Where to See Fall Colors in Illinois With Your Dog
- Moose's Golden Tails
- Sep 12
- 6 min read
It's almost fall! Pretty soon we will start to see the leaves changing colors and the leaf peepers will get their cameras out. This is 100 percent me. Fall is my second favorite season for hiking! The weather is mild, crowds have disappeared, and the leaves do their thing! You know what the best part of leaf peeing is? You don't even have to hike for a good view if you don't want to. I've included easy walking trails, and for the hikers out there - I included some spectacular hiking trails. Grab the leash and let's go, all places listed are dog-friendly!
I am so excited to share all the places I visited last year to see fall colors. Some places I did visit earlier in the fall season, so you won't see as many fall colors compared to some of the places I visited closer to or during peak fall colors. I wish I had more time to visit all around Illinois in such a short amount of time! Peak fall colors will vary by year, and I can't tell you exactly when to visit for the best colors. Visit Enjoy Illinois to check out their Fall Colors Trip Planner, powered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to get the best idea of when peak fall foliage will happen in a certain region.
Grab your camera, let's go leaf peeping!
Herrick Lake Forest Preserve
Herrick Lake is located in Wheaton, just about 30 miles outside of Chicago. There are over 7 miles of trails to enjoy, but that's not all. Visitor's can enjoy fishing, boating, picnicking, and more. The walk around the lake is a must! Moose and I visited on October 19, 2024 during the early phase of partial colors. Even with only a little showing, I think the colors magnified on the reflection of the lake were beautiful. We also took a walk through the wooded trails which showed a bit more color. I can only imagine how beautiful the view was during peak colors. All trails are easy and relatively flat.
Dogs are allowed and must be leashed. Please remember to pick up after your dog.
Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve
Lake of the Woods is located in Mahomet, just 15 minutes outside of Champaign. This is a great place for pretty views with no hiking. It includes a museum, botanical garden, and a golf course. Visitors can enjoy hiking/biking trails, fishing, boating, picnicking, and more.
Moose, Duke, and myself visited on October 26, 2024 during peak fall colors. Plenty of cute photo ops for humans and/or dogs! We may have done a little photo shoot. Highly recommend if you aren't a hiker as the trails we visited were more like walking trails.
Dogs are allowed and must be leashed. Please remember to pick up after your dog.
Illinois & Michigan State Trail
This trails follows the I&M canal and stretches 61.5 miles across the Illinois & Michigan Canal Heritage Area from Rockdale all the way down to LaSalle. There are multiple access points along the trail, and it is relatively flat making this an easy hike. Moose and I hopped on the trail in Ottawa right across from the Buffalo Rock State Park entrance. The beauty of this trail is that you can hike as long or short as you want!
We visited on October 18, 2024 which was still early on in the color changing phase. We hiked for about a mile and back and enjoyed the view and solitude along the way. Since the trail is so long, there aren't crowds on this trail. I tend to choose trails with less people as it is more enjoyable for me and Moose.
Dogs are allowed and must be leased. Please remember to pick up after your dog.
Starved Rock State Park
If you are familiar with my Instagram or website, then you already know Starved Rock is a favorite of mine. I've lived close by for almost my whole life and often enjoy the trails and activities there. There is no surprise that it made my fall colors list! Starved Rock is located in Oglesby, just 90 minutes from Chicago. It is Illinois' most popular state park drawing a lot of crowds. It's no secret that some of the best trails to see fall colors are here. Trails range from easy to moderately challenging. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with any trail here to leaf peep. We visited on October 25, 2024 which was during peak fall colors.
Let's get into a few favorite trails of mine to hike during the fall. If you're up for a moderately challenging hike, I suggest starting at the Visitor's Center, make a quick stop at French Canyon, continue to Lover's Leap, and then make your way to Eagle Cliff Overlook. If you make it to Lover's Leap, you have to continue on to Eagle Cliff. It is just a short distance away. Eagle Cliff is one of my favorite spots in the fall. From the overlook, you see the abundance of fall colors in the tree line along the Illinois River making a excellent background for pictures. I took one of my favorite pictures of Moose here last year.
If you're up for more hiking, continue on the trail after Eagle Cliff which turns into the River Trail. You'll be hiking among the trees you just saw up top of Eagle Cliff. The trail will run along the river for quite a bit. Make a pit stop at Wildcat Canyon located just off the River Trail, then hop back on to reach your last stop: LaSalle Canyon. These two additional stops are great if you're looking to see more fall colors. If you are hoping to see waterfalls in the canyons, then maybe just turn back. The waterfalls are usually all dried up at this time, but I think the hike is still worth it! The canyons are truly beautiful and to see them surrounded by all the colors is amazing. You're looking at over a 4 mile hike with all of these stops. For an easier challenge, I'd stick with hiking out to Eagle Cliff and back. Visit Starved Rock Lodge for the official park map.
Dogs are allowed and must be leashed. Please remember to pick up after your dog.
Matthiessen State Park
Another one not to be surprised about! Just like Starved Rock, I visit Matthiessen very often and in every season. It is located just 5 minutes down the road from Starved Rock and is equally as beautiful. Moose and I visited on October 17, 2024 which was during the partial colors phase. Just like Starved Rock, I don't think you can go wrong on what trail you pick. Park in the parking lot behind Deer Park Golf Course if you just want an easy hike. You can view Matthiessen Lake from the nearby shelter or bridge with the surrounding trees in the background. The bluff trails beginning from this area are relatively flat and easy.
Park in the main parking lot if you want to hike into the upper or lower dells area. Expect stairs with these trails. Moose and I started at the Lake Shelter and continued on the bluff trail leading to the dells area. From there, we hiked down into the lower dells and back up. Yes, Cascade Falls was all dried up. We then hiked into the upper dells area leading all the way back to the Lake Shelter. Very few people were out and about!
Dogs are allowed and must be leashed. Please remember to pick up after your dog.
Don't forget to follow my Instagram page @moosesgoldentails to see where the dogs and I visit this fall! These are just a couple great places in Illinois, I can't wait to visit more places and share with you all. If you made it this far, leave me a comment down below telling me your favorite thing about fall!