10 / OutdoorIllinois January 2011 Community support for this popular Illinois state park is so strong, the public volunteers to maintain its trails. On the Trail to Morrison-Rockwood Story By Kathy Andrews Photos by Steve Siefken I t’s human nature to be curi- ous, and Morrison-Rock- wood State Park is one of those parks that intrigues the inquisitive. First and foremost—what’s with the name? Established in 1971, the 1,164-acre park was named for three prominent features. Most obvious is the portion of the title derived from the community of Morrison, located 3 miles south of the park. The second portion—Rockwood —is a combination of two landscape features: Rock Creek, which flows along the eastern park boundary to its mouth on the Mississippi River 15 miles to the west, and the fact that the park is heavily wooded. Another well-known feature of this state park in Whiteside County is Lake Carlton, a stream-fed reservoir con- structed in 1969, which not only pro- vides a picturesque backdrop for pic- nics and hikes, it is claimed by scores of visitors as one of the best fishing spots in northern Illinois. With 2.9 miles of shoreline, nine fishing piers and a two-lane concrete boat ramp, there is plenty of room for both bank and boat anglers. Since open- ing 40 years ago, the 77-acre Lake Carl- ton has been managed for a variety of fish, including largemouth bass, black crappie, rock bass, channel catfish, redear sunfish, bluegill, muskie and walleye. Boaters are advised that the lake has a 10 HP limit and the entire lake is a no-wake zone to protect the wooded shoreline. Site superintendent Mike Challand and staff also manage a nearby fishery, which has attracted crowds of trout anglers annually for more than 50 years. Morrison-Rockwood State Park provides visitors recreational oppor- tunities throughout the seasons. (Photos by Adele Hodde.)
Transcript
10 / OutdoorIllinois January 2011
Community support for this popular Illinois state park is sostrong, the public volunteers to maintain its trails.
On the Trail toMorrison-Rockwood
Story By Kathy AndrewsPhotos by Steve Siefken
It’s human nature to be curi-ous, and Morrison-Rock-wood State Park is one ofthose parks that intriguesthe inquisitive. First and
foremost—what’s with the name?Established in 1971, the 1,164-acre
park was named for three prominentfeatures. Most obvious is the portion ofthe title derived from the community ofMorrison, located 3 miles south of thepark. The second portion—Rockwood—is a combination of two landscapefeatures: Rock Creek, which flows
along the eastern park boundary to itsmouth on the Mississippi River 15 milesto the west, and the fact that the park isheavily wooded.
Another well-known feature of thisstate park in Whiteside County is LakeCarlton, a stream-fed reservoir con-structed in 1969, which not only pro-vides a picturesque backdrop for pic-nics and hikes, it is claimed by scores ofvisitors as one of the best fishing spotsin northern Illinois.
With 2.9 miles of shoreline, ninefishing piers and a two-lane concreteboat ramp, there is plenty of room forboth bank and boat anglers. Since open-ing 40 years ago, the 77-acre Lake Carl-ton has been managed for a variety offish, including largemouth bass, blackcrappie, rock bass, channel catfish,redear sunfish, bluegill, muskie andwalleye. Boaters are advised that thelake has a 10 HP limit and the entirelake is a no-wake zone to protect thewooded shoreline.
Site superintendent Mike Challandand staff also manage a nearby fishery,which has attracted crowds of troutanglers annually for more than 50 years.
Morrison-Rockwood State Park
provides visitors recreational oppor-
tunities throughout the seasons.(P
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Located approximately 10 miles eastof the park are the Coleta trout ponds.According to Ken Clodfelter, Depart-ment of Natural Resources district fish-eries biologist, these are the oldest put-and-take trout ponds in Illinois.
“From 1948 to 1954 the three pondswere used by the state as nurseryponds,” Clodfelter explained. “In 1956the ponds were exclusively used fortrout fishing, and for many years thesewere the only trout ponds inIllinois. It wasn’t unusual to seemore than 500 people line thebanks on opening day.”
Today, like the other 36bodies of water participatingin the spring and fall trout-stocking programs, Coletaponds receive a share of the130,000 rainbow troutstocked annually in Illinois.
“The angling pressureand parking issues at Coletahave eased since the early yearswith the addition of other trout pondsin the area,” Clodfelter noted. Today,opening day of spring trout season atColeta draws an estimated 200 anglers.
According to Challand, it is the com-bination of angling opportunities andcamping that draws people to the parkevery weekend, often from Chicagoand beyond.
“Morrison-Rockwood offers a widerange of camping options,” Challandexplained. “We have 92 Class A (electric-ity, shower) and Class B equestrian siteslocated within a heavily wooded area,which provides the quiet, picturesque
setting so many campers desire.”
All campsites are equipped with agrill and table, and disabled-accessiblecampsites are available. The camp-ground also has a shower building,which is open annually May 1-October31. Organizations appreciate havingaccess to a more remote camping sitefor youth-group outings—and use of thefishing equipment the park office main-tains so youth may discover the joy offishing. Each of the four, roomy youthcampsites accommodates 25 campers.
Anglers, campers, picnickers and hik-ers well-versed with the park’s offerings
Lake Carlton, and the nearby
Coleta trout ponds (inset), have
been popular fishing destinations
for decades.January 2011 OutdoorIllinois / 11
The serenity of a new-fallen
snow envelopes Morrison-
Rockwood State Park.
(Photo courtesy Ken Clodfelter.)
12 / OutdoorIllinois January 2011
often make it a priority to visit Rock-wood Restaurant and Marina, a lakesideconcession facility. Open from April 15-October 31 annually, both the restaurantand the bait/boat rental businesses openat 7 a.m. daily. The restaurant closes at 7p.m., while the marina facility hours fluc-tuate seasonally with the setting of thesun. For further information on the mari-na or restaurant, call (815) 772-3613.
Titles also say it all when it comes tothe park’s picnic areas: Lakeview, Wilder-
ness Woods, Cedar Ridge and HorseTrail. Whether your choice is a view ofLake Carlton, a secluded woodland set-ting or a site with easy access to the 14miles of equestrian trails, each picnicarea has tables and outdoor stoves. TheLakeview and Cedar Ridge shelters arepopular locations for group events,including weddings and family reunions.
Activities at Morrison-Rockwoodrange seasonally, from the popularmodel-plane airfield drawing crowdsthroughout the summer to ice fishingand skating on Lake Carlton whenweather conditions permit. Fourteenmiles of trails located through the rolling
landscape provide invigorating excur-sions for the cross-country skier. In thespring, a 3.5 mile nature trail becomes amagnet for visitors tracking the onset ofspring wildflowers, or for birders inter-ested in locating some of the more than150 species of birds occurring withinthe park. With squirrels and deer feedingheavily on mast produced by the 900-acre mature white and red oak hard-wood timber, the park is a popular sitewith sportsmen (see sidebar for addi-tional hunting information).
When visitors take pride in a site thevolunteer spirit can’t be far behind.
Three groups—the Fulton SaddleClub, Tri-City Saddle Club and White-side Mounted Patrol—contribute annu-ally to enhancing equestrian services,from installing hitching posts, tetherlines and hand sanitizers to clearing the
Area hunting
See the site Web site or call the park headquarters for additional details on huntingregulations.Morrison-Rockwood State Park is comprised of timber woodlots, brushy draws and
fence lines interspersed with open grasslands and food patches. Ten acres are open todove hunting (maximum 30 hunters; drawing and sign out at the check station) fromnoon-5 p.m. throughout September. Squirrel hunters may access 900 acres of woodlandsfrom Nov. 1 through the Thursday before the first firearm deer season. Firearm deer hunt-ing (daily hunter quota of 25 with special permit) is permitted during the first segment ofthe firearm season on 1,152 acres of the park; archery deer hunting follows from the dayafter the close of the first firearm deer season through the end of the season.
Located in Carroll County, 1 mile south of Chadwick on School Road,Little Rock Creek State Habitat Area contains 148 huntable acres of cropland, nativegrasses, hardwoods and wildlife food plots. Purchased in 2002 with Habitat Stamp Funds, asmall wetland has since been constructed in the southwest corner of the property. Thisfarm was purchased, and is managed, cooperatively between the Carroll County chapter ofPheasants Forever, the Carroll County Soil and Water Conservation District and DNR. Allow-able are small game (free permit through Springfield lottery conducted Sept. 1-30 for rabbit,pheasant, quail and Hungarian partridge sign in/out at site parking lot) and archery deerhunting, and trapping (one permit issued/year for raccoon, opossum, skunk, weasel, mink,muskrat). Upland hunters must complete and return to DNR by February 15th a harvest sur-vey report. Failure to submit the report will result in the loss of hunting privileges on pheas-ant habitat areas next year. Contact the site or visit the Web site for additional details.
A rich mix of habitat types
provides plentiful wildlife viewing
opportunities.
trails of debris each spring and fall. Allproceeds from their Memorial Daypoker ride are dedicated towardimproving horseback trails at the park.
Their efforts don’t go unnoticed.“A few years ago we worked with a
Boy Scout to construct an equestriansign-in booth,” explained Deb Deboer,Tri-City club secretary and member ofthe Fulton group. “Riders fromthroughout the Midwest take a fewminutes to jot down their reactions,and we’re pleased to be able to con-tribute to an experience that drawswonderful remarks.”
Volunteers also banded together toform Friends of Parks, Inc. and haveworked tirelessly for several years todevelop a bike trail to connect Morrisonto the park. Their efforts have resultedin the development of grant applica-tions for monies from the DNR/IDOT-administered federal Recreational Trails
Program and DNR’s Local GovernmentSnowmobile programs to permit devel-opment of an .8 mile 10-foot-wide aggre-gate walking/biking/snowmobiling trailfrom the north edge of town.
On your way to or from the park,take a short drive west to experience adrastic landscape change, when therolling landscape erupts with sanddunes, blowouts and a remnant of theshort-grass prairie that once coveredthis portion of the Mississippi River val-ley. Deposited by glacial meltwaters,widespread areas along the easternbanks of the Illinois and Mississippirivers received extensive deposits ofwind-blown sand. In some instancesthe dunes may have reached heights of20 to 40 feet.
“Settlers quickly realized that the shift-ing, sandy soils weren’t suitable for culti-vation,” said Ed Anderson, DNR districtheritage biologist. “Now a dedicatednature preserve, the Thomson-FultonSand Prairie is a rare remnant of the habi-tat that once occurred within the bot-tomlands of these major river systems.”
A second satellite site provides visi-tors with the opportunity to put theirbinoculars to good use viewing wildlifeinhabiting a 30-acre wet meadow.
“In conjunction with WaterfowlU.S.A, and utilizing Illinois Duck Stampmonies, a waterfowl refuge was createdat Mill Road Marsh,” Challandexplained. “We’ve been extremely for-
At a glanceMorrison-Rockwood State Park,18750 Lake Road, Morrison, IL 61270Telephone: (815) 772-4708Web site: www.dnr.illinois.gov/parksDirections:Morrison Rockwood StatePark can be reached from Chicago bytaking the East-West Tollway (I-88) westto Illinois Route 78. Proceed throughMorrison and follow the signs to DamenRoad, turning left after 2 miles ontoCrosby Road. The park entrance will beabout 1.5 miles down Crosby Road.
While the focus of an outing
may change with the seasons,
Morrison-Rockwood State Park
offers something for everyone.
A trio of trail-riding groups
contributes annually to
enhancing the park’s equestrian
trails and campground.
tunate to have strong relationships witha number of local groups who havecontributed to the biodiversity andrecreational opportunities in the area.”
Since its creation 40 years ago, pub-lic support for the popular state parklocated on the banks of Rock Creek hasbeen strong—and all signs indicate thattrend won’t be changing anytime in thenear future.
