Matthiessen State Park
Dells Area Trails

The Dells area of Matthiessen State Park is a joy to hike. There are beautiful waterfalls, tall sandstone bluffs, paths that tunnel through heavily wooded forest, and best of all, a trail that runs right along and often through the river that formed it all.

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When I hiked this path with my son the water level was fairly high, and I needed to do a lot of rock hopping and log balancing to make it without getting my tennies wet. My son was much more wisely dressed in sandals and simply went wading.

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The tactile joy of the water and finding ways through the ravine made this one of our favorite hikes, and the sheer beauty of the lower Dells will draw me back time and again.

Approach

From the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80 near Peru, Illinois, head east roughly 2 miles to IL-178.

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Take IL-178 southbound 5.1 miles to N25th Rd, which is the entrance road to Matthiessen State Park.

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Take a right and follow the park road 0.9 miles to the parking lot.

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Coordinates for the hike: 41.2959010,-89.0258000

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Parking / Trailhead amenities

The parking lot is paved, level, and has lots of room for cars. There is a restroom and some soda vending machines adjacent to the parking lot. There is a sign in the parking lot warning you not to leave valuables in your car.

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Trail observations

The trailhead exits the parking lot across the road from the restroom.

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The trail immediately starts descending a flight of wooden stairs. Follow this till you reach an intersection where you can follow a trail to the right. You will follow this trail along an arm of the Dells, then cut back through the woods till you reach a waterfall.

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Soon after the waterfall you will descend into the upper dells via another wooden stairway. Traversing the upper dells requires some creative footwork, at least when the water is high, because the path crosses the river a couple of times.

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The upper dells extends from the base of a waterfall to the top of a second. You'll leave the upper dells via wooden staircase. Be sure to take in the view of the lower dells from the bridge over the second waterfall.

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From the second waterfall you will follow the edge of the lower dells until you come to a gradually descending boardwalk which leads to a bridge that crosses the lower dells. At the edge of the bridge is a squared-off spiral cement staircase that gives you access to the lower dells.

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Follow the trail through the dells to the waterfall, then return, climb the spiral stairs, and follow the trail back to your car.

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Trail statistics

The trail is 3.49 miles long. The sum of all the uphill climbs is 235 feet.

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Trail waypoints

0.03 mi	Parking	Parking lot
0.06 mi	Trailhead	Trailhead
0.10 mi	Go down stairs	Head down the stairs (mapboard, trail brochure)
0.15 mi	Go right	Take a right at bottom of stairs - yellow dot trail
0.52 mi	Stay left	Stay left to go straight (Bench)
0.70 mi	Tee - go left	Tee - go left
0.84 mi	Sidewalk	Path turns to sidewalk - bench
1.14 mi	Cross bridge	Intersection - go straight and cross bridge over waterfall
1.22 mi	Go left and down	Branch - go left and down
1.26 mi	Left down stairs	Go left and down the wooden stairs into the dell
1.29 mi	Crossthe river	Cross the river on the cement stepping stones
1.64 mi	Right at bottom	Climb then descend stairs, head right towards Cedar Falls at the bottom
2.02 mi	Go up the stairs	Climb out of the gorge via the wooden stairway
2.07 mi	Head left on trail	At the top of the stairs, go left on the main trail
2.07 mi	Stay right	Stay right on the trail - go past the bridge
2.30 mi	Left to boardwalk	Branch left onto the descending wooden boardwalk
2.40 mi	Left into gorge	At the end of the bridge, go left down into the gorge
2.68 mi	Lower dells falls	At the falls, retrace path to the top of the stairs, then continue left
3.28 mi	Stay left	Branch - stay left
3.34 mi	Head up stairs	Take a right and head up the stairs to the parking lot
3.49 mi	End of trail	End of trail