Editing Illinois (section)

===Recreation===
{{Main list|List of protected areas of Illinois}}
[[File:Garden of the Gods Sunset.jpg|thumb|Sunset on the [[Garden of the Gods Wilderness]], part of the [[Shawnee National Forest]] in southern Illinois.]]

The [[Illinois state parks]] system began in 1908 with what is now [[Fort Massac]] State Park, becoming the first park in a system encompassing more than 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas.

Areas under the protection of the [[National Park Service]] include: the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal|Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor]] near [[Lockport, Illinois|Lockport]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Illinois & Michigan Canal |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=July 15, 2008 |url=http://www.nps.gov/ilmi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726132500/http://www.nps.gov/ilmi |archive-date=July 26, 2008}}</ref> the [[Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail]], the [[Lincoln Home National Historic Site]] in Springfield, the [[Mormon Trail|Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail]], the [[Trail of Tears|Trail of Tears National Historic Trail]], the [[American Discovery Trail]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Illinois |publisher=National Park Service |access-date = July 15, 2008 |url=http://www.nps.gov/state/il |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080705121254/http://www.nps.gov/state/il/ |archive-date = July 5, 2008 |url-status = live}}</ref> the [[Pullman National Monument]], and [[New Philadelphia Town Site]]. The federal government also manages the [[Shawnee National Forest]] and the [[Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie]].