Illinois Department of Natural Resources reopening select historic sites

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced Thursday select state historic sites will reopen to the public effective Tuesday, Jan. 26.

All sites open to the public will return to staffing levels prior to their closure. Sites in Regions 4 and 7 of the Restore Illinois plan, including Fort de Chartres, Fort Kaskaskia, Cahokia Mounds and Lewis & Clark, will remain closed until further notice.

Historic sites will continue to follow Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines regarding tier mitigations released by the Office of the Governor Jan. 15:

• Guided interpretive tour groups will be limited to 10 people or less, will be socially distanced, and will follow Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines;

• Total site capacity will be limited to 50 people or no more than 25% occupancy in public-facing areas, will be socially distanced and follow CDC guidelines

• Concession operations will be open and following all respective tier restrictions.

Guests who plan to visit any historic site open to the public should call the site prior to arriving as some sites will operate with reservations only.

Additional information on state historic sites can be found at https://www2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/Pages/default.aspx.