Illinois Beach State Park
Reviewed Sep. 19, 2021

Large Sites and a lot to do!

We stayed here for 2 weeks. The lots are huge compared to other campgrounds we have been to. They have a nice gravel spot for you to park your RV or other vehicle on. We have a 25' camper and a F250 and we weren't able to park the truck straight in front of the camper or we would be sticking out in the road a bit, but there was still plenty of space to park! The only downsides to the site is that there was more weeds than there was grass and there were only electric hookups. There are water spouts placed around the park and of course there are some at the dump station. The sites also have nice firepits (pictured below). Their website says that the walk in sites are the 100 sites (there is a row of 100, a row of 200 and a row of 300 sites) but they have changed things up. The 300 row is actually the row of walk in sites now. The reason behind this is that the 300 sites sometimes flood and they were having to move people from those sites. We did not have any issues with flooding while we were there and we were really happy to be closer to the lake than what we originally expected!

This campground has so much to do. We were just a short walk from the beach! There are also bike trails, but some of them were covered over with sand so you would have to have a bike with sand tires to be able to ride the whole trail. They also have a nature center that you can visit to learn about the wildlife, flowers, trees, and rocks from the area. The nature center also provides guided hiking tours at certain times of the day.

The bathrooms are kept pretty clean. They have flushing toilets, sinks, and push button showers. The pressure in the showers is insane, I would not recommend putting anything on the small bench they provide as it gets wet. We used a bag and hung it on the hook provided on the door of the stall. 

I would recommend not going to the bathroom by yourself. I took a shower in the women's restroom and by the time I was finished there was no one else in the restrooms. I had a man come into the restroom and proposition me. We contacted the park rangers and the police to make a statement and they made us feel safe by going around to look for him and making extra patrols. 

We are removing 1 star due to how they deal with walk in sites. There is only 1 entrance/exit to the campground. They have a check in station there that checks every vehicle coming into the campground. When you come in they tell you to go in (with your rv in tow) to look at the open sites and pick a few and then come back up to the station without dropping your rv to let them know which one you would like. That would be fine and all, but there is no easy way to get back in the park without having to basically do a 3 point turn with your rv still attached.

We would stay here again for sure!

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Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • The lake was rough a few days but the noise from it was soothing.
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  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021
  • Review photo of Illinois Beach State Park by M E., September 19, 2021