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Rock Cut State Park, IL

Chiseled out of the state’s far northern region is Rock Cut State Park in Winnebago County. Nearby are other “rocky” landmarks – the mighty Rock River and the place where wagons once forded it, Rockford. It’s an area of rolling plains, interesting history and a wide variety of recreational opportunities. 

Rock Cut’s 3,092 acres include two lakes:  Pierce Lake, with 162 acres, and Olson Lake with 50 acres offer a retreat for people wanting to fish, ice fish or ice skate.  The park’​s hiking trails, horseback riding trails and cross-country skiing and wildlife watching, as well as seasonal hunting programs, make it a year round recreation destination.  The beautiful campground has 270 premium campsites, a rustic cabin, a group camp and shelters, with reservations available through www.reserveamerica.com

Rock Cut is home to abundant wildlife with waterfowl, deer, fox, muskrat, woodchuck and beaver, opossum, raccoon and both gray and fox squirrel. Over 100 types of wildflowers offer a showy display each spring and summer, while hardwood trees dazzle visitors each fall.

Rock Cut State Park is a large square plot of land surrounding Pierce Lake. There are a lot of camp sites, and we selected site 60 in the Hickory Hills Loop (Tents only). Campsite 60 is along the lake and, aside from Campsite 20, maybe the best for privacy. All the sites along the lake front look good. On this trip, we tried our new Bivy Sack tent.

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Pierce Lake seems great for motor-less boating sports. No swimming. A path is cut all the way around the lake and it took us less than 2 hours. We did not expect to hike this morning but were happily surprised with this one. Our conversation during the hike reflected our enjoyment.
Ryan is riding on top of the car (sunroof) for this summary. It shows how relaxed we were after our time at Rock Cut State Park.