paradise, this 8,000-acre park in Jersey County is famous for
the exceptional beauty of its fall colors and for its wintering
bald eagles. In addition to enjoying the spectacular view of the
Illinois River and its backwaters from several points atop the
bluffs, visitors can take advantage of a variety of year-round
recreational opportunities, including horseback riding, camping,
hiking, fishing, hunting and Pere Marquette's Visitor Center,
opened in October 1997, welcomes you with a three-dimensional
map of the park and wealth of other displays and exhibits
concerning the Illinois River, wildlife habitat, local history
The history of Pere Marquette State Park centers around that of
the Illinois River. The forces that formed the river can be
traced to ancient glaciers that pushed their way down over most
of Illinois, but stopped just short of the park land. In the
path of the glaciers and their meltwaters, a rich network of
streams and rivers were formed, and tons of soil and bedrock
were ground to dust which