Fun fact: I’ve been here a dozen times to play disc golf with my friend Jacob and had no idea it was more than that. So, when my girlfriend suggested we go for a hike here on a nice February day, I was surprised it had trails to hike. We strapped on our hiking shoes and hit the trails.
This park has multiple entrances and we used the one I was familiar with. As we rolled up to the parking spots, I had a nostalgic trip from my discin’ days. I don’t play anymore due to shoulder issues but the trip down memory lane was a pleasant surprise. Once we parked and orientated ourselves to the online map, we hit the trail.
Mud. So much mud everywhere. Not sinking into mud levels but definitely slippery and tricky. Not thinking ahead, we didn’t anticipate the rain/snow we have been getting lately would cause the trails to be slippery and muddy in most spots. There were a few dry areas but a lot of it was a precarious walk through the woods. There were a few close calls but luckily the only things that got muddy were our shoes and pant legs. It wasn’t unmanageable and did make the hike a bit of a fun challenge.
As we walked, the trails were marked by either a simple sign in the ground that pointed you in the next direction or trees being spray painted the color of the trail. Red was for hiking and orange was for the equestrian trails. At some points, the two types of trails do merge and you should keep at eye on horses passing should you hit those parts.
Luckily we had a digital map of the park and the hiking trails because there is almost no signage aside from what is said in the last paragraph. There was no giant map of the park at the parking spot. There was no ‘you are here’ signs while out on the trails. Nothing. Since we had a map, this didn’t bother me too much but I could see how this would be very confusing or disorienting to someone who didn’t have the map saved beforehand, didn’t have cell service in the woods, new to hiking, or have anxiety about being too disconnected when hiking. Maybe this will change in the future but it’s something to make note of regardless.
We ended up walking 2.75 miles in about 90 minutes. Our route, while not named, wasn’t too hard to follow on the map. We made it to some horse stables and then took a long way back through some hills and creeks. I don’t normally get too winded and worn out from simple hikes but the mud made this one a bit of a challenge. I can feel it the next day as I type this up.
All-in-all, this was a nice hike on a nice day before temps drop back down to their winter levels. I would like to see the Pekin Park District put in some maps and better trail markers (not a fan of spray painting trees) to really help flesh this out but don’t let that dissuade you from coming here. We only did a short hike but you can easily do 7+ miles here. You can even bring your dog(s) here as there is an attached dog park at one of the other entrances.
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