The Bald Knob Wilderness is a 5,973-acre (24.2 km²) parcel of land listed as a

Wilderness Area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

of the United States. It is, by acreage, the second largest wilderness area located within the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It is located within the

Shawnee National Forest The Shawnee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, United States. Administered by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, it consists of approximately 280,000 acres (1,100 km²) ...

in northwestern

Union County, Illinois Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 17,244. Its county seat is Jonesboro. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as " Littl ...

Second-growth wilderness

As with other wilderness areas within Shawnee National Forest, the Bald Knob Wilderness is made of

second-growth A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

forested areas that were used, until the land acquisitions of the 1930s, as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

land. The

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

, which manages the wilderness, describes it as a land of "homestead

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

trees, cemeteries, and abandoned roads." The steep western slope of ''Bald Knob'', a high hill or low mountain within the Shawnee Hills region of far southern Illinois, was never good ground for agriculture. Firewood was cut here and farmers tried to use the region's well-watered, temperate climate to grow orchard fruits such as

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

s. Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Bald Knob Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest. Visitors who travel by road to the

Bald Knob Cross Bald Knob Cross, officially known as the Bald Knob Cross of Peace, is a large white cross located in Alto Pass, Illinois, United States. The structure is tall. The base of the cross is 1,034 feet above sea level and overlooks the Shawnee Nation ...

, as they drive up the east side of the mountain to the cross, skirt the Bald Knob Wilderness on their drive. As with the mountaintop cross, the nearest municipality is

Alto Pass, Illinois Alto Pass is a village in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 391 at the 2010 census, an increase from 388 in 2000. The Bald Knob Cross and Bald Knob Wilderness are nearby. Alto Pass lies roughly 5.1 miles to the northwest ...

. The Bald Knob Wilderness borders the

Clear Springs Wilderness The Clear Springs Wilderness is a 4,730-acre (19.1 km²) parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It contains the LaRue-Pine Hills Ecological Area, a National Natural Landmark noted for a large and diverse population ...

, which lies to the north and west. The two wilderness parcels are separated by Hutchins Creek. Both wildernesses are served by the

River to River Trail The River to River Trail is a 160 mile (256 km)-long hiking trail that serves Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois. The trail is used by both equestrians and hikers. About half is on off road trails. Its eastern terminus has his ...

References

External links

United States Forest Service
{{coord, 37, 33, 02, N, 89, 22, 39, W, display=title IUCN Category Ib Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Illinois Protected areas of Union County, Illinois Wilderness areas of Illinois Shawnee National Forest