Starved Rock State Park hasn’t broken a monthly attendance record in more than three years. The park will finish this year with “only” 2.2 million visitors – nowhere close to the attendance record – when the final tally is in.

And that’s just fine with Pam Grivetti.

Grivetti is the outgoing president of Starved Rock Foundation and she’s pleased Starved Rock is no longer busting attendance marks. There was an eight-year span when the park was averaging 2.5 million yearly visitors, peaking at 2.8 million in 2017, and the foot traffic damaged the trails.

“That would be good if this (the projected 2.2 million) was the new normal because SR does get too many visitors,” she said. “The folks who have been there have literally trampled down our trails.”

Some relief is on the way. Beginning in spring, and extending in 2027, Starved Rock will undergo an $18 million project to restore and/or improve access to Pontiac, Tonti and French canyons. That will disperse some of the crowds and slow the wear-and-tear on other sections of the park.

Until then, Grivetti is hoping for more manageable crowds – and for Matthiessen State Park to continue siphoning off visitors to ease the strain on Starved Rock.

Here’s a snapshot of the trends observed in 2025.

A down year for Starved Rock?

Starved Rock was projected to finish the year with 2,212,970 visitors, the lowest total in 12 years. Consider, however, that recent yearly totals were record-breaking.

Weather had a big impact on the slower-than-normal attendance. A cold winter and stifling summer held the park to below-average totals in every season except spring, though a mild fall boosted November attendance by 10%.

Monty Bernardoni, site superintendent, confirmed that December totals to date are weak -- Thanksgiving weekend snow and bitter cold have suppressed visits -- ensure a below-average year.

To a degree, Bernardoni and his staff welcome any lull. More visitors mean more wear-and-tear not only on the trails but on the wastewater treatment system. Attendance lulls give them a chance to do maintenance.

“Obviously, it’s better for us to be able to catch up on things during the slower times,” Bernardoni said.

Matthew Kosch, executive vice president of the Sonnenschein Groupe, which owns Grand Bear Resort at Starved Rock, was by no means displeased with the 2025 figures. He reported “very strong demand and growth” throughout spring and summer this year, which has been consistent with each year since the pandemic. Grand Bear did see a “softening in demand” during fall, however.

“We don’t necessarily attribute that to local conditions, but rather to broader national trends we’re seeing across the hospitality industry over the past several weeks,” Kosch said. “That said, we still expect to close out 2025 as another great year with modest but substantial growth in both occupancy and overall attendance at Grand Bear.

“The strength of Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks, along with the continued development of the Village of Utica, remains a key driver for our destination, and we’re encouraged by the long-term interest in the area.”

Matthiessen keeps booming

Matthiessen State Park won’t set a new attendance record. This year’s projected total of 516,000 will be well short of last year’s 545,525 visitors, the all-time mark.

Nevertheless, 2025 will be the sixth year with half a million visitors or more at Matthiessen.

Matthiessen has surged recently thanks to the sunflower bloom and to the growing number of visitors who’ve “discovered” Matthiessen after the parking lots are full at Starved Rock.

“The Dells area at Matthiessen feature some of the most diverse hiking trails in the Midwest, and people are taking notice,” said Matthew Klein, president-elect of the Starved Rock Foundation. “While Starved Rock is nationally known, Matthiessen is a smaller park that still feels undiscovered. Park visitors love exploring the sunflower field and canyons, then sharing their experiences with others.”

As recently as 2013, visitors flocked to Starved Rock over Matthiessen by a nearly 10-to-1 ratio. No more. Matthiessen visits surged over the next three years and broke through the half-million barrier in 2016, when the nation celebrated the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service and spurred interest in state parks.

Today, the Starved Rock to Matthiessen ratio is down to four-to-one. Matthiessen has welcomed half a million or more visitors in six of the past 10 years. Monthly attendance marks fell in May and June of this year.

More trails, please

Starved Rock’s trail problems aren’t only because there are more visitors. There are, historically, fewer trails.

Grivetti pointed out there were nearly 50 miles of trails designed and developed in the 1930s and ‘40s. Most of those trails were truncated or discontinued due to safety concerns.

Today, the bulk of visitors tread 13 miles of trails and the most-used trail is a 2-mile loop anchored by the lodge and visitors center. That’s a lot of punishment on a limited circuit.

Trail erosion would have been worse this year, Grivetti said, except that wilting summer heat suppressed park attendance. Average July attendance was down a whopping 33% and June and August drew lower-than-expected crowds.

“It was a humid summer,” Grivetti said. “You didn’t have to do much to work up a sweat.”

Summer was safer

Summer attracts big crowds, which can make life busy for Conservation police and first responders.

But Conservation Sgt. Phil Wire said 2025 was, overall, a pretty safe year. He could not immediately recall a significant injury to a visitor – his team gets plenty of twisted ankles, however – and the crowds were largely well-behaved.

“It was a lower-volume year in terms of tickets and warnings,” Wire said.

Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown agreed the EMS call volume was comparatively low in 2025, which he credited to humid conditions that limited the duration and distance of summer hikes.

“The heat really kept a lot of people from doing long trail hikes,” Brown said.

One past headache was ticketing motorists who parked on Route 178 because the parking lots were overflowing. That wasn’t a problem this year.

“We didn’t have to do traffic control at Starved Rock this summer at all,” Wire said. “The overflow parking lot has worked very well.”