Illinois National Parks

Illinois national parks tell the tale of the growth of settlement and commerce in the Midwest, of continued westward migration and exploration, and of the lives of past presidents. Take a walk through history along trails used by early Americans seeking their dreams and the tragic walk of those Native Americans leaving their homeland.

Visit These Illinois National Parks:

Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail: Between May 1804 and September 1806, 32 men, one woman, and a baby traveled from the plains of the Midwest to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They called themselves the Corps of Discovery. In their search for a water route to the Pacific Ocean, they opened a window onto the west for the young United States.

Lincoln Home National Historic Site: "I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington." Abraham Lincoln left his home of seventeen years to serve as president of a nation on the verge of Civil War. The Lincoln home has been restored to its 1860 appearance, revealing Lincoln as husband, father, and politician and is open to the public for guided tours.

Lincoln Home Weather

Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail: Led by Brigham Young, roughly 70,000 Mormons traveled along the Mormon Trail from 1846 to 1869 in order to escape religious persecution. The Pioneer Company of 1846-1847 established a route from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, covering about 1,300 miles that would include construction of new ferries and bridges, and the placement of markers for others to follow.

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail: Come on a journey to remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people despite their forced removal from their homelands in the Southeastern United States in the 1840s.

Trail of Tears Ratings