Explore the O'Dell Bluebell Hike, which occurs each spring and is led by John O'Dell.

The Virginia Bluebells grow wild in Battleford Valley of the Shawnee National Forest.

The Shawnee National Forest is a vital stopping place for thousands of migratory birds.

The forest offers homes for animals that came east from the Ozark Mountains, west from the Smoky Mountains, north from the southern swamplands and south from the rolling prairies. Five distinct ecological divisions lie within the boundaries of the forest, a collision of habitats found nowhere else in Illinois.

The Shawnee is home to more 1,500 species of plants. Many are native to the area, but the increasing number of non-native species may cause a growing threat to the forest's diversity, botanists say.

Hikers, climbers and visitors padding through the Shawnee National Forest on any given day will be treated to a buffet for the senses. Listen to the crunch of dry sticks underfoot while walking. Feel the breezes and fresh air tickle skin. See the natural surroundings of trees and the dense canopy shadowing everything beneath it, including vibrant flowering plants and stout shrubs.

Turkeys nearly disappeared from the Shawnee National Forest in the early 1900s. Thanks to conservation efforts, the area now offers abundant wild turkey...

The whole country comes together in southern Illinois.

That’s how Shawnee National Forest biologist Steve Widowski describes the ecological diversity of the area.

Plants normally found in the northern prairies, southern swamplands, and eastern and western forests all congregate here, where rocky cliffs border swampy marshes...

Joe McFarland, a staff writer for OutdoorIllinois, takes a couple of journalism students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale on a hunt for mushrooms during morel season.

He says people mainly want to know what's edible and what's poisonous...