GEBHARD WOODS STATE PARK
Look, if you're looking for a giant, flashy amusement park vibe, skip this spot. Gebhard Woods is tiny. It sits right in Morris along Nettle Creek, taking up just thirty acres. But honestly, that's why it works so well for a quick weekend getaway. You can't park your car right next to your tent here. Instead, you'll haul your sleeping bags and cooler about a third of a mile into the primitive camping area. It keeps the giant RVs away. Kids love running down the old Illinois and Michigan Canal towpath, which stretches on for miles if your legs can handle it.
Then there's the fishing, so make sure you pack some nightcrawlers. The park squeezes four small ponds into its borders, stocked with bluegill, bass, and channel catfish. They even drop trout in during the spring. If you just want to relax, sit under a big walnut tree. Back in the 1930s, Civilian Conservation Corps crews built sturdy stone shelters and aqueducts here. You can still use them today. So, grab a picnic table, watch the blue herons stalk the creek, and enjoy a quiet afternoon.
Songbirds, mallards, wood ducks, green herons and great blue herons can be observed as they feed or nest in the park and along the canal banks. Beaver, muskrat, mink, raccoon and an occasional deer also call Gebhard Woods their home. The restored Nettle Creek stone aqueduct that was originally built to carry the canal over Nettle Creek adds not only to the parks beauty but to the rich history of the area. A short hike to the aqueduct, a smidgen of imagination, and one can almost envision a team of mules pulling a canal barge full of goods across this historic structure.
The information center is located near the entrance of the park and is staffed year round. Information on Gebhard Woods, the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail, various Illinois state parks, camping permits and state hunting and fishing licenses may be obtained at the center. A full time Interpreter is on staff to provide educational opportunities to park guests and scheduled groups. Guided hikes and park programs are scheduled throughout the year, for specific details contact the information center at (815) 942-0796.
Gebhard Woods State Park was originally purchased from Mrs. William Gebhard by the Grundy County Rod & Gun Club in 1934 for the amount of $1,500.00. A game fish rearing pool was developed on the property by the Rod and Gun club who in turn donated the property to the State of Illinois to be developed and maintained as Gebhard Woods State Park. Members of the Brandon-Morris Civilian Conservation Corps were employed by the Department of the Interior to clear and landscape this newly formed state park. The CCC developed two additional spawning pools for game fish, interior trails, a large shelter of handhewn beams with flagstone flooring, two small log shelters complete with fireplaces, a sheltered resting bench and a large stone fireplace.
Today, hikers, campers, picnickers, and canoeists frequent this 30-acre site, making it one of the state's most popular state parks. Located in Morris, this picturesque park is bordered on the south by the Illinois & Michigan Canal and to the north by Nettle Creek which gently flows along the perimeter and through the park adding to its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife. Stately old trees including walnut, oak, ash, maple, sycamore, hawthorn and cottonwood provide ample shade throughout the park. In the spring, trillium, bluebell, white trout lily, violets, wild ginger, phlox, toothwort and spring beauties are just a sample of the wildflowers that can be enjoyed by park visitors.
- T Walker
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