Garden of the Gods Wilderness

It is located within the Shawnee National Forest in Hardin, Pope, Saline, and Gallatin counties in the U.S. state of Illinois.

[1] During the Carboniferous period (circa 300 million years before the present), local geological conditions laid down a thick bed of gray sandstone in what is now southern Illinois.

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.

Comparatively dramatic erosion patterns have created hoodoos and other unusual sandstone formations, as well as scenic overlooks such as Buzzards Point from which raptors, scavenger birds, and humans can look out over the Shawnee National Forest.

[1] A tongue of non-wilderness land provides a route for a paved road from Buzzards Point to a hiking, campsite, and public-use location in the southeastern corner of Saline County.