Following our hike in Matthiessen State Park, we headed over to nearby Starved Rock State Park. This park has many more canyons and trails, so the possibility of seeing frozen waterfalls is very good. The first stop was St. Louis Canyon, one of the more popular areas in the park, and one I tend to avoid when visiting - no real reason, maybe it's just too easy to access.
The cold weather had already turned the waterfall into a complete icefall. We explored the falls from a distance first, then made our way around and under.
A lot of times when I visit the frozen waterfalls, it's difficult or impossible to access the area behind the icefalls. It's either too slippery, or blocked by too much ice. Visiting early in the season, I was able to get behind the ice for a completely different view.
Careful of falling ice, I explored the 40 foot tall ice column from beneath. The dripping water splashed onto me a bit, and in the single digit temperatures, froze on my camera immediately.
Ice cleats are a must when visiting Starved Rock or Matthiessen State Parks in winter. Even when most of the snow has melted, the trails are often packed with ice from thousands of visitors, and most of the canyons are shaded most of the day. The trails are probably the last things to melt, and can be extremely dangerous in winter. Not only can a person slip and fall down, but that fall can result in a drop into a canyon on some narrow trails. The cleats allow you to walk on solid ice and packed snow without slipping at all.
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