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Nature reserve · Illinois

Little Grand Canyon

Little Grand Canyon from directly overhead

Little Grand Canyon is a nature reserve in Illinois, at a modelled elevation of 208 m. Bald Knob stands 314 m to the south-southeast, 9.3 miles off. The nearest named place is Chalk Bluff, a cliff 0.7 miles away. Great River Road passes 4.4 miles off. 30 named summits stand within 25 miles.

Visiting

What to expect

Official site

Getting there

How to reach it

Driving directionsPlan a drive around it
Coordinates37.68053, -89.39545
Around it

Named places within 25 miles

Parks
  • Oakwood Bottoms Greentree Reservoir Interpretive Site: 3.7 mi
  • Holy Boulders: 4.5 mi
  • Riverside Park: 5.7 mi
  • Town Center Park: 6.5 mi
  • Longfellow Park: 6.6 mi
Peaks: 30
  • Swallow Rock: 1.0 mi
  • Lookout Rocks: 1.9 mi
  • Grassy Knob: 5.0 mi
  • Milligan Hill: 6.0 mi
  • Mount Carbon: 6.1 mi
Historic sites: 20
Picnic sites: 18
  • Bald Knob Picnic Area: 6.5 mi
  • Clearview: 6.7 mi
  • Shady Cove: 6.8 mi
  • Hickory Grove Picnic Area: 6.9 mi
  • Pine Circle Picnic Area: 6.9 mi
Artworks: 17
  • ps: 5.7 mi
  • gym: 5.7 mi
  • k: 9.8 mi
  • Faery: 12.0 mi
  • Dragon: 12.1 mi
Nature reserves: 16
Cliffs: 11
Attractions: 8
  • Pomona Natural Bridge: 3.6 mi
  • ps: 5.6 mi
  • ps: 5.7 mi
  • ps: 6.6 mi
  • Alto Clay Works: 8.3 mi
Museums: 6
  • Sharp Museum: 10.0 mi
  • The Carbondale Depot Museum: 10.3 mi
  • African American Museum of Southern Illinois: 11.6 mi
  • Giant City Visitor Center: 12.5 mi
  • Cobden Museum: 12.8 mi
Gardens: 5
Rest areas: 4
Springs: 3
  • Bottoms Spring: 4.5 mi
  • Cave Spring: 6.1 mi
  • Seep: 12.6 mi
Ghost towns: 3
Waterfalls: 3
  • Kinkaid Lake Spillway Falls: 7.2 mi
  • Falls-Shelter Bluff: 19.8 mi
  • Bjork's Falls: 22.6 mi
Beaches: 1
On the horizon

Summits around it

The highest named summits within 25 miles of Little Grand Canyon. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.

SummitBearingElevationDistance
Bald KnobSSE 163°314 m9.3 mi
Tiptop KnobSE 138°269 m13.2 mi
Government RockSSW 197°250 m7.6 mi
Grassy KnobSSW 202°242 m21.6 mi
Grassy KnobSSW 202°241 m5.0 mi
McGee HillSSW 193°240 m9.5 mi
Coker KnobSSW 197°228 m21.8 mi
Thompson HillSSW 199°221 m20.1 mi
Conditions

When to go

Light through the year

DateSunriseGolden hourSunset
March equinox07:0218:3519:10
June solstice05:3719:4420:23
September equinox06:4618:2218:56
December solstice07:1016:0216:43

Local time (America/Chicago).

Climate normals

Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg °F333847576675787668574637
Precip in2.82.64.15.35.04.13.63.02.93.53.93.1

1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Carbondale Sthrn Illinois AP, 11 mi away.

Wildlife nearby
  • Christmas fern45 obs
  • twoleaf miterwort43 obs
  • drooping trillium41 obs
  • Celandine Poppy40 obs
  • common pawpaw39 obs
  • Northern Cottonmouth34 obs
  • Snakewort33 obs
  • crane-fly orchid31 obs

Research-grade iNaturalist community observations within 3 km — what people have recorded, not a species inventory.

Sources

Where this comes from

Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOfficial site

OpenStreetMap element node/6001917740

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