Sangchris Lake State Park
Obsessed with these adorable cypress knees along certain sections of the lake loop. Picture by Jordan Goebig.
Located near Springfield, Ill., Sangchris Lake State Park has an abundance of hiking trails (some double as equestrian trails) a large lake, and lots of camping.
The Trails
.5 - 20 miles of trails
We only explored about 9 miles of trails while we visited. Adam contacted the park ahead of time, and they did confirm that hikers can use the equestrian trails - thus the high trail mileage.
We started with the Sangchris Lake Loop, a 6-mile trail for hikers only. To best access this trail, you need to park in Pheasant Access parking lot. We would recommend you start at the entrance just beyond the fish cleaning station, you’ll weave through some prairie and then along the road for the first mile, but it gets better once you enter the woods again. It’s flat, but a nice and wide trail. This trail is not well-marked and there is almost no directional signage.
We got into our car and drove over to the main park entrance/group campground area to hop onto some of the shared equestrian trails after finishing the loop. We walked about three miles in this area, through an absolutely gorgeous and open forest. The trail winds around a steep creek, for extra ambiance.
All of the trails we explored were at pretty low elevations, so I would guess it can be a muddy and wet park to explore in the summer and spring/when there’s been a lot of precipitation.
Things We Love
There were lots of trails to explore! I would highly recommend visiting in February/March because you get the trails mostly to yourself…and there were few traces of horses coming through, so you don’t have to worry about yielding to riders.
There’s a lot to do at the park, given the right season, you could easily make a weekend out of visiting Sangchris and enjoy the Springfield area.
This park has some historical connections to frontiers in the area - there’s some educational signage in the park, and you can even visit a neat, old cemetery along one of the hikes. Maybe we’re nerds, but we thought it was (respectfully) very cool.
Lots of large, old trees - and with the leaves down, you could truly see the expanse of the forest. The neat views made up for the lack of hills.
Things to Know
There were many, many deer stands right off of the trails. Check hunting dates, trail closures, and be careful of visiting during peak hunting seasons.
Have a plan and map out your visit before you arrive. This park is sprawling with many different areas to park and hike from. If you’re not direction-oriented, it’s helpful. The actual trails have limited directional signage, and we did not encounter any trail maps in the areas we visited, so again, make a plan before you go…and be open to those plans changing a little.
They have an active Facebook account, that is responsive to messages.