Hike Location: Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site
Geographic Location: south of Petersburg, IL (39.97791, -89.84701)
Length: 4.1 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: May 2019
Overview: A loop hike along the Sangamon River featuring recreated
New Salem village.
Site Information: http://www.lincolnsnewsalem.com/
Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of
SR 4 and SR 97 on the northwest side of Springfield, take SR 97 northwest 16.6
miles to the main entrance for Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. Turn left to enter the site’s main area, and
park in the large blacktop parking lot in front of the Visitor Center.
The hike: The
year was 1831 when a 22 year old Abraham Lincoln arrived in New Salem, IL via
flatboat on the Sangamon River. At that
time, the village had only existed for 2 years.
Unlike most villages in Illinois, New Salem was not a small farming
village but a collection of 20-25 families many of whom had young craftsmen or
businessmen trying to make a new life on the frontier. Thus, Lincoln fit right in.
During the 6 years he lived here,
Lincoln made a living as a boatman, soldier, postmaster, surveyor, general
store owner, and railsplitter, with various levels of success in these various
occupations. Yet his best-known
achievement in New Salem was getting elected to the Illinois General Assembly
in 1834. Lincoln moved away from New
Salem to Springfield, also in his election district, in 1837. The village was abandoned in 1840 only 11
years after it was settled, so it is almost as if New Salem existed just to
give Lincoln his start.
In the 1930’s, the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) built a recreation of New Salem on its original
foundations, and their recreation is open to visitors today as Lincoln’s New
Salem State Historic Site. The village
is the site’s main attraction, but it also features a campground, a large
picnic area, a restaurant, picnic shelters and a boat ramp on the Sangamon
River, and 6 miles of hiking trails. Although the recreated village is quite
popular, the trails see little use, and the route described here forms a loop
through the park’s trail system while still touring the recreated village. Bugs were a significant factor on my visit,
so make sure to wear good bug spray during the warmer months.
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| Trailhead: Mentor Graham's Footsteps Trail |
To save the recreated village for
last, this hike starts with the Mentor Graham’s Footsteps Trail, which begins
at a signed trailhead at the opposite end of the parking lot from the Visitor
Center. On my visit, the Mentor Graham’s
Footsteps Trail was closed due to a bridge being out. Therefore, I had to start my hike by walking
back down the entrance road to the other (eastern) end of the Mentor Graham’s
Footsteps Trail, which is located at the site’s main entrance on SR 97. The trail down to this point has a little
more up and down than the road, but it stays in the forest and is much more
scenic.
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| Start of Cardinal Ridge Trail |
At the site’s main entrance,
carefully cross busy SR 97 and look across a mowed grass field to the right for
the start of the Cardinal Ridge Trail.
The Cardinal Ridge Trail enters the woods at a brown wooden post and
climbs on a steep and eroded track. The
difference between maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only about
120 feet, but several short steep areas such as this one increase the
difficulty.
0.6 miles into the hike, you reach
the top of the hill and a trail intersection with the Cardinal Ridge Trail’s
main loop. Angle right to begin hiking
the loop counterclockwise. The Cardinal
Ridge Trail is one of the site’s best-maintained trails, and the wide
single-track trail passes through shrubby broadleaf forest for its entire distance.
 |
| Hiking the Cardinal Ridge Trail |
At 1.1 miles, you reach the Cardinal
Ridge Trail’s southernmost point where an unmarked side trail exits right to access
another parking lot. A few hundred feet
later, you reach another unsigned trail intersection. The Cardinal Ridge Trail continues straight
to close its loop, but this hike turns right to head for the Sangamon River on
the Shady Hollow Trail.
Quickly you cross the park road and
come to the official trailhead for the Shady Hollow Trail. The Shady Hollow Trail fools you by making a
brief dip through a side ravine before beginning its winding descent toward the
Sangamon River in earnest. This trail is
another single-track dirt trail, but it passes through younger forest that
features some osage orange trees a dense understory of honeysuckle.
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| Hiking the Shady Hollow Trail |
At 2.2 miles, you reach the bottom
end of the Shady Hollow Trail at a collection of picnic shelters along the
Sangamon River. These shelters make nice
places to sit and rest near the midpoint of this hike provided they are not reserved. Drinking water may be available here in
season. To continue the loop, turn left
on the Damselfly Trail, which heads northwest out of the picnic shelter area
with the river on your right.
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| Sangamon River |
The initial segment of the Damselfly
Trail follows an old asphalt road that stays very close to the river. At some points the river’s erosion has
undermined the asphalt, so you have to watch where you are stepping rather than
just mindlessly follow the asphalt.
After curving left to leave the river, the Shickshack Trail exits left
to head for the site’s restaurant. Stay
straight to remain on the Damselfly Trail.
2.8 miles into the hike, you come
out on the east shoulder of SR 97. The
Damselfly Trail turns right to cross a creek on the road’s bridge before
heading back into the forest on the same side of the road. The last (northernmost) part of the Damselfly
Trail follows a narrow strip of high ground between a wetland on the left and
the river on the right. I have to be
honest and report that this portion of the Damselfly Trail was in very poor
shape on my visit. The path was barely
discernable, several fallen trees had to be climbed over or around, and vast
areas of stinging nettle lined the route.
This area shows the site’s lack of funding and staffing, a problem on
the state level in Illinois.
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| Recreated grist mill |
At 3.4 miles, you cross a muddy area
to reach the Damselfly Trail’s north end at the site’s recreated saw and grist
mill along SR 97. The muddy area you
walked through is actually an old Sangamon River channel, and a mill operated
on this site from 1828 until 1853. To
get to the rest of the recreated village, climb some wooden steps and cross SR
97 using a covered bridge, then walk uphill a short distance on asphalt path.
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| First Berry-Lincoln Store |
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| Joshua Miller Blacksmith Shop |
The recreated village contains 22 log buildings, and it includes both
residences and commercial buildings such as a school/church, a tavern, and
several stores. Two of the stores were
run by Lincoln while he lived here; they both went bankrupt. Costumed interpreters, mostly volunteers,
bring the village to life. I spent
several minutes talking to a nice older lady doing needlework in one of the
residences. Walking through the village
brings you back to the Visitor Center, thus completing your tour of Lincoln’s
New Salem.
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