hike recommendation in southern Illinois

I highly recommend the Rocky Bluff trail in the Crab Orchard Wildlife Refuge. People had told me that it was beautiful, but I was still unprepared for the absolutely splendid flowers (and so I didn't bring my camera!). I have truly never seen anything like it. It's not just the diversity of the flowers, it's the incredible lushness of their growth. There were some areas where the forest floor was thickly carpeted with blue phlox, wild geranium, blue-eyed mary, and celandine poppy as far as the eye could see. Plus the setting itself was beautiful, with waterfalls, rocky nooks, and views overlooking the river.

I know there are many parts of Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana that are only an hour or so away from the Refuge -- I would consider this hike well worth the drive. (In April, at least; I'm not sure what's growing there later in the season). I can post the complete list of what I saw blooming there today, if anyone's interested.

I can only agree and highly recommend your recommendation. I used to live in Crab Orchard. Beautiful wilds.

Sounds beautiful, any mushrooms?
I have hiked parts of Shawnee (years ago) and it has many interesting rock formations.

The flowers grow so thickly that if there are mushrooms growing under there, I'm not sure anyone would be able to see them! But apparently this has been a weird year for mushrooms in the region. Some friends of ours in Chicago who used to live here come down every spring for morel hunting, and this year they were finally going to take us out and show us some of their secret spots... but when they were here last weekend, there wasn't a mushroom to be found anywhere!

I was hunting in Illinois weekend before last and no shrooms either but lots of wild flowers.