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.
Elevation profile
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
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Pounds Hollow Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
BEAVER TRAIL access. 37.62256, -88.27129 · 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 7:23 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:50 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 02 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 9:21 a.m. — 10 h 02 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- Thacker Hollow — 3.1 mi
- Beaver Trail — 3.3 mi
- Grindstaff Trail — 3.5 mi
- R-R Garden Of The Gods Loop — 5.1 mi