Visitors to Starved Rock State Park can now take a guided hike on the park’s most popular trails by using this new smartphone app. Download the Prairie State Hike App for just 99 cents.
Making plans for the weekend this Monday? Look what we have going on at the park this spring and summer!
Please visit the IDNR webpage at www2.illinois.gov/dnr to view the Calendar of Events as well as registration information. Some programs require pre-registrations.
All programs, special events, workshops, and guided hikes are FREE! ... See MoreSee Less
Timeline photosThese wood ducks are illustrating today's idiom--ducks in a row. At one time or another we’ve all been told to ‘get our ducks in a row,’ meaning that some aspect of our life is in disarray and needs to be organized. Watching mama mallard with an orderly stream of ducklings in tow it seems obvious where the phrase originated. Ah, but the origin of this idiom isn’t so clear. It could have originated with the ducklings, but there is a possibility it refers to a 1700s lawn bowling game where duck pins were set in a row. And to further muddy the waters on the origin of this idiom, it also could refer to the tin ducks lined up in a shooting gallery. Regardless of the origin, the first known published use of the phrase dates to 1889. ... See MoreSee Less