If You Find An Arrowhead In Illinois, Can You Keep It?

It's hiking season and what can you do if you find an arrowhead on the trail in Illinois?

I enjoy being outdoors this time of the year. Lately, it's not been too hot or too cold and overall, it's been nice weather to go hiking. One of the fun things about being in nature (whether you're camping, hiking, anything) is that you can find super unique things. When my boyfriend and I were hiking a few weeks ago, we climbed some rocks to find several different caves that water and time had made multicolored inside.

It's cool, different, stuff you'll only find in nature.

But What If You Find This Specific Thing In Illinois?

Either as an adult or as a kid, at some point while you've been hiking or just playing outside, you may have very well found an arrowhead. They're the cool rocky things that look like this:

It's definitely super cool if you find one of these. It could be the hunting supplies from the Native American tribe that used to live on the very land you're standing on. However, in Illinois, if you find an arrowhead, it's best to leave it alone, according to Illinois State archeologists. Unless it's on your own property, it's illegal to take artifacts from public or private land (that isn't yours).

What You Should Do

You can still show off your discovery without taking it. Archeologists ask that you take a picture of the arrowhead and the area where you found it. You can then report it to Illinois State archeologists at the link found on their website. If you found it on someone's land, tell the landowner about the artifact you found!