Pierson Ranch Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Buffalo Gap Grassland — Remote recreation area near the Buffalo Gap National Grassland — wide-open prairie at the edge […]
Platte Creek Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆 Missouri River Valley — Recreation area on Platte Creek near its confluence with the Missouri River — fishing and
Randall Creek Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Fort Randall Tailwater — Recreation area below Fort Randall Dam on the Missouri River — outstanding tailwater fishing and
Revheim Bay Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆 Lake Oahe Bay — Sheltered bay on massive Lake Oahe — protected fishing and camping on the Missouri River
Richmond Lake Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Aberdeen’s Lake — 1,750-acre lake near Aberdeen — the “Hub City” of northeastern South Dakota Richmond Lake Recreation Area
Sandy Shore Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆 Lake Sharpe Shore — Sandy shoreline recreation area on Lake Sharpe — camping and fishing on the Missouri River
Shadehill Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Northwest SD Oasis — 5,000-acre reservoir in the remote northwestern prairie — the largest lake in a 100-mile radius
Sheps Canyon Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Angostura Canyon — Recreation area on Angostura Reservoir in the southern Black Hills — warm-water swimming and fishing in
Snake Creek Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Fort Randall Reservoir — Recreation area on Lake Francis Case near the powerhouse of Fort Randall Dam — where
Springfield Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Lewis & Clark Lake — Recreation area on Lewis & Clark Lake near Springfield — the most downstream Missouri
Swan Creek Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆 Lake Oahe Shore — Recreation area on Lake Oahe in Walworth County — fishing and camping on the massive
West Bend Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Big Bend Country — Recreation area at the dramatic Big Bend of the Missouri River — where the river
West Pollock Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Northern Oahe — Recreation area on the northern reaches of Lake Oahe — remote fishing and camping near the
West Whitlock Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Earth Lodge Village Site — Recreation area on Lake Oahe at the site of historic Arikara earth lodge villages
Bohm Woods Nature Preserve
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Old-Growth Gem — Rare 80-acre old-growth bottomland forest — one of the last uncut hardwood stands in southern Illinois
Cape Bend State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Ohio River Confluence — Wetlands and bottomland forest at the confluence of the Ohio and Cache Rivers — where
Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Central Illinois Fishing — 1,175-acre cooling lake offering year-round warm-water fishing — heated discharge keeps fish active in winter
Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Chicago’s Wild Backyard — 5,000-acre wetland complex along the Des Plaines River — critical migration corridor for millions of
Devils Island Wildlife Management Area
🏆🏆🏆 Illinois River Backwater — Backwater wetland on the Illinois River — managed for waterfowl habitat and flood control Devils
Donnelley DePue (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Illinois River Wetlands — 4,000-acre wetland complex in the Illinois River valley — critical waterfowl habitat in the heart
Double T State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Prairie Pothole — Managed wetland and grassland in central Illinois — restoring prairie pothole habitat for waterfowl Double T
Fall Creek Scenic Overlook
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Shawnee Hills Vista — Dramatic bluff overlook in the Shawnee National Forest — panoramic views of the Ohio River
Golconda Marina (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Ohio River Gateway — Marina on the Ohio River at historic Golconda — gateway to the Smithland Pool and
Harry ”Babe” Woodyard (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Prairie Heritage — 1,200-acre state natural area honoring conservationist Harry “Babe” Woodyard — restored tallgrass prairie and wetlands Harry
Heidecke Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Power Plant Lake — 1,500-acre cooling lake near Channahon — excellent warm-water fishing with striped bass and walleye Heidecke
Illinois and Michigan Canal (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Canal That Built Chicago — 96-mile historic canal that connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi — the engineering
Iroquois County State Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Grand Prairie — Managed grasslands and wetlands in the heart of the Grand Prairie — restoring Illinois’s agricultural heartland
Kaskaskia River State Fish & Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Kaskaskia River Bottom — 20,000-acre wildlife area along the Kaskaskia River — the largest state fish and wildlife area
Kidd Lake Marsh (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Ice Age Relic Marsh — Rare glacial marsh preserving Ice Age plant communities — one of the most ecologically
Kishwaukee River State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Rock River Valley — River corridor along the Kishwaukee — a tributary of the Rock River in northern Illinois
LaSalle Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Nuclear Cooling Lake — 2,058-acre cooling lake for the LaSalle Nuclear Generating Station — superb warm-water fishing in a
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Prairie River — Riparian corridor along the Mackinaw River — one of the last free-flowing prairie rivers in Illinois
Marseilles State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 I&M Canal Lock — Historic Illinois & Michigan Canal lock town — where the canal meets the Illinois River
Marshall State Fish & Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Wabash Valley — Managed wetlands and forest in the Wabash River valley — where Illinois meets Indiana Marshall State
Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Bureau County Wetlands — Managed wetlands and uplands near the Illinois River — quality waterfowl hunting and fishing Mautino
Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Southern IL Powerhouse — 1,775-acre cooling lake with exceptional bass and catfish fishing — one of the top fisheries
Peabody River State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Coal Country — Reclaimed strip mine lands restored to wildlife habitat — turning Illinois’s coal mining legacy into conservation
Pekin Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Illinois River Gem — Backwater lake on the Illinois River near Pekin — exceptional crappie fishing in a historic
Piney Creek Ravine (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 300-Million-Year Canyon — Dramatic sandstone box canyon with Native American rock art — one of the most spectacular geological
Powerton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Central IL Power Lake — 1,600-acre cooling lake on the Illinois River — striped bass and hybrid striper fishery
Randolph County State Recreation Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Kaskaskia Bottomlands — Recreation area in the Kaskaskia River bottomlands — near Illinois’s first state capital and the only
Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Western IL Wetlands — Managed wetlands in Brown County — quality waterfowl hunting in the Illinois River watershed Ray
Sahara Woods (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Desert in Illinois! — Unique sandstone landscape with sand barrens and desert-like features — one of the most unusual
Saline County State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Salt Capital — Reclaimed lands near the historic Saline Springs — where Illinois’s first industry (salt production) began in
Spitler Woods (Illinois)
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Virgin Timber — 219-acre old-growth forest — one of the last virgin timber stands in central Illinois Spitler Woods
Spring Lake Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Illinois River Hub — 2,023-acre site on the Illinois River — managed wetlands providing critical habitat for migrating waterfowl
Ten Mile Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆 Lincoln Country — Managed wetlands and grasslands near Lincoln’s New Salem — in the heart of Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois
Turkey Bluffs State Fish and Wildlife Area
🏆🏆🏆🏆 Mississippi River Bluffs — Scenic bluffs along the Mississippi River in Jackson County — oak-hickory forest with dramatic river
World Shooting and Recreational Complex
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 World’s Largest Shooting Complex — The LARGEST shooting sports complex in the WORLD — 1,631 acres with 100+ ranges
Binney Pond Natural Area
🏆🏆🏆 Hidden Bog Gem — Secluded pond and bog ecosystem in the Monadnock Region — a quiet natural area protecting