300-Millon Year Old Rock in Illinois Named Most Breathtaking Site

You may not have heard of the "Garden of the Gods" but this 300-million-year-old sandstorm structure is the most breathtaking site in the world and it's a short drive from the Tri-States.

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You'll find this formation in the Shawnee National Forest which is known to be the most photographed location in the state. Many outdoorsmen love this location because it's a great walking/hiking trail and a beautiful spot for picnics and romantic sunsets.

These 300-million-year-old sandstone formations in the Shawnee National Forest are accessible by a quarter-mile observation trail and are one of the most photographed locations in Illinois.

Geologists date this formation back 300 million years and is what happens when a plate is not covered by glaciers.

This bed of sandstone was later uplifted, and the Garden of the Gods is part of an uplifted sandstone plateau. Unlike much of Illinois, this plateau was never covered by glaciers; the furthest advance of ice sheets during the Illinoian glaciation stopped just north of Garden of the Gods.

It's mind-blowing that something as old and beautiful as the Garden of the Gods is still around for all of us to see with our own eyes. There is a reason this is the most photographed location in the Land of Lincoln, it truly is something you have to see to believe.