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Boat launchpaddling

Kinkaid Lake

Illinois

About

Kinkaid Lake is a boat launch in the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District of Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois, about 3.3 miles from the town of Ava. The Forest Service manages the land. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Carbondale show May highs around 77°F and September highs around 81°F, while July highs reach about 88°F. Several trails start close by. Kinkaid Lake North is about 0.2 miles away and Kinkaid Wildlife Loop about 0.5 miles. For an overnight stay, Johnson Creek Campground is about 1.8 miles off. Climbers can head to Cemetery Wall, roughly 4.2 miles away.

Launch Details

Managed by

Forest Service

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Location

Ava

Illinois

Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). View or edit on OpenStreetMap.

Facts about this place

When to go

Best time to go: Apr–May. The mildest months here, with typical highs of 68–77°F and lows of 45–55°F.

Typical monthly averages (not a forecast) from the Carbondale Southern Il Ap, IL weather station, 14 mi away. High / low in °F.

  1. Jan42° high25° low
  2. Feb47° high28° low
  3. Mar57° high36° low
  4. Apr68° high45° low
  5. May77° high55° low
  6. Jun86° high64° low
  7. Jul88° high67° low
  8. Aug87° high65° low
  9. Sep81° high56° low
  10. Oct70° high45° low
  11. Nov56° high35° low
  12. Dec46° high28° low

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020

Where it is

Nearest town
Ava, Illinois · 3.3 mi

Source: USFS EDW boundaries; USGS GNIS populated places

Conditions

Active alerts for Shawnee National Forest as of Oct 9, 2026:

Source: USFS forest alerts

Nearby

Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)

Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors