USFS · Illinois

Shawnee National Forest

Shawnee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, United States. Administered by the United States Forest Service, it consists of approximately 498,615 acres (201,782 ha) of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac counties. Forest headquarters are located in Harrisburg, Illinois. There are local ranger district offices in Jonesboro and Vienna. Shawnee National Forest is also the single largest publicly owned body of land in Illinois.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest930,027 acresUSFSIL1 campground within 10 mi29 Forest Service sites199 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
3 fires
active
Cretaceous Hills State Natural Area Rx (prescribed burn) · 27 mi from the center · 48 acres
2 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateIllinois
Size930,027 acres
Forest Service code0908, region 09
Center point37.52° N, 88.86° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Shawnee National Forest30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 3.84 inches of precipitation, 1.7 inches of snowFebruary: 3.64 inches of precipitation, 3.2 inches of snowMarch: 4.66 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowApril: 4.96 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowMay: 5.19 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 4.08 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 4.39 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.65 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 3.79 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 3.84 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowNovember: 4.30 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowDecember: 4.16 inches of precipitation, 1.4 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 34.4°F averageFebruary: 38.8°F averageMarch: 47.7°F averageApril: 57.9°F averageMay: 66.4°F averageJune: 74.0°F averageJuly: 77.4°F averageAugust: 76.1°F averageSeptember: 69.7°F averageOctober: 58.7°F averageNovember: 47.1°F averageDecember: 37.8°F average0 in2 in4 in6 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Dixon Springs Agric Ctr, 12 miles from the center point at 527 feet, station USC00112353 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 51 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 7 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

1 federal campground sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Pine Hills Campground
First-comeIL

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 29

The Forest Service lists 29 recreation sites in this forest, among them 5 fishings, 4 picnic areas, 4 backpackings, 3 interpretive sites. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 29

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 199 named trails in this forest, 385 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Lusk Creek ↗16.2
Kinkaid Lake Trail ↗15.2
Beaver Trail ↗9
One Horse Gap ↗8.8
New Gog - Karbers Ridge ↗8.3
Bay Creek ↗7.3
Bell Smith Springs ↗7.3
Hayes Creek ↗6.9
Godwin ↗6.8
Dog Hollow Trail ↗6.5

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 199 trails in Shawnee National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Cretaceous Hills State Natural Area Rx

    27 mi from the center point · 48 acres

  • Prescribed
    Inagheh 1&2 Rx

    33 mi from the center point · 62 acres

  • Prescribed
    Inagheh 4 & 5 Rx

    35 mi from the center point · 205 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Historical Park · 23 mi
Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 151 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Shawnee National Forest and Illinois

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • 20 day trips in and around the Shawnee National Forest
    Larry P. Mahan, 2013
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking Illinois
    Susan L. Post, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Rail-Trails Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio
    Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Shawnee National Forest?

930,027 acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Shawnee National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Shawnee National Forest in?

Illinois.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Shawnee National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Shawnee National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.516° N, 88.858° W. Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park is 23 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Shawnee National Forest right now?

3 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Cretaceous Hills State Natural Area Rx at 27 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Shawnee National Forest?

Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park (23 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Shawnee National Forest?

The National Register has 151 listings within 15 miles, including Dupont, John, House and Giant City State Park Lodge and Cabins.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Shawnee National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.