Geological Science Field Trips

Spring 2013 public field trip scheduled for Saturday, May 18, 2013

Rock Cut State Park and Rockford Area, Winnebago County, Illinois

This field trip will acquaint you with the geology, landscape, and mineral resources of part of Winnebago County, Illinois. Rock Cut State Park and Rockford are located in north-central Illinois. Rockford is approximately 88 miles northwest of Chicago, 195 miles northeast of Springfield, 291 miles northwest of East St. Louis, and 396 miles north of Cairo.

During this field trip, quarries will be visited to give participants an opportunity to see the rock strata in the area and collect specimens. The quarries have been known to contain fossils of trilobites, crinoids, and more! Rock Cut State Park and the Colored Sands Forest Preserve will also be explored.

We will start the trip in the parking lot for the swimming beach of the Olson Lake Recreation Area at Rock Cut State Park. Assemble in the northern section of the parking lot. The parking lot is located off of Harlem Road in the NW, NW, SW, Sec. 25, T45N, R2E, Caledonia 7.5 Minute Quadrangle. Please plan to arrive before 8:15 AM, the day of the trip. Hope you can join us!

Map to start meeting location:

View Larger Map

Updated 04/03/2013 mj