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. 37.59898, -88.32774 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:55 a.m., the sun rises at 6:22 a.m. and sets at 7:24 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:51 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 02 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 8:31 a.m. — 10 h 52 min before sunset.
Loop options
- GRINDSTAFF TRAIL + RABBIT HOLE — 3.1 mi loop, 294 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Thacker Hollow — 0.7 mi
- R-R Garden Of The Gods Loop — 2.3 mi
- Pounds Ridge — 3.5 mi
- Beaver Trail — 4.7 mi