Moraine Hills State Park
Location:3 miles south of McHenry in the northeast corner of the state.
Facilities:Picnic areas with drinking water and rustic toilet facilities, picnic
shelters, concession building with restrooms, multi-use trails (10
miles), fishing piers (é), boat rentals (private watercraft
prohibited), interpretive center, playground, restrooms.
Activities:Boating (electric motors only), canoeing, fishing, hunting,
hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, wildlife viewing.
Special Features:Park derives its name from a geological formation known as a moraine,
which is an accumulation of boulders, stones, and other debris
deposited by a glacier. As glacial ice melted here following the
Wisconsin glaciation period, it left gravel-rich deposits called kames
that make up the park's wooded hills and ridges. The 48-acre Lake
Defiance near the center of the park was formed when a large portion of
ice broke away from the main glacier and melted. This lake, which is
gradually filling in with peat from its unstable shoreline, is one of
the few glacial lakes in Illinois that has remained largely
undeveloped, maintaining a near-natural condition.
Address:914 S River Rd
McHenry, IL 60051
Phone:815-385-1624
Web: dnr.state.il.us/Lands/Landmgt/PARKS/R2/MORHILLS.HTM
Size: 2,200 acres.
See other parks in
Illinois.