Mississippi Palisades State Park
Mississippi Palisades State Park is in full splendor in regards to its fall foliage. The park is located on the Mississippi River on state route 84 just north of the small town of Savanna, IL and just south of Galena, IL. American Heritage defines a palisade as a line of lofty steep cliffs usually following a river, so there is no mystery in the name.
These palisades are now afire with fall hues of yellow, red, brown, and some green thanks to a few stands of evergreen trees. The park has ample areas to view the flaming colors now in effect. There are over 15 miles of hiking trails, several spectacular lookouts over the Mississippi, and a boat dock on the river, which affords great views looking back at the cliffs.
Mississippi Palisades State Park
The park is divided between two entrances. There is a north and south entrance and each has its own set of trails. The north entrance has a full campground with over 240 sites. The south has the better vistas including the vortex of the park being Point Lookout.
The hiker can either hike up to Point Lookout via the short but strenuous Sunset trail or drive up to it and park. There is a little trail and set of steps down to the overlook from the parking lot. Be prepared for jaws to drop because one would not think that something this beautiful could be found in Illinois only 2.5 hours from Chicago. The overlook gives great views of the Mississippi, the surrounding bluffs, a really cool bridge across the river to Iowa, and currently the wonderful fall foliage.
On the south side there are several trails that reach other look outs almost as amazing including Indian Head, Sentinel Point, and the Twin Sisters. All of these points look out over bluffs towards the Mississippi and all are very beautiful. If hiking these trails BE VERY CAREFUL. There are no ropes on the bluffs and they drop straight down hundreds of feet.
The bluffs are even more dangerous at this time of year for two reasons. First the limestone seeps water and also dew coats the ground and then leaves fall on top trapping this moisture making the edge of these cliffs very slippery. Also, the potential views and the fall colors seduce the photographer into taking dangerous decisions as they climb further out on the cliff’s edge to get that one amazing shot. No photo is worth taking such a risk. The photos from the safe flat ground farther away from the edge are good enough.
Take a trip to the Palisades and enjoy the fall foliage in full bloom the next couple of weeks. This park is a great destination no matter what the time of year, and future articles will describe other activities that can be enjoyed even without the fall color.
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Comments
I hate to laugh but that warning sign is quite funny, although I'm glad it's there. The photos are spectacular.
Gorgeous photos, again, Ted.
Mississippi has beautiful parks, thanks for pointing that out.
Another beautiful fall trip. I should put that on my list of places to see!
you've found another beautiful area, ted.
Once again, a fantastic pictorial display. Nice job...
Cheers...
Wow, now THAT'S some serious fall color. We don't get that in my neck of the woods...beautiful! Wish it were closer.
Are you ever home?
We get so used to ropes, fences and protection that I suppose we can't be trusted to use common sense. The sign is funny, but it does the job.
Spectacular slide show and good use of the increased 20 photo option.
I'm with Bobbi...sign is funny although I wouldn't think so if I were there. In fact, I think I would just look up at the cliffs instead of go anywhere near them. They're beautiful though. I also agree with Marc (the jokester) - you're probably out every day. Great article Ted.
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