Tucked deep in the Shawnee National Forest, Bell Smith Springs feels like a secret pocket of the Midwest that forgot it wasn’t the Ozarks. You’ll find it in Pope County, Illinois, near the small town of Eddyville, where clear turquoise creeks wind through sandstone canyons and lush, fern-filled hollows. It’s not a theme park or a manicured resort. It’s raw, wild, and refreshingly unpolished. Locals call it one of the crown jewels of southern Illinois hiking, and for good reason. The area holds roughly eight miles of linked trails looping through cliffs, springs, and shaded pools, all carved out by…