Updated July 2026
Wildcat Canyon Falls
A slender single-drop waterfall in Wildcat Canyon, the deepest canyon at Starved Rock State Park, fed mainly by snowmelt and rain. It is reached by about a 2-mile round-trip hike from the Visitor Center and can also be viewed from the gorge rim above.
Before you go
Waterfalls are hazardous by nature — wet rock, cold water, and unstable edges — and flow varies enormously with season and recent rain. Trail figures here describe the route as documented, not conditions today. Check Starved Rock State Park (Illinois DNR) for closures and current conditions, and confirm land status before setting out.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Wildcat Canyon Falls drops about 50 feet. That makes it the 422nd-tallest documented waterfall in this inventory, taller than roughly 42% of the falls listed here. Height comes from published land-manager and survey records, not from our own measurement.
The River Trail to Wildcat Canyon (from Visitor Center) reaches it about 2 miles (out-and-back), rated moderate. The nearest town is Oglesby. That describes the route as documented, not conditions on the day — check with Starved Rock State Park (Illinois DNR) for closures and current conditions.
Spring (snowmelt). Waterfall flow swings enormously with snowmelt and recent rain, so a fall that roars in spring can be a trickle by late summer.
More Illinois waterfalls
- Burden Falls · 100 ft
- Cascade Falls (Matthiessen State Park) · 45 ft
- Ferne Clyffe Falls (Big Rocky Hollow) · 100 ft
- Ferne Clyffe Falls · 100 ft
- French Canyon Falls · 45 ft
- Jackson Falls
- LaSalle Canyon Falls · 25 ft
- Ottawa Canyon Falls · 45 ft
Sources
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