We explored the beautiful region of Southern Illinois this weekend, and just 2 hours from St. Louis! We went with two other families (Jordan Smith & Eliza Donelson) and all stayed in a beautiful cabin together.
I partnered with Southern Illinois Tourism, which covers Jackson County and Murphysboro. There are many great restaurants here, as well as wonderful adventure spots.
Where We Stayed
Hartline Hill Cabin
Our cabin was located in Makanda, Illinois. It was 20 minutes from downtown Murphysboro and 5 minutes from the entrance to Giant City State Park. We had 6 adults and 7 kids in our crew, and there was plenty of space for all of us! A highlight was the arcade and ping pong table in the basement. We also loved making s’mores around the bonfire!
Day 1
We drove to Murphysboro early afternoon and checked into our cabin. The drive was SO easy, especially with it being only 2 hours. This really was a great weekend trip for a family with young kids!
Scratch Brewery Company
264 Thompon Road, Ava, IL 62907
Then, we drove to Scratch Brewery Company for dinner! Their food is almost entirely locally sourced. Bread is made entirely with local flour from Janie’s Mill in Ashkum, Illinois, fermented with Scratch’s own sourdough culture. Produce is foraged on their land, grown on Scratch’s property or purchased by local farmers. The goat cheese is purchased from Baetje Farms, which we visited on our most recent trip to Ste. Genevieve! It is so delicious.
Scratch Brewing Company focuses on farmhouse beers and other styles with locally grown and foraged ingredients. They add in local ingredients like nettle, elderberry, ginger, dandelion, maple sap, hickory, lavender, juniper and chanterelle mushrooms. The husbands of the group shared a flight of beers to try and they all had unique flavors!
There is a relaxed outdoor area or a fun indoor spot too! We started outdoors and then headed up to the indoor space to eat.
After dinner, our kids went to bed and the adults hung out! We did a puzzle at the island and drank Big Muddy rootbeer (shout out to Southern Illinois Tourism for the goodies).
Day 2
Faye Restaurant
1616 Walnut St., Murphysboro, IL
We headed to my favorite restaurant that I’ve ever been to. Our family partnered with Murphysboro last year and I’ve been dreaming of eating here again. If you get one thing from this blog post, please go and eat at Faye!! You’ll thank me later.
My husband, Mark, and I both had the brisket benedict, which they use homemade biscuits, from-scratch hollandaise sauce and brisket from 17th Street Barbeque next door. Our kids loved the homemade french toast with strawberries, bananas, toasted pecans and praline syrup. They serve Onyx Coffee and their orange juice is hand-squeezed (it took 8 oranges for each glass of our orange juice).
Amy Mills is the owner of 17th Street Barbeque that is next door. She launched The Factory at 17th Street, their barbeque sauce co-packing facility. Faye, a coffee/cafe/gourmet provisions shop and opened in 2022. Faye used to be an auto shop, and Faye gives a nod to this history by incorporating headlights and a color scheme of the car was on display here.
Faye packed us lunch in a cooler for our lunch on the boat later. We had sandwiches, salads, chips and cookies!
Faye is such a staple here in Murphysboro. From the beautiful decor and rich history, I definitely recommend eating here.
Kinkaid Lake
2063 Marina Rd, Murphysboro, IL 62966
Kinkaid Lake is a beautiful 2,750-acre lake, just 10 minutes north of downtown Murphysboro. We had two boat rentals for our group and we loved exploring this peaceful lake. Because there are not many houses on the lake, it has a very calm vibe. There is a large cliff for cliff jumping and we found a cove to swim in. It was so fun watching people rock climb on the large cliff and then jump into the water!
Mileur Orchard
172 Mileur Orchard Rd, Murphysboro, IL 62966
After Kinkaid Lake, we explored Mileur Orchard! In 1961, the Mileur Orchard opened as an orchard. It now has 3 generations of being an orchard! The land has been in their family since the 1850s. The land here is gorgeous with 25 acres of peach and apple trees (92 acres of total land).
While there is no u-pick of peaches, it has a fabulous farmstore! You can buy many homemade and handmade items here. My kids’ favorites were homemade peach popsicles and homemade peach ice cream! We brought home a peach cobbler, peach crisp and many peaches. They also make sausages in house too! We brought home some of the original Bratwurst to try at home this week.
Murals
Next we checked out some of the murals around downtown Murphysboro. There is a QR code next to each mural where you can learn more about the local artists and history of the area. Our favorite murals were the “Welcome to Murphysboro” and the “Big Muddy Monster.” The Legend of the Big Muddy Monster came through Murphysboro in 1973. There are police reports and eye witness accounts, even covered by the New York Times!
17th Street Barbecue
32 N 17th Street, Murphysboro, IL 62966
Murphysboro was proclaimed the “Barbecue Capital of Illinois” by the State Legislature in 2014! There is so much history here, thanks to Mike Mills and his family. Mike was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2010 and has won world recognition.
The legendary Mike Mills was born in 1941. He started learning barbecue from his grandma and dad. Mike opened 17th Street Barbecue in 1985. Mike became a four-time World Champion and three-time Grand World Champion at Memphis in May, otherwise known as the Super Bowl of Swine. Mike Mills said, “Life is too short for a half stack of ribs!” I couldn’t agree more!
In 1992, President Bill Clinton visited 17th Street. Mike Mills was awarded top-security clearance to board Air Force One to bring barbecue onto the plane before it departed!
In 2020, Mike Mills, known throughout the barbecue world as “The Legend” passed away. His daughter, Amy, and his trusted pit crew continue to build the legacy and carry on Mike’s work.
We had chicken wings, ribs, brisket, mac & cheese, and baked potatoes. Our stomachs were so happy!! It really is such a fantastic barbecue!
We ended the night with s’mores around the bonfire behind our cabin!
Day 3
On Sunday morning, we packed up and left the cabin.
We headed to Faye for one more breakfast! After a successful round of brisket benedict and homemade orange juice, we were fueled up for our next stop.
Giant City State Park
235 Giant City Rd, Makanda, IL 62958
We started off with a hike at Giant City State Park. I highly recommend the Giant City Nature Trail, which is a 1 mile unpaved trail around sandstone bluffs. It was just gorgeous!
Rendleman Orchards
9680 State Highway 127 N, Alto Pass, IL 62905
This was our first time here and we were blown away!! Rendleman Orchards is 812 acres in beautiful Southern Illinois. It is owned by 5th generation owners and they are currently in their 152nd season. Our favorite was definitely this massive zinnia field. There were also sunflowers and cosmos in bloom too! They offer flower picking of the flower field and had scissors right along the entrance to each field. There were so many butterflies, hummingbirds (which were an awesome surprise) and bees. Rendleman Orchards has an apiary on their property and makes their own honey. Don’t skip on the fabulous peach smoothies (made fresh from their ripe peaches) and the incredible Farm Market. They just launched their new vacation rental on June 1st, which used to be an old 1920s farmhand house!
We really loved this trip to Southern Illinois and I can’t believe that this gem is just 2 hours from St. Louis! The cherry on top was getting to spend time with the Donelson and Smith families. If you are looking for a vacation spot with outdoor adventures and great food, look no further than Southern Illinois! Check out more information on Southern Illinois here.
