As Chicago’s blazing hot days yield to breezy afternoons and leaves begin their slow melt into fall’s fiery colors, Mother Nature is practically pleading that you free yourself from the shackles of fluorescent light and spine crushing office chairs—it’s time to frolic in the great outdoors. Suffice it to say, now is the perfect time to start scheming your next leaf peeping expedition or all-day hiking excursion at one of Chicagoland’s many parks and arboretums. Before you take our mandate and run with it, we’ve got one recommendation for you—and it’s backed by some major data.
According to a recent report released by Google Maps, Starved Rock State Park has been declared the fourth most visited state park in the country. The ranking of this summer’s most popular state parks—honing in on the top 10 in the U.S.—was based on direction requests made via Google Maps between Memorial Day 2025 and August 2025, along with user reviews. As if you needed any more convincing: According to the State of Illinois, Starved Rock was the most visited state park in the Prairie State last year, drawing 2.4 million visitors in 2024.
It’s high time that Starved Rock gets its flowers—the sprawling Oglesby, Illinois, park is a longtime local favorite, thanks to its sandstone canyons, jaw-dropping waterfalls, jutting cliffs and extensive trail system. Starved Rock is home to 13 miles of footpaths meandering around the Illinois River, with routes running the gamut of difficulty and elevation. For those who prefer to enjoy nature’s bounty at a more leisurely pace, visitors can explore the grounds via trolley tours or boat rides. For the full Starved Rock experience, spend the night at its namesake lodge, which offers a smattering of quaint log cabins and boundless Midwestern hospitality.
While Starved Rock is often mentioned in the same breath as beauty and grandeur, the park’s history bears its blemishes. Starved Rock became the subject of national attention in 1960, when three Chicago women—Mildred Lindquist, Frances Murphy and Lillian Oetting—were found brutally murdered in a small cave in one of the park’s canyons. The case received renewed public interest in 2021, when the three-part documentary series The Murders at Starved Rock, hit streaming services.