Day Hiking Bowman Bottoms Section (River to River Trail)

[Shawn]

Trail/Route Name

River to River Trail Section (Bowman Bottoms)

Date of Hike

03/19/2024

Mileage

3.5

Difficulty Level

Easy

Trip Rating

5.00 star(s)

Trail Conditions

Easy with some damage to hike around due to illegal ATV use.

For those of you who enjoy Section Hiking longer trails, the River to River Trail in Southern Illinois is around 160 miles long. You can break it up into sections or do the whole trail in a thru-hike. Most of us would rather do sections since hiking the whole thing can take a while.

One of my favorite sections is Bowman Bottoms Road to Tunnel Hill State Trail.

It's right under 4 miles out and back, fairly easy, with easy to navigate trails. It's mainly an old forest service road.

I enjoy it because of the way the gas line right of way makes the pines look, I also like the old settlement around it. There is even an old car off trail in the Odum Tract EA portion of the area. The EA has some amazing waterfalls and creeks to enjoy when wet, as well.

One could likely take a mountain or gravel bike and ride from Bowman to Tunnel Hill Trail as well.

Oh yeah! In the springtime, there is a field of daffodils that are out of this world!

Start at Odum Tract EA trailhead off Bowman Bottoms Road near Vienna, Illinois (Shawnee National Forest).