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Illinois trails · Little Grand Canyon

Little Grand Canyon

A 2.9-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 384 ft of climbing. Reaches Main Lookout. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
2.9 mi
Elevation gain
384 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
29%
Steepest mile
+379 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
1.0 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

350 – 735 ft12

Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 81% of the ascent, between mile 1.9 and mile 2.9. It gives back about 505 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Little Grand Canyon

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

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

LITTLE GRAND CANYON — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 42 min drive (13 mi) from Carbondale. 37.68047, -89.39496 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:38 a.m., the sun rises at 7:04 a.m. and sets at 6:21 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:48 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 5.8-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 31 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:35 a.m. — 8 h 46 min before sunset.

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