Matthiessen State Park: Dells Area Loop (Blog Hike #1019)

Trails: Bluff and Interior Trails
Hike Location: Matthiessen State Park, Dells Area
Geographic Location: East of Oglesby, IL (41.29594, -89.02582)
Length: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: 7/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Date Hiked: September 2024
Overview: A lollipop loop with lots of stairs passing waterfalls in the narrow dells.
Park Information: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/park.matthiessen.html
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=972048
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming October 24, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: Southwest of Chicago, take I-80 to SR 178 (exit 81).  Exit and go south on SR 178.  Drive SR 178 south 5 miles to the park entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the park, and park at the main paved parking area where the park entrance road ends.

The hike: Often overlooked in favor of its larger nearby brother Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen State Park (pronounced like MATH-uh-sun) protects 1700 acres along and near the Vermillion River.  The park came to be in 1918 when the heirs of Frederick William Matthiessen, an industrialist who made his riches by manufacturing zinc products in nearby LaSalle, donated his private park to the State of Illinois.  Matthiessen's private park was known as Deer Park, but the land was renamed in Matthiessen's honor in 1943.

            Matthiessen State Park is divided into 2 areas: the Dells Area and the River Area.  This hike is contained in the Dells Area; a separate trail system with separate parking lot and entrance road a couple of miles to the south explores the River Area.  The Dells Area is the more popular of the two areas for the obvious reason: the dells form a long and narrow gorge that contains many waterfalls and scenic cliffs.  While this hike is not the longest possible route through the Dells Area, it gives a good sample of the dells' scenery both from the rim and the interior of the dells.

Re-created French stockade

            This hike offers plenty to see, and the sights start at the rear of the parking area where 2 log structures stand.  The structure on the right is a nice log cabin with stone chimney, but the one on the left commands your attention: it is a re-created log stockade.  The French built forts similar to this one all over the Midwest during the late 1600s and early 1700s, and interpretive signs tell you about this park's and this region's history.

Descending the stairs

            The entrance trail passes between the 2 log structures and descends a set of wooden stairs.  After passing 2 benches, you reach the trail intersection that forms our loop through the dells.  The stairs continue descending straight, and our return route goes left.  This hike turns right to begin heading counter-clockwise around the Bluff Trail.

Hiking the Bluff Trail

            True to its name, the Bluff Trail forms a loop more-or-less around the dells, which you can see downhill to the left.  The portion around the north part of the dells is fairly flat, and therefore the going for now is fairly easy.  Some large oak trees live here, but so does a lot of poison ivy in the understory.  Fortunately, the trail is plenty wide enough to avoid that irritating shrub.

Northeast corner of the dells

            At 0.6 miles, a side trail back to the park entrance road exits right.  The Bluff Trail curves left to round the northeast corner of the dells.  The next section of trail is very improved, and it features several benches and a concrete sidewalk feel.

Matthiessen Lake

            1 mile into the hike, you cross a high and long concrete bridge just below the dam that forms Matthiessen Lake.  Matthiessen Lake is a small lake covered in lime green algae, and it reminds you of this land's Deer Park days.  A sign that says "Lake Falls" hangs from a wooden handrail on the lake's dam, but you can't see the waterfall from the concrete bridge.  To get to the waterfall, cross to the west end of the concrete bridge, then turn left to descend some wooden stairs into the northwest corner of the dells.  At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and make your way a couple hundred possibly wet and muddy feet upstream in the streambed to reach the base of Lake Falls.

            At about 30 feet high, Lake Falls is the tallest waterfall in the dells.  Its location directly below the dam ensures that water flows here even when other waterfalls are dry, and the sheer cliff surroundings make for a stark and impressive setting.  Take some time to enjoy the rocky and wet scenery.

Lake Falls

            After viewing the waterfall, head downstream into the heart of the dells on the Interior Trail.  Whereas the Bluff Trail was marked with brown trail markers, the Interior Trail is marked with green trail markers.  At times the trail shares its treadway with the stream bed, so the going can be muddy and rocky.  Some smaller waterfalls, including Giant's Bathtub, are passed, and the scenery is just as interesting if less dramatic than Lake Falls.

Giant's Bathtub

            Two trails exit the dells to the right.  While the choice is yours, you will need to take one of them to get back up to the Bluff Trail: the Interior Trail deadends in the dells.  Just shy of 1.5 miles, you reach the middle bridge that separates the upper and lower dells.  This bridge leads directly back to the entrance trail, and you could cross here if you wanted to shorten your hike.  Continue straight to begin treading the west bluff above the lower dells.  Cascade Falls can be heard but not seen in the dells to your left just below the middle bridge.

Peering into the lower dells

            A gradual descent brings you to another trail intersection at 1.6 miles.  The trail going right leads to an alternate trailhead near Deer Park Country Club, so you want to turn left to descend 181 wooden stairs and reach the concrete bridge over the lower dells.  These high and long concrete bridges seem very out of place in the state park today, but they do a great job of getting you across the dells while giving you top-down views into the dells.

Concrete bridge over the dells

            At the east side of the bridge, you could extend your hike by turning left, descending into the lower dells, and exploring the lower dells further.  I had a long distance to drive on the warm afternoon in mid-September when I came here, so I turned right to climb some wooden stairs and head back to the trailhead.  You pass more interesting rock formations, namely Strawberry Rock and the Devil's Paint Box, before closing the loop at 2.1 miles.  Turning right on the entrance trail and climbing more wooden stairs returns you to the parking lot and completes the hike.