Hike This Ancient Forest In Illinois That’s Home To 800-Year-Old Trees
By Melissa Mahoney|Published June 16, 2021
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Melissa Mahoney
Author
I'm an east coast girl living in a west coast world. I grew up in New England before moving to SoCal for several years. I then lived in NYC or a year before moving to AZ in 2009. I worked in the entertainment industry for many years of my adult life and have a deep love for photography, writing, and traveling around the U.S. as well as to far-flung locations around the world. Travel is my life and writing about it is a dream!
Located in southern Illinois, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 to protect, manage, and restore 15,000 acres of land. This refuge provides an important habitat for a variety of wildlife including several threatened and endangered species and it is home to an ancient forest of 800-year-old bald cypress trees.
Located within the Cache River watershed between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the biodiverse Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge is home to a forest of bottomland tree species, the bald cypress, that are hundreds of years old.
There are two trails on the refuge. From the parking lot, take the one-mile Hickory Bottoms Trail that leads through the lowlands forest filled with bald cypress.
The Limekiln Springs Trail, which you can pick up from the parking area south of Bellrose Overlook viewing platform, leads to the Lower Cache River. This trail has boardwalks that guide visitors through parts of the swamp where you can get a closer look at some of the ancient trees.
The cypress-tupelo swamps are flooded year-round and contain some of the oldest trees located east of the Mississippi River. Four distinct regions also overlap here: the Ozark Hills to the west, Central Plateau to the north, the Interior Low Plateau to the east, and the Gulf Coastal Plains to the south.
If you have a canoe or kayak, bring it with you and get a close-up look at some of the 800-year-old bald cypress trees on Eagle Pond. This is one of the best ways to explore the area.
One of the bald cypress trees at the refuge has over 200 knees. These are vertical projections that grow from the trees' roots and can be seen above the water. It's quite a remarkable sight!
Have you seen the majestic ancient forest of bald cypress trees at Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge? If so, we would love to hear about your experience in the comment section. To plan your visit to Cypress Creek, head to the official webpage.
If you are interested in exploring another part of the Cache River watershed, head to our post on the Cache River State Natural Area.
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