Fort Defiance Park, Illinois, United States

3CobbCoGA 5:00 PM Apr 16, 2012

Gorgeous View - Confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
What a gorgeous view. This area is where the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers come together. For that alone, it’s worth seeing. Unfortunately, it’s a bit scary to be in the park when no one else is around. The State turned over the park to the city of Cairo, which just can’t afford the upkeep. It is I believe the lowest point in Illinois, so it floods frequently; but that is part of its interesting history. When I visited, they hadn’t mowed the grass, but had cleaned up previous flood damage, so the road was clear and I was able to drive back to the old ships memorial/observation. I really enjoyed the view from the top, but the structure was in really rough shape. I had my children with me, and I was just not comfortable being there by ourselves. Fortunately, the observation platform is concrete, so it’s fairly solid. Between the grass, the rusted swings, and the desolation, it felt a bit post-apocalyptic. It was one of those places that was definitely worth seeing, but also makes you kind of sad at the same time… The view is worth it, especially if you enjoy photography, but my advice is to maybe have a few people with you so you are comfortable. (How I came up with the rating: 5 stars for the location/view + 1 star for the condition of the park averages out to 3 Stars.)

3RoadtripMemoryM... H 5:00 PM Aug 6, 2014

Yes - DNR in control again! Will get better...
Just visited this morning 8/7/14 and witnessed lots of mowing by DNR and beginning to clean up landscape! A friendly DNR man said they just gained ownership/control a week ago after many months of negotiations w/City of Cairo. We were able to both climb the observation platform and walk the narrow path to the southernmost point of IL and could have touched confluence of Ohio & Mississippi Rivers. Expect better days ahead with the rest of the site! Felt safe w/DNR workers present. Also we arrived here after driving by way of Wickliffe KY. It is just east over US 60 bridge and down/south on US 51. There is another nice view of the rivers there at Jefferson Memorial Cross.