Jackson Falls, near [Shawnee National Forest](https://thedyrt.com/camping/illinois/near/shawnee-national-forest) in Illinois, is a fantastic spot for those who crave a bit of adventure and solitude. This area offers a unique experience with its primitive camping setup, allowing you to drive right up to your site and immerse yourself in nature without the usual frills.

Visitors rave about the stunning hiking opportunities nearby, with trails that lead to breathtaking views of the bluffs and the sounds of nature all around. One camper mentioned, “Great hiking around the area,” highlighting the allure of the landscape. The location is also pet-friendly, so you can bring your furry friends along for the fun.

While amenities are minimal—think vault toilets and no drinking water—campers appreciate the freedom of a first-come, first-served basis and the chance to truly disconnect. Just be prepared for a bit of a bumpy ride to get there; some have noted that the road can be rough, but it’s manageable for vehicles with decent clearance. As one happy camper put it, “This is a spectacular place if you are looking for private and semi-private dispersed campgrounds.”

If you’re looking for a place to escape the hustle and bustle, Jackson Falls offers a raw and authentic camping experience. Just remember to pack your essentials and enjoy the tranquility of the great outdoors!

Jackson Falls offers many opportunities for technical climbing and is a beautiful scenic area of the Shawnee National Forest. &nbsp;It is in the general forest area located east of the small town of Ozark, IL. This non-developed area has a small trailhead with a vault toilet. A short trail leads from the trailhead to the top of Jackson Falls. &nbsp;There are high dangerous bluffs in the area, visitors should be cautious and aware of their surroundings.&nbsp;Camping is allowed here at no cost, since this is part of the general forest area and not a developed campground. Access: A narrow gravel road leads to the Jackson Falls Trailhead, but then the road becomes dirt and deadends past the trailhead.

Jackson Falls

Join the fun near Shawnee National Forest. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Shawnee National Forest is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Discover great camping spots near Shawnee National Forest, reviewed by campers like you.

Shawnee National Forest

The Best Camping Near Shawnee National Forest, Illinois

This place is popular with climbers, but I’m not one and had a rough time locating this place. The roads weren’t marked the same way they are on the website’s map, and the trailheads are confusing as well. I’m not sure how or if families manage to reach the bottom of the falls since there’s no clear way to climb down on either trail. We still had a great time, there are great campsites, and the whole surrounding area is awesome.

Amazing, if you can find it

Jackson Falls is popular with climbers and has many marked routes. You are able to camp right along the water near the parking pull out and if you don't mind hikers passing by, it is a beautiful location. We were out in spring after a mid-march snow fall and melt which meant good water. I would love to come back in warmer weather to get wet. I would imagine warmer weather brings crowds. 

Gorgeous Winter hiking 

Bring your own firewood. From inside the state of IL of course. The hiking is incredible.

Primitive camp site but super quiet  

This is dispersed camping within the Shawnee National Forest. The area can be tricky to find if you are unfamiliar with the area. It can also get very crowded on nice days due to its proximity to the college campus. It is also very popular with rock climbers and people on horseback. I found the trails to be somewhat confusing and not well marked. 
I was here Easter weekend and the weather was great, so there were a lot of tents set up right near the parking area. If you don’t mind hiking in a bit, peace and quiet can be found. 

Popular dispersed camping area

Fun hiking trails and beautiful sites! Hidden away gem for a fun afternoon of hiking. Can be hard to navigate at times but easily worth the climb up and down. 

Fun terrain 

Jackson offers some of the best rock climbing in southern Illinois. There are about 60 climbing areas along the sandstone bluffs and freestanding boulders, with multiple routes. Most of the routes here are sport routes, though there are a number of trad routes.

There are primative campsites on both sides of Glen Street Falls Road near the trailhead. You can drive right up and park next to your campsite. If those campsites are full, there are additional campsites further down the road. 

Most campsites have fire rings. There are no picnic tables or campfire grills there. There are also no garbage cans. You must pack out all of your garbage. You also need to bring your own drinking water as there is no fresh water there. 

There's a single outhouse at the trailhead that is well maintained and pretty clean.


Waterfalls, hiking, climbing, and FREE camping

Lost cellphone service immediately upon entering reserve, FYI. The place is beautiful; forests and great big, moss covered boulders. It was fun climbing down to the bottom of the falls, even with small kids. The site is popular and there was a good amount of people on Labor Day weekend, however secluded camp sites were easy to find, isolation was achieved, garbage was very minimally found (occasional broken glass or bottle caps near camp sites), and the trails were long and winding. We went during a dry spell and there was no running water at the falls! Still had a blast there though!

Fun Even when Dry

Beautiful fall foliage.  No falls since it hasn't rained in a while. Great hike around. Campsites were plentiful,  alot of cars driving in late at night. Toliet was clean and open. Bring everything you need, there is no water source and bring lots of wood. We scavenged wood from the hills around but ultimately had to leave and purchase wood. 

Fall time

Was able to find the camping right away. There was one other group set up. Nice roomy sites with fire rings. After setting up I took a great hike on the nearby trails connected to Jackson falls. Some wonderful hiking and an abundance of climbing! I did some free climbing on small boulders and managed to climb my way back to the top of the gorge. Upon returning i noticed the other camp had left the grounds to myself. Rain came over night and eventually forced my hand to leave the next day and dry out. Definitely going back. Careful with the rain, the camp is right on the stream so I woke to being surrounded by streams. The path out is also very steep. I was able to handle it with a small car but any more mud or rain I would have been stuck. good luck!

Nice secluded spot

Beautiful location.
Definitely off the beaten path. There was another group of campers but they camped on the trail.
Grave Road getting there was a bit rough for my Ram Promaster. Hill down to trail head could get slick if wet weather.
Was alittle nervous getting out after it had rained. But luckily it wasn't to much rain. 
Definitely coming back when warmer. 

Beautiful secluded spot. Careful if wet. 

Car camped without any issues but it’s worth mentioning that I didn’t have T-Mobile cellphone reception and the bathroom was a bit dirty. Also there was a shallow creek crossing right before the camping areas that I was worried about when I arrived at night, but I realized in the morning that it was not a big deal even for 2WD vehicles. It’s also very secluded so chances are you may only run into one or two other campers. Overall, solid spot!

Quick and Easy Primitive Camping

The campsite is considered to be primitive, which is fine, but it is right along the trail without any cover. All the campsites are one on top of the other without any cover in between or from the trail. They were all taken and incredibly packed during the Memorial Day weekend and honestly seemed very messy and unpleasant. I would not feel comfortable leaving my equipment and gear here unattended at all. I'm not sure if it's any better the further along the trail you go, but the areas we hiked it didn't appear there were additional primitive/dispersed camping spots available other than the ones near the trail head. Also, important to note that there are lots of ticks and poison ivy everywhere.

  

I have camped in backcountry locations and have done dispersed/primitive camping and enjoy it quite a bit, but I would have been miserable at this location.

Unimpressive and crowded

We were hoping to stay there but upon arrival realized that was not to be. The east side of the road is where the camping sites would be but the road was completely washed out. It would be challenging for a jeep to make it back to some of those sites.

On top of that the river feeding Jackson Falls was all but dried up this time of year. Nothing but a trickle going down the cliff. 

We headed to Glendale Lake nearby and had much better luck at Oak Point. 

4x4 and tents only

Had to cross two rather deep streams and the road has many ruts and is very uneven. 

Not recommended for sedans..

Campsites are up a poorly maintained dirt track from the parking area. A couple water crossings before the sites, the first one being the worst. Everything here accessible to a good 2WD with decent clearance. Only saw 3 vehicle sites and a couple tent sites before the third water crossing, which is as far as I looked. 

Good adventure camping

Great place to backwoods camp. It can be busy on the weekends and can be difficult to find an open site at times. Alot of hiking and rock climbing to do at Jackson falls. 

Great place to camp

This was our first trust disperse camping and I adored it. FREE is just that FREE. It’s a first come first served basis. Be prepared for random bugs dropping onto you as you’re doing things. If you’re terrified of wildlife this is not the place for you. It’s an interesting thing to hear what nature does when people aren’t around. The sounds in the night, the random howls in the distance ….. 

Try it out. You may just love it.

OH! By the way, the only negative things are the gravel road on the way down is pothole riddled and you have to hike to your spot. Don’t worry there are close spots . 

Too Cool!

Off the beaten path and wasn’t sure what to expect but once there it was nice…just a parking lot with a vault lock toilet and a few campsites you see right away… also a few down the path if you want a little remote. The bathroom was stocked with tp but you will want to bring hand sanatizer or water. None available there. Cool views of the Bluffs 1/4 mile down the path and a bridge that would go over a waterfall if it wasn’t so dried up…would probably real pretty to see in the spring. Drove my Hyundai Elantra thru just fine, but it is a rough road and your car will get dirty.

Great campground

Went here in early May of 2022 with two friends. This area is massive; there are a handful of hammock friendly tent sites near the Vault toilet and parking lot, and there are plenty of sites available further up the road. When we went, it was rainy and fairly cool, so there were few bugs. My only complaint was that I had no cell service. I was too busy enjoying being there. 

No Signal, No Problem

This is a spectacular place if you are looking for private and semi-private dispersed campgrounds that you can drive up to. Great hiking around the area. 

  

The road to get into the primitive camp area is long, and just a little bumpy but we had no problem in a 4x4, also saw volvos and subarus do just fine.  Sprinter vans would be fine. Was pretty dry when we visited, could see the road getting a little sketch after big rain.  Definitely not gonna be fun for even small RV's. Tough turnarounds for large trailers or 5th wheels.

Love this place!

We run a 28ft RV and we’re able to cross the first water wash without problem. We are a Jeep family so I may have more experience than others in off-roading. 

We opted to turn around and stay at the main parking lot which is VERY accessible. The further sights will require crossing several wash outs. The terrain is hard rock and any capable 4x4 should be able to navigate to the furthest sight’s.
 . 

Jackson Falls Dispersed 

Be sure to make sure you set the correct location into GPS. We ended up at the wrong location at first try. 

Photos of Jackson Falls

Real photos from real campers