Camping is popular and in addition to primitive sites, the park affords trailer sites with electricity, shower baths, and flush toilets. Camping permits must be secured from the park ranger who will assign you a camping site. There are ample picnic areas with good shade, pure water, and picnic tables at designated areas. No open fires are permitted and no cooking can be done except on a park or camp stove. Playground equipment is provided for the children. If you are a nature lover and wish to commune with nature, the park provides miles of foot trails. From April to October, a part-time naturalist is available for scheduled trips on the nature trails. At the beginning of the trail you will find a nature museum with excellent exhibits pertaining to animal and plant life, archaeology and geology of the park. The vast network of foot trails with scattered shelters, lead you to McAdams Peak where Dr. McAdams recovered 125 Indian skeletons, Quitt Point the highest point in the park or other popular overlooks. During the early spring the park abounds with the added beauty of white blossoming wild dogwood and redbud trees. The modern new boat docks provide dockage for privately owned craft. The convenient concession stand has row boats for rent and arranges for scenic or speedboat rides. Fishing is an extremely popular pastime and the angler has the opportunity of catching a variety of fish from the waters of the Illinois. BRIDLE PATHS Horseback riding over the 14 miles of bridle paths is another recreational feature of the park. A stable with good mounts is located within the park near the entrance. Located in the Conservation Area, the organized youth group camping area is equipped with kitchens, mess halls, and swimming pools. These three areas, Camp Piasa, Camp Quatoga, and Camp Potawatomi are extensively used during the summer months and can accommodate approximately 365 youths. Reservations for the use of these facilities are made with the Division of Parks and Memorials, 100 State Office Building, Springfield 62706. EARLY HISTORY OF PARK AREA [Illustration: Cross marks site where Marquette and Jolliet entered Illinois in 1673] In Pere Marquette State Park there are 18 sites indicating occupation by prehistoric Americans and a village once located where the lodge now stands. It is believed that men, nomadic hunters and fishers, appeared in the Illinois valley possibly about the beginning of the Christian Era. Later stone age peoples by 900 A. D. made large leaf-shaped arrowheads and coarse, heavy pottery. By 1300 A. D. trade had developed and at Cahokia resulted in village-states. These peoples made small, finely-chipped arrowheads, pottery with handles and a variety of wares and cultivated corn, squash and beans.