Starved Rock: Sandstone canyons, waterfalls and amazing vistas, all on 1 tank of gas

UTICA, Ill. (WLS) -- It's time once again for our special travel series One Tank Trips! Roz takes us to places we can get to on a tank of gas.

Starved Rock State Park near Utica is one of the most popular destinations in Illinois! It's less than two hours from Chicago, but you'll feel like you're a world away!

Expect the unexpected when you travel to Starved Rock State Park! You're driving along cornfields and flatlands, and suddenly you find yourself immersed among sandstone canyons, waterfalls and amazing vistas. Forested bluffs are filled with oak trees, maple, white pine and cedar.

Wildlife is abundant, with more than 200 species of birds during migration season. There are 13 miles of trails through the park - we started the morning with a moderate hike to the overlook at Starved Rock.

"There are a lot of steps here because the canyons were cut by glaciers, so you're gonna have to hike down 150 steps, and then, you know, back out!" Starved Rock Lodge marketing manager Kathy Casstevens said.

This is French Canyon, one of 18 canons here at the park. Now normally in spring you'd see a big waterfall here, but summer, drought, no such luck - still, it is the most visited canyon in the park because it's the one closest to the lodge and visitor's center!

And speaking of, the historic lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps - an addition was added in the 1970s. You can also stay at one of the rustic log cabins or at the many campsites that are available.

Starved Rock isn't the only state park in the area worth visiting - at Matthiessen State Park in Peru, you can saunter through a sea of sunflowers - these bright beauties and in full bloom right now!

For more family fun, check out the nearby Grand Bear Resort and its indoor water park!

"We've got a lazy river, a wave pool, kiddie area, two slides, the tube slides are a little intense for me but seems to be very popular to others!" Caitlen Meyer, Grand Bear Resort food and beverage director.

We topped off our visit with a trip to August Hill Winery, a hidden gem alongside the Illinois River.

"The grapes we grow... they're cold hardy because are winters get really, really cold so the grapes don't die in the winter," Mark Wenzel, founder and winemaker of August Hill Winery. "They're names that many people probably have never hear of, like Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Marquette, La Crescent."

On weekends from May through October they host Wine on the Hill, an opportunity to see the vineyard, listen to music and do a wine tasting, outside or in the cave, where wines are produced and stored!

All that on just one tank of gas!

There are a few very special wines here! 795 was created for the July 2021 christening of the USS Hyman G. Rickover submarine, as Admiral Rickover grew up in Illinois! Ensemble is only available at Pops for Champagne in River North (or at the Winery) and Berlyn is named from a combination of Mark and his wife's middle names!