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Illinois trails · Horse Trail (Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area)

Horse Trail (Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area)

A 7.4-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 61 ft of climbing. Reaches Trout Pond and other lake destinations.

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Length
7.4 mi
Elevation gain
61 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
10%
Steepest mile
+60 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.0 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Surface
Grass
Horses
yes

Elevation profile

442 – 503 ft1234567

Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 7.4 miles.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Horse Trail (Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area)

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Getting there

Horse Trail (Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area) junction. About 1 h 50 min drive (67 mi) from West Frankfort. 38.54846, -88.57535 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:35 a.m., the sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 6:17 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:44 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 16 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 14.7-mile round trip takes roughly 5 h 31 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 12:33 p.m. — 5 h 44 min before sunset.