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Illinois trails · Pounds Ridge

Pounds Ridge

A 3.6-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 291 ft of climbing. Reaches Pounds Hollow Lake. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
3.6 mi
Elevation gain
291 ft
Difficulty
Moderate
Max grade
10%
Steepest mile
+246 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.1 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

390 – 680 ft123

Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 84% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 1.2. It gives back about 220 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Pounds Ridge

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

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

BEAVER TRAIL access. About 37 min drive (24 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Harrisburg. 37.62256, -88.27129 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:33 a.m., the sun rises at 7:00 a.m. and sets at 6:17 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:43 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 7.3-mile round trip takes roughly 3 h 00 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:59 a.m. — 8 h 18 min before sunset.

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