Piney Creek Ravine Rock Art (Randolph County, Illinois)

Over my years living out west, I have sought out and explore many areas with ancient Native American rock art. I know that there are also some examples near where I grew up in Southern Illinois, and since I'm traveling through on my way home from St. Louis, I decided to detour and visit one of them.

The Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area sits in and among some mildly rugged rock formations, with the ravine carved out by the creek the area is named for. I really didn't know what to expect, but was anxious to see what the site had to offer. From the small gravel parking area, the trail follows an old dirt road along a couple of pastures before taking a quick right and beginning a slow decent into the ravine. 

I'm actually pretty impressed by the topography and geology here. There are some waterfalls and the creek bed is a single sheet of limestone, at least in some areas. Once I get to the main area, where the creek forks, I'm forced to do a rock-hop to cross one of the branches. I saw a sign along a bluff on the far side and I assumed that might be where the rock art could be found. After making my way back up the hill, I found my assumption to be correct. Scattered along the walls of this bluff there is a combination of ancient pictographs and petroglyphs, along with an overwhelming amount of more modern (but still historical) graffiti. The more modern carvings are generally names and dates, which appear to be mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century. Unfortunately, they have hidden much of their more ancient counterparts.

As I walk along the bluff though, I do find a few examples that are still visible. The more noteworthy examples include a petroglyph of two humanoid figures standing side by side and a series of pictograph ungulates (probably deer) in a row painted with a red stain. I spend a few minutes exploring all around the area and see many more areas that might contain more rock art, but with what appears to be a storm approaching, I don't want to linger too long. 

Back at my car, I see I've hiked only about 1.6 miles, which isn't much, but I still have more stops planned along this trip home. This is an interesting site though and when I have more time, may be worthy of a more detailed exploration.