Dixon Springs State Park Campground

**Dixon Springs State Park** is within _Shawnee National Forest_ near Golconda, Il. This park has some unique features. 

It sits on a block of rock along a fault line. Directly accessible from the parking lot is a waterfall and covered spring. Plus huge rocks to wander through. The pool is in the same area. Ghost Dance Canyon Trail is .7 miles long and an interesting, picture worthy hike. 

Up the hill you will find the campgrounds.The RV campground is very open , you do have more space if you pick an outer site. Past some historical buildings you will find the primitive area parking lot. Hike in and pick your site. Some of those sites aren’t far from the parking area, others are further in the woods. 

This is a nice basic camping area, but I wouldn’t choose to stay here for longer then a night/weekend, my opinion. If you have young children or just want to relax at the camper and pool it’s quiet and slow paced. We overnighted and got on the road home.

That’s all folks

We have a 29 foot camper: the sites and roads are snug for it. At site 6 it goes downhill so it is difficult to get your camper level. Water available at dump station but not consumable. The area is very beautiful and quiet. Perfect for those with smaller campers. Electric available at site. 

Small sites 

We have a smaller travel trailer and it fit just fine, but the sites are on the smaller side. There were plenty of trees for hanging out hammocks, and lots of grassy areas for the kids to run around. We hiked the trail and it took us about 2 hours total. They were very well maintained. The bathrooms were out toilets, but they were immaculately cleaned! They also offer free firewood for campers, which was such a treat! We have already scheduled our next visit for next weekend. Also, there is a work camp next door, but we didn’t see or hear anyone. Staff drove by a few times delivering park maps and answering questions. Oh and we saw a baby fox, and enjoyed the chocolate factory fight across the street. :) 

Nice little area for family fun time

We enjoyed our stay at Dixon Springs. We were the only campers in our loop for the entire stay. This is a very clean, well maintained campground, the hosts were very friendly and helpful.

Fun times 

Beautiful campground with plenty of room between sites. Most are shaded with rings or fire pits. Great family friendly place. Trails and roads maintained well. 
Tip: know where your spot is prior to entering campground, it makes it easier to find and navigate. 

Beautiful family friendly campground

We were a bit nervous about this campground when reading reviews and seeing the location (there is an Impact Incarceration Program that shares the border), but I'm glad we found it. We booked this spot a few weeks in advance for Memorial Day weekend, and honestly we only booked it because it was the only campground left that seemed somewhat acceptable out of campgrounds that accept reservations. I'm glad we did. The location is amazing, it didn't seem as crowded as other campgrounds in Shawnee National Forest, it was well maintained, and had lots of features that range from hiking trails to a swimming pool (and pretty confident a basketball court as well). Even though we did not take advantage of these features, the campsite itself was wonderful. It was exactly what we wanted - a little pine forest to sleep in and get away from the city and take it easy for the weekend. There were lots of kids and other people as expected for the holiday weekend, but that did not interfere with our stay. The campsites are very compacted, but it still feels very personal and private due to all the tree cover and bushes. Additionally, there are bathrooms onsite that are pretty clean, but expect lots of mosquitos on them. Finally, Golconda is only 10 miles away and has a grocery store that was stocked with essentials we forgot and a gas station to fill up. 

  

Here are some of the negatives: LOTS of poison ivy and ticks. Luckily, we expected this and came prepared with tweezers, tick remover, insect repellant, and poison ivy wipes. I gave my dog tick medicine two days prior to our departure, and the tweezers and tick remover came in handy since I was bit despite the ample amounts of insect repellant. The poison ivy is EVERYWHERE. Anywhere you see trees and bushes, there will be poison ivy. It was definitely nerve wracking putting up the hammock and unfortunately did not get to cuddle our dog at all since we were nervous of the possible oils on his fur. Also, their system for reservation is flawed - when we arrived the campsite we booked had a family already all settled in, and luckily we were able to find another available campsite otherwise we'd need to talk to the superintendent and kick that family out in order to get settled in. I would have been incredibly disgruntled if this ended up happening, but luckily the campsite we ended up having was better than the one we originally booked. Could have gone either way though. Finally, cars aren't allowed next to the campsite. We initially parked next to it and the superintendent asked us to move it to the parking lot. Makes it a hassle and is a bit of a bummer, but it was fine.

Clean, Fun, and Lots of Features

Liked the state park and it’s beauty a lot. Pool was closed on Labor Day weekend???Pretty wooded campground on the side of a hill has a lot of shade but most sites are not level for larger RVs. Our reserved site #6 was so sloped  for our 24’ C class that we had to give up on it and move to a vacant more level spot. The pit toilets leave a lot to be desired and the lack of showers on site is reprehensible. The campers deserve better from this camping 

Needs a bathhouse !

We had a very nice time and this campground and wish we could have stayed a few more nights to see more of it. There was a couple nice playgrounds for the kids to play on and plenty to walk around and see.

Nice campground with plenty to see

Very few other campers, campground was empty, no attendants. Pit toilets with no hand washing station or showers and no water hook ups. There is water at the entrance to fill up, however. There were electric hook ups and dump station. A few trails surrounding the campsite and a fun pool with a slide attached to the campground with an entrance fee of $6. Besides the pool none of the facilities were great and the site just had a weird vibe. You can shower at the pool— but those showers are truly, not good. Close to garden of the gods—which is why we went. And it honestly wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. 

Lots of ticks (pulled some off every day) and fireflies. 