This is definitely one of those little gems! My sister took me here when I came to visit her at SIU. She had always heard of it, but had never been. It was beautiful! HELPFULHINT: Just wade across the water to get to the other side! We didn’t on the way there and decided to walk down and then jump when the river became a creek. What a horrible idea! We got hot, sticky, sweaty, and eaten up by mosquitoes! Awful! Then, when we jumped, we got muddy and I managed to jump onto a stick and cut the very bottom of my foot. Did I mention that the stick that cut me also gave me a huge splinter? So overall, just a bad idea. We climbed all the way to the top and what a gorgeous view! The water was pretty high and the current was really strong, so we didn’t climb throughout the spillway. We decided instead to stay on the side, which was fairly dry in some parts, and definitely less slippery overall. I am sure when the water level goes down, it would be a great place to lounge and get some sun! Just watch out! It is SLIPPERY!
Jen J.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Saint Louis, MO
The spillway is a bit of a local secret, and definitely one of the more interestingly-structured water holes I have ever been to. The spillway is at the end of Kinkaid Lake. Next to the parking lot is a pool of water on the bottom of the spillway(muddy). There is a number of beautiful little waterfalls above the pool. On top of the waterfalls is a good sized lake(more clearer water than the pool on bottom) where you could swim in fairly slow-moving but deep water. On the weekends there are quite a few boats and yachts sharing this lake. Items to note before you go: 1. You can’t really find it in google map. Set your GPS to «1 Spillway Rd., Murphysboro, IL» and once you arrive continue down the Spillway Rd until the road turns into a large parking lot. 2. To get to the top of the waterfalls from the parking lot, you have to swim/wade to the other side of the bank through a 20 feet stretch of ~5 feet deep muddy water with uneven rock bottom. This means unless you are taller than 5 feet 3, have water shoes, and/or have good balance to hold up your personal items, you probably don’t want to take your camera and/or anything that you don’t want to get wet. 3. Yes. There are alot of drunk rednecks(myself included at times) in the summer months even though there are signs everywhere that alcohol is not allowed(but what did you expect…). 4. There aren’t very well-defined path to reach the top of the spillway from the parking lot. However, frequent foot traffic has created small treks on side of the waterfalls. Try to follow those at all times to navigate through the woody areas. The paths are uneven and rocky. You shouldn’t try to trek barefoot unless you want uncomfortable and(potentially) bleeding feet.
