A view from the very top of the falls	Looking back upstream from the falls

Stairs carved into the stone across the top of the falls	The trail around the top of the canyon

This area of Illinois Canyon seems to be one of the most popular areas of the eastern side of the park. There are almost always people here at the top of Illinois Canyon.

Illinois Canyon has multiple waterfalls in it's descent to the bottom. After the first drop from one of the larger falls there is a rounded pool in the rock that is very deep. I've heard that this is called the 'Devil's Bathtub'. It is in this pool that people are usually cooling themselves off. It seems that Illinois Canyon has these deep pools at the bottom of each of the waterfalls. Even way upstream from Illinois Canyon, on private property, the creek bed has these rounded crater-like holes on the bottom. I haven't learned why this canyon is different in that respect than any of the other ones. Because of this, I have seen people diving off the various waterfalls into these deep pools at the bottom of each of the falls. This doesn't seem like a smart thing to do to me but people have been doing it safely for many years. It's sort of a tradition from what I've heard. Every time I've been to Illinois Canyon, I've seen groups of people carrying their cooler and towels climbing the side of the canyon heading for the top by 'Devil's Bathtub'.

The 'Devil's Bathtub' at the top of the first major falls	The trail beginning the ascent up the side of the canyon

Steps in the stone going up the side of the canyon wall	Looking from the top of the trail leading down into the canyon

If you look closely, you can see old post on the trail going up the side of the canyon wall. There used to be a railing to hold onto. The railing is gone but the post are still there. I would assume that eventually there will be one of those new wooden stairways leading to the top of the canyon. Older trail maps show a 'major stairway' at this location. Notice how the trail is on the very edge of the cliff. It is a long way down too by the way. There is also one of these climbing trails on the west side of the canyon just as you're coming into the canyon from the parking lot. I'll bet that gets a face lift in the near future too. Until then, it is still an interesting climb up the side of the canyon walls, reminiscent of the good old days.