Devils Island Wildlife Management Area

Tucked into the bottomlands where Alexander and Union Counties meet in far southern Illinois, Devils Island Wildlife Management Area sprawls across 2,741 acres of Mississippi River floodplain near the small community of Dames Quarter. This is deep Southern Illinois — closer to Memphis than Chicago — and the landscape reflects it, with bald cypress stands, oxbow lakes, and dense bottomland hardwoods that feel more like the Deep South than the Midwest.

What draws visitors here is the wildlife. The floodplain habitat supports exceptional birding, particularly during spring and fall migrations when waterfowl fill the backwater sloughs by the thousands. White-tailed deer hunting is a major draw during season, and the area’s mix of timber and wetlands makes it productive ground for turkey hunters as well. Anglers work the sloughs and channels for largemouth bass, crappie, and catfish, especially when spring floods recede and fish concentrate in shrinking pools.

Hiking here isn’t a groomed-trail experience — expect to navigate levee roads, old timber paths, and occasionally muddy bottomland. That ruggedness is part of the appeal. You’ll likely have vast stretches entirely to yourself.

Visit in early spring for wildflower displays and migrating warblers, or in October when fall color lights up the hardwoods and waterfowl numbers peak. Summer brings heat, humidity, and mosquitoes in force — plan accordingly.

With a 4.6-star rating across 97 reviews, Devils Island consistently earns praise from visitors who appreciate wild, unmanicured public land that rewards those willing to explore on its own terms.

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