Garden of the Gods Wilderness - wikipedia Garden of the Gods Wilderness For other uses, see Garden of the Gods ( disambiguation ). Sunset on the Garden of the Gods Wilderness Passage between the Wilderness ' rocks The Garden of the Gods Wilderness is a 3,318 - acre ( 13.43 km ) parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It is located within the Shawnee National Forest in Hardin, Pope, Saline, and Gallatin counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The nearest town of any size is Equality. Contents 1 Geology 2 History 3 References 4 External links Geology During the Carboniferous period ( circa 300 million years before the present ), local geological conditions laid down a thick bed of gray sandstone in what is now southern Illinois. This bed of sandstone was later uplifted, and the Garden of the Gods is part of an uplifted sandstone plateau. Unlike much of Illinois, this plateau was never covered by glaciers ; the furthest advance of ice sheets during the Illinoian glaciation stopped just north of Garden of the Gods. The morphology of Garden of the Gods is much steeper and rockier than in much of Illinois. Comparatively dramatic erosion patterns have created hoodoos and other unusual sandstone formations, as well as scenic overlooks such as Buzzards Point from which raptors, scavenger birds, and humans can look out over the Shawnee National Forest. Several of the hoodoos have evocative names, including Anvil Rock, Camel Rock, and Table Rock. As with other wilderness areas within Shawnee National Forest, the Garden of the Gods Wilderness is made of second - growth forested areas that were used, until the land acquisitions of the 1930s, as agriculture land. History Camel Rock featured on America the Beautiful quarter Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Garden of the Gods Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest. A tongue of non-wilderness land provides a route for a paved road from Buzzards Point to a hiking, campsite, and public - use location in the southeastern corner of Saline County. From this location, hiking trails provide access to much of the Wilderness, making Garden of the Gods the most - visited wilderness area in Illinois. The trails and overlooks are often utilized by visitors during the fall color season. Garden of the Gods Wilderness is served by the River to River Trail. In 2016, 300 million quarters were produced that featured an image of a hoodoo from the Garden of the Gods Wilderness. An image of Camel Rock was struck on one set of quarters as part of the U.S. Mint 's 56 - image America the Beautiful series. References Forestry portal Illinois portal ^ Jump up to : `` Shawnee National Forest : Wilderness ''. United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 04. Jump up ^ Illinois Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine : DeLorme Mapping. 1991. p. 91. ISBN 0 - 89933 - 213 - 7. ^ Jump up to : Zyznieuski, Walt ( May 6, 2009 ). `` Exploring the Shawnee National Forest ''. Illinois Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014. External links United States Forest Service Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garden of the Gods Shawnee National Forest. Coordinates : 37 ° 36 ′ 25 '' N 88 ° 23 ′ 41 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 37.60694 ° N 88.39472 ° W ﻿ / 37.60694 ; - 88.39472 Protected areas of Illinois Federal National Historic Sites Chicago Portage Lincoln Home National Monument Pullman National Forest Shawnee National Wildlife Refuges Chautauqua Crab Orchard Cypress Creek Driftless Area Emiquon Hackmatack Mark Twain Meredosia Middle Mississippi River Port Louisa Two Rivers Upper Mississippi River National Grassland Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie National Trails / National Heritage Area Lewis and Clark Mormon Pioneer Trail of Tears Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area National Natural Landmarks List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois National Wild and Scenic Rivers Middle Fork Vermilion River State State Parks Apple River Argyle Lake Beall Woods Beaver Dam Buffalo Rock Castle Rock Cave - in - Rock Chain O'Lakes Channahon Delabar Dixon Springs Donnelley / Depue Ferne Clyffe Fort Massac Fox Ridge Franklin Creek Gebhard Woods Giant City Hennepin Canal Parkway Horseshoe Lake Illini Illinois Beach James `` Pate '' Philip Jubilee College Kankakee River Lake Le - Aqua - Na Lake Murphysboro Lincoln Trail Lowden Matthiessen Mississippi Palisades Moraine Hills Morrison - Rockwood Nauvoo Pere Marquette Red Hills Rock Cut Rock Island Trail Shabbona Lake Siloam Springs South Shore Starved Rock Walnut Point Weinberg - King White Pines Forest Wildlife Prairie William G. Stratton Wolf Creek State Historic Sites List of Illinois State Historic Sites ( including, Cahokia World Heritage Site ) State Forests Big River Hidden Springs Lowden - Miller Sand Ridge Trail of Tears State Recreation Areas Clinton Lake Eagle Creek Eldon Hazlet Frank Holten Golconda Marina Johnson - Sauk Trail Kickapoo Moraine View North Point Marina Prophetstown Pyramid Ramsey Lake Randolph County Sangchris Lake Stephen A. Forbes Washington County Wayne Fitzgerrell Weldon Springs William W. Powers State Fish & Wildlife Areas Anderson Lake Baldwin Lake Banner Marsh Carlyle Lake Coffeen Lake Crawford County Des Plaines Double T Edward R. Madigan Green River Hamilton County Heidecke Lake Horseshoe Lake ( Alexander County ) Iroquois County Kaskaskia River Kinkaid Lake Kishwaukee River LaSalle Lake Mackinaw River Marshall Mautino Mazonia / Braidwood Mermet Lake Middle Fork Mississippi River Newton Lake Jim Edgar Panther Creek Peabody River Ray Norbut Rend Lake Rice Lake Sahara Woods Saline County Sam Dale Lake Sam Parr Sanganois Shelbyville Silver Springs Snakeden Hollow Spring Lake Ten Mile Creek Turkey Bluffs Union County Woodford State Natural Areas Bartlett Woods Cache River Fults Hill Prairie Goose Lake Prairie Harry `` Babe '' Woodyard Illinois Caverns Kidd Lake Piney Creek Ravine Prairie Ridge Revis Hill Prairie Sand Prairie - Scrub Oak Sielbeck Forest Spitler Woods Volo Bog State Trails Mormon Trail Trail of Tears Tunnel Hill Local County Districts Local forest and conservation districts Chicago Illinois Department of Natural Resources Commons Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Garden_of_the_Gods_Wilderness&oldid=816223672 '' Categories : IUCN Category Ib Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Illinois Protected areas of Gallatin County, Illinois Protected areas of Hardin County, Illinois Protected areas of Pope County, Illinois Protected areas of Saline County, Illinois Wilderness Areas of Illinois Shawnee National Forest Hiking trails in Illinois Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 20 December 2017, at 01 : 40. 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Question: where is garden of the gods in illinois
Answer: within the Shawnee National Forest