Now that the winter weather is starting to settle in, it’s nice to be able to look back on some of the trips that we made when the temperatures were still warm enough to make walking and lingering to take in the view enjoyable. The last outing, of any significance, that we made this autumn was to White Pines Forest State Park near Oregon, Illinois. Most of the pictures that I captured there seemed to be suitable for Jez’s Water, Water Everywhere Challenge.
Spring and Pine Creeks wind through the park and in order to drive around the park you have to cross four fords that span them. Although the first one seemed shallow enough, the next one was running quite high and it didn’t seem advisable to risk going through it in a brand new car so I did the rest of my exploring on foot.
The park covers 385 acres and seems to be an ideal spot for fishing, hiking, picnicking and camping and there are several bridges that allow you to cross the streams without getting your feet wet.
White Pines Lodge has 23 guest rooms and there are more than 100 camp sites in the park if you want to stay longer than just one day. White Pines Forest is quite near Castle Rock State Park and one or two other interesting places so there’s plenty to see in the area.