Established Camping

Hennepin Canal State Trail

1 Review

About

Department of Natural Resources

Campgrounds with multiple campsites along the canal can be found at Lock 21, North Day Use Area

Equestrian camping is restricted to the south side of the Lock 21 area. Equestrian campers are asked to bring a shovel to clear their own horse droppings, which may be pushed off to the side of the trail. There is no tethering to trees.

If you are not familiar with the canal it may be confusing trying to find the campsites. Stop by the Hennepin Canal Visitor Center to pick up a detailed map of the canal, which shows all of the country crossroads. You can also call the visitor center and ask to be mailed a copy: 815-454-2328. I

Fee Info

The canal offers class "C" (primitive camping without showers or electricity) for $8.00 per family/per night, regardless of mode of camping, i.e. tent, camper, pop-up.

Youth groups = $20.00 daily minimum. When the minimum has been met, each additional person is $2.00 per night. Each group of up to 15 youths must be supervised by at least one adult. Youths are considered persons under the age of 18.

IL Senior citizens camp for free from Monday-Thursday; Friday-Sunday = $8.00.

IL Disabled persons with a Class 2 or Class 2A card camp for free Sunday-Saturday.

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Access

Drive-In
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Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Equestrian

Features

For Campers

Trash
Picnic Table
Drinking Water
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

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Art S.

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 18, 2022

Camp along the Hennepin Canal

This small campground has separate space for equestrian campers and those without horses. There are picnic tables, vault toilets and water. The campsites are all on grassy areas with trees at the edges. This gives you some shade depending on the time of day. The grassy sites were a bit unexpected. We saw tire marks showing that people drove into the grass to set up camp. Some of the sites were completely separate from anyone else by the camp road. You were entirely visible to anyone else in the park but it was empty during our stay.

The Hennepin Canal Trail goes right through camp. On a previous visit I rode my bike along the crushed gravel trail. With a few connecting roads, I traveled from a Chicago suburb to the Mississippi River. While I didn’t see any horses then we did see a couple riding on the trail today.

This is a good spot for an overnight rest but there isn’t much more to the amenities than the campsites.