A favorite to visit for those staying overnight at the lodge. Just a short distance from Aurora Canyon, where the visitor has access to Aurora Canyons interior view but not Sac’s due to hazardous conditions. Sac’s waterfall can be viewed from above and on both sides of the bridge if rainfall or snow melt conditions are just right. The picture above was taken by the park’s Natural Resource Coordinator, Lisa Sons in March of 2019. The canyon was named after another local Native American tribe that frequented the areas of Illinois and Iowa several hundred years ago.
Length from the Visitors Center: .8 miles one way from the Visitor Center or Starved Rock Lodge. 1.3 miles from the St. Louis Canyon parking lot.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate, involving one major staircase from the Visitor Center to the Lodge. Moderate 1.3 mile trail from St. Louis Canyon parking area involving several major staircases.
Parking: Visitor Center main parking lot, Starved Rock Lodge, Overflow parking, or St. Louis Canyon parking lot.
Waterfall: Yes, rain dependent.
Top View: Yes, wooden foot bridge allows the hiker to view both sides of the fall.
Interior Canyon View: No, no access.
Flora and Fauna: Woodland ferns, lichen, moss, spring ephemerals including the shooting stars grace the woodland floor and sandstone canyon walls. Tanagers, titmice, chickadees, sparrows, nuthatches, and woodpeckers fill the canopy with their chatter as chipmunks and gray squirrels travel back and forth foraging for nuts and seeds.