Sahara Woods State Fish and Wildlife Area in southern Illinois covers 4,100 acres on former bituminous coal lands strip-mined by the Sahara Coal Company beginning in 1936. After mining ended in 1993 and the land was donated to the state in 1999, the area gradually became a public wildlife and recreation landscape shaped by spoil ridges, open ground, timber, ponds, wetlands, and a large lake. Managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, it includes extensive open space, timber and brush, and water habitats. Since entering public ownership, remediation has continued, hunting has become a major use, and an off-road vehicle trail system opened in 2025.