State Highpoint Chronicles - Charles Mound IL
- Jun 8, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 1
6/8/2025
Katie and I made it to the top of the mighty Charles Mound during a weekend trip to Chicago. Despite it being a hill in a sea of corn and soybean fields in northwestern Illinois, Charles Mound is a surprisingly tricky highpoint to reach. It is located on private property and public access is limited. The owners of the property are gracious enough to allow visitors on the first weekend of June, July, August, and September every year.
We planned to visit during the first weekend of June, renting a car and driving the 2 and a half hours to the “trailhead” near Scales Mound, IL. We were very pleased to arrive and see the gate open, with a sign allowing visitors this weekend.
The walk in was very pleasant, and we found ourselves at the roof of Illinois in short order. It was fun to meet a few other highpointers who had also taken advantage of the weekend to make a visit to Charles Mound. It isn’t often you get the chance to meet other people who share the same extremely niche hobby as you!
After taking the requisite pictures to prove we had made it, we sauntered back down to our car. I particularly liked the section of road walking nearest to the gate, with its tree-lined grassy lane, and we got back in just under an hour round trip. Now it was time to hustle back to Chicago to return our rental car!
Final Stats: 2.4 miles / 248 feet of gain
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