Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks are two of the most popular parks not only in the state of Illinois, but also in the entire United States. 3.2 million visitors passed through the parks in 2017, meaning that if they were national parks they would be in the ten most visited parks in the country, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The parks combine to take up about 4600 acres according the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Today, they grew by about 50 percent.

Governor Bruce Rauner was at Starved Rock to announce the purchase of 2629 acres. The project cost Illinois $11 Million that comes from the Open Land Trust, which can only be used for purchases of land like this one.

The land in LaSalle County was purchased in order to “Preserve natural resources and expand recreation opportunities, tourism and economic development,” said to Rauner. The Vermillion River runs through the newly acquired parcel of land, including the only naturally occurring white water rapids in Illinois, according to the IDNR.

The state bought the land from Lone Star Industries, who previously used it for industrial purposes such as mining and cement production. Rauner thinks the state got quite the deal on the land. “Lone Star could have sold off each parcel of land individually and made more money, but decided to partner with us to make this possible,” he explained.

Site Superintendent Kelly Novak says the next step is for the IDNR to go in and evaluate the land to determine what needs to be done to have it ready for the public. With such a large expanse of land, Novak estimates the evaluation process will take at least a year. He expects the new part of the park to be open to the public in 2 or 3 years.