Kaskaskia River State Fish & Wildlife Area

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The Kaskaskia River State Fish & Wildlife Area is one of the largest state-owned and managed sites in Illinois. Located 35 miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, the area comprises more than 20,000 acres and extends along the Kaskaskia River from Fayetteville to the Mississippi River in St. Clair, Monroe and Randolph counties.

The Illinois Department of Transportation owns the land along the river and leases most of the land to the Department of Natural Resources to manage for fish, wildlife and other recreational activities. A few areas are managed by the Kaskaskia River Port District for industrial use and are not available for public use.

Baldwin Lake, a 2,018-acre reservoir built by Illinois Power Company, is contained within Kaskaskia River SFWA. This lake serves as a source of cooling water a nearby electric generating station. Baldwin Lake is open to the public for fishing and is a major part of the area’s waterfowl refuge.