Piney Creek Ravine Nature Preserve Piney Creek Road, Ava, IL 62907

"Tucked away amidst rolling farmland hills you will find this little Southern Illinois hike. It is short. Perhaps a total of 2 miles long. The parking lot is on the corner of a dirt road and the first 1/3 of the mile parallels an easement between two farm fields. After the second smaller sign take a right and you will progress down a very steep path moderately marked. IL DNR marked the path with little green markers. You will find stone formations, a 30foot (estimated) waterfall, swirled molten iron deposits that look like mother nature's painting. We went in the fall and there was little water flowing at the time. I would rate this hike as rigorous due to the inclines. You will not find the elevation change in IL near as long in duration as mountain hiking but the steepness could be difficult for the less adventurous."

"Nice little hike! Beautiful preserve. Highly recommend. Bring water to drink."

"Nice little hike, some Native American rock art (hard to find with the grafetti). No facilities, but trail was in good condition"

"This a nice park and very secluded. The trail is well marked and if there's a lot of rain, you won't be able to cross the streams. Still, you'll get a good workout and if you take a camera; you'll get some great pictures. Finding the place was a bit harder, as the entrance to the parking lot is not marked. If you go, once you leave the paved road (Pine Creek Ravine), it's less than a half mile on the chat road on your right, if you're coming from Campbell Hill."

"Definitely one of my favorite hikes in the Carbondale area. Easy access to the ravine and although some steep areas, it’s not too difficult at all to enjoy all different parts of the ravine. The Native American art is tough to see amid all the graffiti and probably was my least favorite aspect of the trail. Instead the amazing rock formations that come from water eroded sandstone and the fall colors made this a super enjoyable hike. We wandered around and still only clocked in at 2.2 miles total out and back."