Hardin County
With just under 4,500 residents, Hardin County is Illinois’ least populated county and the perfect escape from more urban areas. Its location within the bounds of Shawnee National Forest grant the county unparalleled natural beauty from the Garden of the Gods, a series of curious sandstone formations sculpted over the course of millennia, to Cave-in-Rock State Park set atop the bluffs overlooking the Ohio River. Check out the tiny, picturesque county seat of Elizabethtown — home to Illinois’ oldest operating hotel, The Grand Rose Hotel, which dates back to 1812.