Illinois trails · Grindstaff Trail
Grindstaff Trail
A 2.4-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 371 ft of climbing. Reaches Hurricane Bluff. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 55% of the ascent falls between mile 1.6 and mile 2.4. It gives back about 227 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Hurricane Bluff (viewpoint)
Heads up
Getting there
HIGH KNOB BLUFF access — parking nearby. About 49 min drive (24 mi, 2 of them unpaved) from Harrisburg. 37.59898, -88.32774 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:34 a.m., the sun rises at 7:00 a.m. and sets at 6:17 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:44 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 4.8-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 09 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:09 a.m. — 9 h 08 min before sunset.
Loop options
- GRINDSTAFF TRAIL + RABBIT HOLE — 3.1 mi loop, 294 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Pounds Ridge — 3.5 mi
- Beaver Trail — 4.7 mi
- New Gog - Karbers Ridge — 6.4 mi
- Whoopie Cat — 7.5 mi