Kickapoo State Recreation Area

About this natural area:

Kickapoo State Recreation Area is a 2,842 acre public area consisting of upland and bottomland forest, ponds, and the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River (a federal and state designated Scenic River). A large portion of Kickapoo SRA consists of reclaimed coal mines that had been active prior to 1939. The area offers the following activities:

• Flora and wildlife watching

• Boating

• Camping

• Canoeing

• Dog training

• Equestrian trails

• Fishing

• Hiking

• Hunting

• Mountain bike trails

• SCUBA diving

Click the following link to visit the official Kickapoo State Recreation Area website for more information: Kickapoo State Recreation Area.

Amenities:

• Restrooms - some are only open seasonally.

• Established hiking, running, and horse trails - some handicap accessible

• Playgrounds

• Concession stand - open seasonally.

• Picnic shelters

• Camping areas

• Off road parking

• Canoe, kayak, and tube rental

• Cross-country skiing, sledding, ice fishing and ice skating become popular activities at Kickapoo.

Literature and links:

• Click here to view a Google Scholar search for additional literature using the pre-filled search terms of "Kickapoo State Recreation Area" or "Kickapoo State Park" and "Illinois."

• Adamovicz, L., Allender, M. C., Archer, G., Rzadkowska, M., Boers, K., Phillips, C., ... & Chu, C. (2018). Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). PloS one, 13(4), e0195617.

• Allen, M. R., VanDyke, J. N., & Cáceres, C. E. (2011). Metacommunity assembly and sorting in newly formed lake communities. Ecology, 92(2), 269-275.

• Benjamin, R. K. (1956). A check-list of Illinois Myxomycetes. Trans. Illinois Acad. Sci., 49, 63-68.

• Bertram, C. R., & Cāceres, C. E. (2009, August). PS 66-100: Life history effects of the bacterial parasite Spirobacillus cienkowskii on Daphnia pulicaria (Crustacea: cladocera). In The 94th ESA Annual Meeting.

• Boers, K. A. Y. L. A., Leister, K. A. T. I. E., Byrd, J. O. H. N., Band, M. A. R. K., Phillips, C. A., & Allender, M. C. (2017). Capture effort, rate, demographics, and potential for disease transmission in wild eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) captured through canine directed searches. Herpetol Rev, 48(2), 300-304.

• Brigham, W. U., & Sanderson, M. W. (1972). A new species of Haliplus from Illinois and South Dakota (Coleoptera: Haliplidae). Transactions of the Illinois Academy of Science, 65, 17-22.

• Brigham, W. U., & Sanderson, M. W. (1973). Haliplus variomaculatus, a new species from east-central Illinois (Coleoptera: Haliplidae). The Coleopterists' Bulletin, 157-163.

• Callahan, S. A. (2021). Migration phenology and fertility of imperiled Illinois salamander (Ambystoma) species (Doctoral dissertation).

• Crawford, J. A., Kuhns, A. R., & Meyer, M. J. (2015). Population ecology of the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) in east-central Illinois. Journal of North American Herpetology, 17-21.

• Frankie, W. T. (2005). Guide to the geology of the Kickapoo State Park and surrounding area, Vermilion County, Illinois. Field trip guidebook 2005A.

• Gower, S. T. (2008). Are horses responsible for introducing non-native plants along forest trails in the eastern United States?. Forest Ecology and Management, 256(5), 997-1003.

• Karr, J. R. (1968). Habitat and avian diversity on strip-mined land in east-central Illinois. The Condor, 70(4), 348-357.

• Kuhns, A. R., Low, K. M., Crawford, J. A., Peterman, W. E., & Phillips, C. A. (2019). Distribution, Abundance and Recruitment of Amphibian Species in Greatest Need of Conservation in the Vermilion River Conservation Opportunity Area. Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Wildlife Grant 108-R-1.

• Lyman, K. J. (1988). The Bryophytes of Kickapoo State Park, Vermilion County, Illinois.

• Mangum, B. D. (1956). A Study of the Natural Features and Existing Recreation Facilities of Kickapoo State Park and Recommendations for Future Development of the Area (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).

• Morris, M. A. (1974). An Illinois record for a triploid species of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology, 8(3), 255-256.

• Morris, M. A., & Brandon, R. A. (1984). Gynogenesis and hybridization between Ambystoma platineum and Ambystoma texanum in Illinois. Copeia, 324-337.

Morris, M. A., & FieldStation, C. I. (1991). Breeding biology and larval life history of four species of Ambystoma (Amphibia: Caudata) in east-central Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin, 34, 402.

Pacey, D., & Lukehart, J. (1999). Kickapoo State Park. Department of Geography-Geology, Illinois State University.

Phillips, C. A., Spolsky, C. M., & Uzzell, T. (1991). Final Report for Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund Project; Reproduction, Survival and Genetic Constitution of the Polyploid Mole Salamanders of Kickapoo State Park.

Phillips, C. A., Uzzell, T., Spolsky, C. M., Serb, J. M., Szafoni, R. E., & Pollowy, T. R. (1997). Persistent high levels of tetraploidy in salamanders of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology, 530-535.

Phillips, C. A., Dreslik, M. J., Johnson, J. R., & Petzing, J. E. (2001). Application of population estimation to pond breeding salamanders. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 94, 111-118.

Rayl, J. M., Adamovicz, L., Stern, A. W., Vieson, M. D., Phillips, C. A., Kelly, M., ... & Allender, M. C. (2020). Mortality investigation of monitored eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina carolina) in central illinois, usa, from 2016–18. The Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 56(2), 306-315.

Readel, A. M., & Phillips, C. A. (2006). A Survey Of The Reptiles And Amphibians Of Kickapoo State Park And The Middle Fork State Fish And Wildlife Area (MFSFWA).

Readel, A. M., & Phillips, C. A. (2008). A survey of aquatic turtles at Kickapoo State Park and Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area (MFSFWA). Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 101(1-2), 107-113.

Smith, P. W. (1968). An assessment of changes in the fish fauna of two Illinois rivers and its bearing on their future. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 61(1), 31-45.

Sutton, N. M., & O’dwyer, J. P. (2018). Born to run? Quantifying the balance of prior bias and new information in prey escape decisions. The American Naturalist, 192(3), 321-331.

The Keep Eastern Illinois University Institutional Repository Herbarium Specimens keyword "Kickapoo".

Tiemann, J. S. (2008). Distribution and life history characteristics of the state-endangered bluebreast darter Etheostoma camurum (Cope) in Illinois. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, 101(3), 235-246.

Trotter, J. E. (1965). Some factors influencing attendance at Illinois State Parks. Journal of Geography, 64(1), 23-31.

Wiedman, J. A. (1975). Aquatic Plant Communities of Vermilion County, Illinois.