Cave-In-Rock State Park

May 16^th, Tony and I had a nice day trip.
We drove up from Nashville, TN and took the Free Ferry across the Ohio River. It docks in a small riverside city called Cave-​in-​Rock, Illinois. As you unload from the ferry, you drive to the stop sign and make an immediate right. Go to the end of the street and make another right into the Park.
Once in the park, there are a couple of large parking lots you can stop at and there is a really nice playground with a good old fashion Merry Go Round… when I saw this I had immediate memories of when I was a young girl with pig tails sitting on the merry go round wrapping my arms tight while the larger kids spun us around… if you let go, YES YOU WOULD FLY OFF. and that is what the larger kids was trying to make us do… lol !!! and NO ONE STOPPED THEM… OMG. growing up in the late 60’s…
Then we drove around to the top of the knoll, made another right and it took us along a river road where we are driving on the bluffs. There are picnic tables and shelters with grills. Playgrounds and bathrooms with some great over looking areas. picnic tables with terrific views of the lazy Ohio River…
Then we drove on down to another parking lot and parked our van near some stairs descending down to the waters edge. Here the stone steps lead between some bluffs and you are taken to a large opening or clearing near the waters front. If you go right you can walk along the coast line beside the large rock cliffs and enjoy. or if you go left you are led to a small wooden boardwalk, once off the boardwalk you are at the Large Cave opening.
The cave itself is free, Well lit from the large opening of the front of the rocks and you can go inside. It is not that deep about 3000 feet in more or less. it is a huge open room in the back. some of the shadowed area are dark… a small flashlight would be helpful. if you look up. there is a natural skylight made by God… it is nice.
Up top they have a small rock wall built around it and some metal grates over the opening.
I really enjoyed the visit at this park. The actual walk is fairly easy with a few steps but mainly very easy access. The entire walk took us only about 30 to 35 minutes. I mean you can stay longer of course and enjoy a picnic or cookout. but we were there only for the walk and the cave. I would definitely go back again!!!
I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys these type of outings without a lot of hard hiking or walking. very easy and elderly and pet friendly.
BEST of ALL… FREE and only about 2 hrs from Nashville, Easy day trip!!!

I don’t think I would ever give a State Park less than 3 stars, but this is a close one. I was sorely disappointed with this place.
The history of the place intrigued me, as bandits used to hole up in the cave and attack/​rape/​murder/​rob people traveling down the Ohio River. Sounds cool, and they also allegedly filmed a scene here for How the West Was Won. That’s kind of cool, right?
The cave itself is nice to walk into, but holy crap! I won’t add an Idiot Alert, but how come rednecks love to spraypaint their idiocy all over this cave? It is so ugly, this graffiti. Jerkoff Shitkickers! And the banks of the river here seem to be in disrepair, and when I went they seemed to be doing some sort of work along the river. That didn’t add to the beauty, that’s for sure. The views were ho-​hum, as were the ‘trails’ here. Not impressed, people.
I also cruised through the campground, which is situated along the Ohio River. There were only a few campers, and I parked my car next to the bathroom and used the facilities. As I was in there, I heard people shuffling around and whispering, and when I came out 3 scumbag campers were walking away from my car. They were obviously looking inside for things to steal. «May I ask you WTF you were doing around my car?» I demanded. Scumbags retorted that they lost their dog. Funny, when I passed the redneck idiots earlier they were sipping beer on the river, without a dog. So I flagged down the authorities who just happened to drive by, and told them these guys lost a dog. It was funny seeing these jerks stammer to the cop that they actually didn’t have a dog. I blurted out, «Funny, you told me that’s why you were looking into my car.» And I left and vowed never to return to this place.
Try Garden of the Gods, Giant City State Park, or Little Grand Canyon. All are better than this place. I would picnic here, for sure. That’s it.

We spent three days at CIR State Park. The weather was beautiful. The Cave is interesting. We also went to Garden of the Gods, etc., in the Shawnee National Forest, and on into Kentucky to Marion and Paducah.
The lodge at the SP was quite nice — plenty of room, good beds, and everything worked. It was very pleasant to sit on the porch overlooking the Ohio River, reading and watching the tows go past. Note that there is no Wi-​Fi or wired Internet access in the lodges.
The restaurant was quite nice. The staff was friendly and welcoming in a straightforward way, and the food was quite good. The homemade desserts never failed to satisfy!

Pretty fun… but not as amazing as the nearby Garden of the Gods. Cave-​In-​Rock sits on bluffs over the Ohio River. It’s best known for exactly what it’s named after… a cave in the rock… and it’s a pretty fabulous cave. There are several trails to hike on, but there are many more unmarked ones. The restaurant in the park is geared towards southern-​style cooking and is pretty hearty.