Aaron’s desire to go, so he made the decision to keep on driving. We were not in the mood for people. And we didn’t want to pay $15 a piece to be around those unwanted people. (Yes we can be antisocial and cheap at times. I’m not afraid to say it.)

The next move was to check out the Greek Fest. We had been to one earlier in the summer that we enjoy. This one was in its 100th year and appeared to be promising. But we did the driveby with the same reaction. Just too many people. And it didn’t appear much different or larger than the previous one we had attended. It was not worth finding a place to park and dealing with the crowds. At times I think I would like the city life and having all this culture at my fingertips, but then I remember the crowds and I realize I am more of a small town girl who likes an occasional dose of culture without much hassle. (Yeah I’m asking for a lot.)

With those two plans out the window, the main attraction became hiking – sorry Aaron. I still wanted to head north but changed my destination to a place that had a little more to offer than just hiking. I also knew from looking ahead on upcoming events that Pere Marquette State Park was hosting some interesting events. So off to Pere Marquette State Park in Illinois we went.

We had several options (ok like 3) of how to get there but because we were in no rush and it was a beautiful day, we decided to take a ferry. Just to be safe I checked the schedule online to make sure it was running. We were in luck since it was a weekend. We drove through a portion of St. Charles County until we hit the loading zone for the Grafton Ferry.

lagom Adventures - ferry crossing — Crossing on the ferry

Others must have had the same idea because there were about ten cars ahead of us already lined up and waiting. No schedule; no rush; no worries. We just sat back and waited. Which surprisingly ended up being a shorter wait than I expected – probably 20 minutes.

It was a short ferry to the other side then we were headed up the highway a bit to the park which sits directly on Highway 100. The entrance is directly on the highway and you can see the lodge up the hill and the visitor center off to the left.

At this point we were hungry, but we were in luck. The PM Lodge has a restaurant inside. The Lodge and the surrounding buildings are CCC (Civilian Conservation Core) buildings – just like those at Washington State Park.

Lagom Adventures - Pere Marquette Lodge — The entrance to the lodge

Welcome to the most unique, hand-made Lodge in Illinois! Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression in Pere Marquette State Park, the historic Pere Marquette Lodge and Conference Center is the place to go if you are looking for a popular St. Louis tourist attraction and vacation destination. It is an awe-inspiring structure of limestone and massive timbers made complete with a 50ft vaulted ceiling and a massive 700-ton stone fireplace in the extraordinary Great Room.

The Lodge is beautiful inside; it opens up into a gorgeous Great Room with an impressive view of the riverfront. The fireplace is over-sized and I’m sure would be comforting on a fall or winter evening. There were several different seating areas where groups could gather or just a few people for an intimate setting. In the middle of the Great Room is an over-sized chess board and several sets of checkers for those who feel like a little old school gaming. There is even a winery available for those who want to sit and sip for awhile.

The restaurant looked a little more formal (water glasses and candle light) than we were prepared for so we glanced over the menu before being seated. The menu offered several traditional options with a twist (I had a club sandwich but it was on toasted cinnamon raisin bread.)

and few items you wouldn’t find other places. Aaron had a cup of Goat Cliff Soup – not realizing he was about to climb goat cliff trail! He also chose the tuna melt which surprised me a bit but it was something you don’t find offered in many other places. Normally I would share some pictures of our choices, but I guess we were too hungry to bother with it because I only took this one not-so-great picture. After ordering and watching what others were having, we realized that they are known for their fried chicken that’s served family style. My dad may be willing to make the drive for some fried chicken.

As I was sitting by the window and taking in the atmosphere of the lodge, it reminded me a bit of “Dirty Dancing” and their time in the Catskills. No the landscape isn’t quite the same but the lodge reminded me of that resort type atmosphere – or at least as close as I will ever get. A wedding was being set up outside underneath the shaded grassy area near the stone cabins and workers were bustling about to prepare. Other visitors were moving about the grounds on rented bikes while bikers made a steady stream up the scenic view road while taking advantage of the no helmet law in Illinois. It was a lively place full of action but sitting in that restaurant eating lunch it felt like a peaceful place where we disconnected from others. I stayed off my phone for most of lunch and just sat back and took in all in. Relaxing while people watching.

After lunch the relaxing was over. It was time to HIKE! Aaron was so excited. The Visitor’s Center offered trail maps so we headed over there to find one. Inside were a few displays of the area explaining what role Pere Marquette played in the area, along with the wildlife and habitat in the area. Something I had never seen before was a diorama of the park with the trails and scenic views marked. I snapped a picture of it in case we needed to use it as reference along with the way.

The trail map laid out the various trails and their difficulty levels. As I am finding on trails outside of Missouri, a lot of trails overlap and the short overlapping options are named differently. So one two mile circular loop of a trail may consist of three different trails. PM offered 12 miles of hiking over about ten different trails with a few overlapping.

We (I) decided we would start with the one that looked to offer the best view without being too terribly long and see how we felt after that with the possibility of doing more. It just so happened that trail was Goat Cliff Trail. Goats like mountainsides so it was going to be a bit of a climb. Aaron was thoroughly excited let me tell ya!

It was a sunny but not warm day, so the trails were crowded. We didn’t start hiking until about 3:00 pm which is late for me, but there were plenty of others heading out about that time as well.

The beginning of Goat Trail follows along the highway then it begins the climb upward. At this point the trail was a wide loose dirt path without the normal rocky terrain that we climb here in Southeast Missouri. We passed several people hiking the opposite direction than us and were passed by some hiking in the same direction. This wasn’t a race. Speed didn’t matter. Sometimes I need to keep reminding myself of that. I should be taking in my surroundings, connecting with nature, relaxing in the moment – not worrying about what my pace is.

We stopped at a few of the “scenic” views noted on the map. It was hard to see because of the trees. I would think this would be a much more scenic hike in the winter when the trees are bare and you can see farther. We came to a crossroads on the trail and had a decision to make. The more trafficked path didn’t look to be as scenic, so we veered off to the right. It may have not have been the best decision.

It did lead us to a the best scenic view yet, but the path on the other side of that view was overgrown, narrow, and weedy. We made it about halfway and Aaron made the executive decision to turn back the way we had come. So we doubled back. As we were doubling back we kept passing people who were lightly hiking along, smiling and thoroughly enjoying themselves. We were huffing and puffing a bit with an occasional curse word and I was a bit dirty on the backside because I slipped in the loose dirt and ended up completely down on the ground. No injuries just a little dirt.

As we reached McAdams peak, which is another CCC shelter built at the highest point in the park, we were encountering some other hikers who were visibly winded. I asked Aaron if that made him feel better and he said “yes.” Nothing like appreciating the fact that others are struggling with you.

On the side of the shelter is a plaque describing the area. In summary the peak is 372 feet above the river in an area once inhabited by Indians. In 1892 one hundred Indian skeletons were removed by McAdams for the Smithsonian which is why the area is named for him.

After a brief rest at the McAdams shelter, we were ready to head down hill. We had three options before us – Hickory Trail, Ravine Trail, or Ridge Trail. The Ravine would have been the shortest and most difficult. It was my choice. Aaron had overheard the girl in the visitor center say it was overgrown and when a family started down the trail and turned around mumbling about ticks and chiggers that sealed the deal. The Hickory Trail would have extended the hike by a mile or two, so Ridge Trail it was.

The Ridge Trail brought us back down the hill at a steeper incline that Goat Cliff did going up. As you will learn when hiking, sometimes going down is worse than going up – at least on your knees. This trail was a bit overgrown at times too, so I can’t imagine what the Ravine must have looked like.

It was along this trail that we noticed something different. Not once did we see or hear a squirrel. I am used to being startled by squirrels in the trees at least a couple times along a hike. We also didn’t see any small birds. One hawk flying over the river, but no small birds. It was sort of strange. We have grown accustomed or take for granted that we will at least see those two things on hikes here in our area with the possibility of even seeing more like turtles or lizards. But nope nothing.

So we made it down the bottom of the hill. The path we chose measured out at 2.5 miles and an elevation gain of 345 ft. (sorry I like my nerdy stats). I would like to go back and finish the other trails just so I can mark those off in my book. That being said I think this would be much prettier as a fall or winter hike then a summer hike. So maybe a little later in the year, I will head back that way.

Even though we were done hiking, we were not finished in the park. We wanted to drive the scenic view route which follows along the back side of the park and loops around. This was very popular with the bikers. It is a little curvy and has steep drop-offs with no shoulder. Near the top a few different points are labeled as scenic views with available parking to stop and explore. We stopped at one to take in the view but these were crowded as well.

After looping back out the park, we were back on the river road and ready to head towards home. This time just following the river until we crossed back over in St. Louis. On another day we may have stopped to visit the Piasa bird or even Fast Eddie’s, but we were tired and sweaty and ready to be on our way.

My final thoughts are that I would return to Pere Marquette to hike again in the fall or winter. I would like to return to possibly stay in the lodge for a getaway weekend. Again I think that fireplace would be fantastic on a cold snowy evening possible even sampling the wine, I could see my parents going on a drive just to sample the fried chicken. The park appears to have a very active events calendar offering a variety of choices, including overnight packages through the lodge. I may even book a relaxing weekend where I’m not squeezing as much as possible in or worrying about a hiking time – just pack a book and take good company with me.

Pere Marquette State Park