Millstone Bluff Archaeological Area

A very informative archeological area. Some steep incline and steps on the trail.

Beautiful hike and certainly easy. A short flight of steps. The archeological remains are few. It is hard to make out the past carvings in most cases. The forest is as always a pleasure to see.

Definitely one of my favorite places to go. Place is pretty well kept. If you know what you're looking for you will see Native American writings/drawings, shelter, places of worship, petroglyphs and petraglyphs. This place has more than most even know about. Even the locals are being shown new discoveries by the day. Nice hidden gem and if you're reading my comment just pass this place up and leave it for me :-)

A hidden gem in southeastern Illinois, Millstone Bluff is set off the highway just enough that when you are hiking up the hill towards the archaeological site it's quiet and allows your mind to enjoy the scenery. The walk is not difficult, the well maintained path makes for a nice workout. When you make it to the top, you are presented with spectacular views. The petroglyphs are amazing!

Really well done historic area, one can almost imagine an Indian village there. Nice short trail with some uphill walking

Very beautiful place to witness a piece of history. Beautiful cliffs and really helps you picture life as it once was.

Didn't know about this place until I drove by and looked it up. An excellent stop that takes less than an hour, and I learned a lot about the history of Native Americans in Southern Illinois (who lived here between 500 and 1500 years ago). There are ruins of a complete village with multiple dwellings, a large community building, a public square, a cemetery, and petroglyphs. Fascinating!

Although I really enjoyed this place, I'm not sure of the kids did. There is a trail to take to get to the old settlement, but part of a bridge is out due to a fallen tree. The splinters on the bridge are pretty fresh, so it must have happened with the last couple weeks. I was able to cross the bridge then helped the kids cross. There are petroglyphs here, but I couldn't see them. They are very faint due to erosion. You pull up to a decent size bluff when you park. We were lucky and a group of students from siu were there along with their professor. One of the students showed us a rock with many fossils of shells

Very nice and informative trail. Had nice new wood chips too. We enjoyed it very much.

Had a great time . Everthing was so beautiful there's nothing like a good nature walk.Can't wait to go back .

Beautiful and the hike was educational. If you are in a wheelchair there are so many stairs you would not be able to go on the trail. The drive to the park is still with it because the parking lot at the site is beautiful and enjoyable. I would even go so far as to say the scenery near the parking lot was breath taking and there were lots of birds. You can see beautiful rock formations from there.

Great hiking and informative history of local Native Americans.
Lots of incline hiking.

I like the short hike there. The Indian artifacts are great too. The beginning of the hike is pretty steep but once you get up it the terrain is easy and the walk back down isn't hard either.

Beautiful tiny little hike we had to see on the way to Chicago. The article I read on FB made it seem so much more. "An abandoned village"? It's 1500 year old footprints of a few homes of the Missisipian Peoples. The archaeological information was fascinating and the half mile hike uphill was shirt and simple even for our 3 year old

Loved reading the signs explaining the life of these native Americans.

One of the old "Stone Forts" of Southern Illinois. Several of these exist throughout the Shawnee Forest. A must see for tourists and locals alike. The bridge the tree fell on a few months ago has now been repaired allowing for easier access to the bluff once again.

Semi steep hiking. Not sure how I felt about seeing an actual child indian grave still mostly intact but that's the only guarantee in life....death if you can find a way to escape it...let me know k.

I had been to this site a few years ago and was saddened by the upkeep. I returned yesterday and was so grateful that it has been cleaned up and made so much more accessible. Thank you to whomever, or agency that made such a difference. Blessings ♥

Wonderful place. Great veiws of the land and bluffs. It's fascinating to see cultures how and where they lived. The petroglyphs are amazing too see and the quarry where they extracted the mill stones as well.

The petrographs were really cool.