Illinois trails · Whoopie Cat
Whoopie Cat
A 3.7-mile out-and-back in Illinois, with 215 ft of climbing. Reaches Lake Tacumseh and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the middle third: 54% of the ascent falls between mile 1.2 and mile 2.5. It gives back about 351 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Lake Tacumseh (lake)
- Lake Tecumseh (lake)
- Whoopie Cat Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
WHOOPIE CAT access. 37.49000, -88.32636 · 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 7:50 p.m. (CDT) — 13 h 02 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 7.5-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 59 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:21 a.m. — 10 h 03 min before sunset.
Nearby trails
- One Horse Gap Lake — 6.7 mi
- Thacker Hollow — 7.3 mi
- Grindstaff Trail — 7.5 mi
- Beaver Trail — 7.7 mi