Tag: giant city

Giant City State Park is located just South of Carbondale IL. Over the years this large and scenic park has become a frequent destination for our troop.

Giant City State Park includes a special group camping area specifically designated for youth organizations such as a BSA troop. This large site can easily accommodate multiple groups, which means it has availability nearly all year long. One of the areas on the site is especially nice, as it has a large pavilion that includes 2 stone fireplaces!

Just past the entrance to the park is the Visitor’s Center. It includes a lot of info about the area, and there’s always a friendly person there to help us out with whatever we might need.

While there are many great aspects to this park, one of the biggest draws of this park for our troop is the expansive amount of hiking trails. There are 8 separate trails ranging from quick loops such as the Arrowhead Trail near the Visitor’s Center to the Red Cedar Hiking Trail which is 12 miles long and offers an overnight campsite at the halfway point. There’s even an equestrian trail to go along with the park’s own Giant City Stables, which is at the north end of the park.

Not far from the group campsite is the Giant City Lodge. We have a long-standing tradition in our troop regarding the Lodge… Nearly every time we camp at Giant City for the weekend, the troop treats the Scouts and leaders to an all-you-can-eat chicken dinner at the logs. Needless to say, it is definitely one of the highlights of the trip.