With summer coming to an end and fall on the horizon in Illinois, where can you go to take in the state’s natural beauty?
Three state parks in Illinois took the spot HomeToGo’s top 50 destinations and hidden gems to visit this season list.
Starvation stone The state park came in at the 7th overall destination to visit. Rock Cut State Park was named the #2 state park for hidden gems and Pere Marquette was the #6 state park for hidden gems.
The list of top destinations is based on the website’s “state park index.” The index itself is is formed using factors such as popularity score, size score, trail score, wildlife score and picturesque score.
The hidden gems list used the same criteria, combined with search volume.
Starved Rock State Park, just outside of Chicago, was found to have above average scores in wildlife, trails and natural beauty.
Rock Cut State Park is in Caledonia and Pere Marquette State Park is in Grafton.
The two made the top 10 along with parks in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia, California, North Carolina and Oregon.
The exclusive list includes several other beautiful and scenic destinations, both in and outside the Midwest.
It has a variety of landscapes and terrains, from coral reefs to grassy land.
“With more and more travelers becoming interested in visiting state parks as well as national parks, this index serves as a guide for vacationers looking to plan the perfect escape into nature, without venturing too far from home,” says Eleanor Moody, HomeToGo travel expert and spokesperson.