Mason County High Point Trip Report
Revis Spring Bluff
Date: December 30, 2002
Author: John Mitchler
A wooded bluff owned by the state, overlooking the Sangamon River in west-central IL,
is the pleasant HP of this county. Jon Mann's report led me to the
base of this bluff, but the parking lot he describes is nearly a mile before the cohp.
This is just a nice pleasant place to visit and gets on my Top Ten list for IL.
Go towards Kilbourne on IL97 (not IL29), south of the rivertown of Havana.
About a half mile north of Kilbourne, go east on 700N. Notice the small
cemetery at mile 3.9 (at 2230E). At mile 7.6 turn right (south) on Revis
Springs Road and then after 0.5 mile (not 1.1) turn left (east) on E. Revis
Bluff Road (680N). Go 0.6 mile to the parking area. Pass it. At mile 0.7
watch for the barn on the right but no house exists on the left. At mile 1.2
there's a nice home on the left. The road here turns to dirt. Proceed slowly
and watch for a small but distinct gully on the left (north) with big oaks.
Park here.
Proceed into the gully (state-owned land) and proceed up the bluffs. It can be
steep here. Once you gain 100 feet, the ridge becomes open grass.
Proceed uphill to the north and enter immature woods to a rounded rise which is the
"east area." A fence (shown on topo) is on the right (east) with open pasture
beyond that. Follow the ridge north and northwest through woods and after a
third of a mile, go southwest to a rise along the bluff edge.
This is the "west area."
When I used the parking lot as a trailhead, I followed a path as described by Jon.
The bluff leveled out in a field of tall blonde grass (in the 700-foot
contour area in section 26). This field dropped off to the north. I followed
the edge of this field and worked my way to section 25 and entered woods and
followed a relatively narrow ridge southeast towards the "west area".
You'll know you're at this area if you see a narrow open ridge extending south
from the HP area. Bring your compass and topo.