White Pines Forest State Park Campground

Nice Short walks in the woods. You can link trails together to go farther. Some signs for cross country ski trails.  Most of the sites are not flat and one in front of the other so be prepared for that. If you go after harvest be prepared to hear a grain dryer or other from the farm nearby all day and night. There’s a train you might hear a couple times in the night. Pretty quiet otherwise for other campers. Shower house had nice hot water. Restaurant was nice for dinner. The gift shop is cute. Looks like they have a dinner and show around the holidays at the restaurant. They could use extra signs to say where camping is right when you pull in otherwise you’ll end up at the restaurant or some better signs in the campground. Overall we will be back to select sites select times of year.

Cedar Ridge campground: stayed during the week because weekends were all booked. Had the place basically to myself.

The sites: not very private, and most are one behind the other, so you’ll be going through a campground to get to the main road if you choose one in the back. 

Atmosphere: There are trains that pass nearby (not constantly), and I could hear some campers from the Sunny Crest campground. Neither were obnoxious, and overall, it was relatively quiet. 

Wildlife: Turkeys wandering around, lots of different birds, I heard coyotes hooting and hollering in the distance, and an opossum wandered into my site while I was sitting by the fire. 

Other notable items: Grab wood on the way there from a neighboring home/farmstand. There wasn't anywhere to purchase wood inside the property. 
There are showers here. I'm not sure if they're open year-round, but the campground is. 
The hiking trails are fun.

White Pines is smaller than most of the state parks, so the loops of camping sites don’t have many. I wouldn’t recommend any on the hilly side, but sites 20-26 are fabulous! Those ones are relatively flat and deep, separated by trees (although there is a front and back site so you will have one neighbor on a full day). Much quieter and more peaceful than the more crowded counterparts and perfect for camping with small children because the bathrooms are always close by and it’s actually quiet at night when they need to sleep.

You drive over the fjords to get in, which the kids love. Also a nice perk that when you are too tired to cook, you can drive or walk over to the lodge and get a good cooked meal. Close to lowden so you can drive over there too during the day. Host was fabulous and when we left early (storms) he checked in to make sure everything was okay. We will be back!

This is the type of campground you go and check your spot out before you reserve it. Many of the tent campsites are literally on a hill. Some are very close. They really crammed them wherever they could. The amenities are excellent and the only reason I gave 3 stars, the shower/restroom was very nice and air conditioned. Potable water available. If I knew the campground was gonna be sideways I wouldn’t have reserved it, not gonna lie I was pissed when I saw it as I reserved it for 3-4 days. There’s lots of them that are on flat ground/tucked away and look excellent but it’s a gamble unless you go there beforehand to look. There’s a ford you have to cross to get to the campground but its not that bad people this isn’t Oregon Trail you won’t float away and lose an Ox and wagon wheel.

No electricity on but 2 or 3 sites but we loved our time camping here. We have been here 2 times and had no problems. So sites are close but as campers we work out our site to not interfere with others. Love the hiking and the forges. We will be back.

Great park for the newer"primitive camper". Beware the sites that are on an incline. Vault toilets very accessible through out the park It's pretty cool that you have to drive through the crik to get to the campground. Fishing was lackluster, but it was also the second weekend after quarantine. Camp hostest is super nice!

If you're a hiker, there are hills here for some decent elevation change (not bad for the Midwest). There are many trails which you can combine to get a good amount of miles in.

The camping here is always good. The sites are not huge, but not too tight and are pretty well spread out. The lodge is at the top of the hill with a nice little giftshop and restaurant as well as cute, quaint cabins for an overnight stay.

This camp site does not have very secluded spots. I would have enjoyed a more quiet plot of land amongst some pine trees.

We did not get out to see much of the park. Would like to come back and experience the actual beauty of the park not just the family campground.

Great forests and trails! Nice for camping in that the campsites are not too close together but there are still bathrooms

I've stayed at WP for many years, but will now avoid holiday weekends. Made the mistake of staying there over the 4th of July. Very crowded with some sites with 4 tents on them. Woken up at 2 AM by a guy and woman screaming at each other in some kind of domestic dispute. Shower building was filthy with overflowing toilets. Not sure who takes care of these things, but they really dropped the ball.

Regular weekends have been fine but can be noisy during high season. If you're a light sleeper, be aware that BNSF trains blow their horns for a nearby road crossing and possibly the bridge on the north side of the park.

The cabins are nice and the lodge restaurant serves decent food at reasonable prices.

Well kept camping sites. Easy drive up style. Picnic tables and fire pits on site. Bathrooms and dumpster close by. River that is walk and drive through!

Cleanest IL State Park I had been to. nice camp sites not too close together. Loved driving through the fjords. On-site restaurant was nice, cabins were clean and cozy.

Inn has been closed and new owner.

Though the campsites are pretty close together, the park itself is HUGE. so many trails to choose from and tons are areas to dip in the water. all around beautiful spot

Great place for family camping. Very clean, and beautiful hiking trails. My only complaint would be that at the private cabins you are not allowed to cook out. We did tent camping and there were grills, but a separate time we did a private cabin and they would not let us grill. So you basically had to either eat at their lodge, or drive into town about 15 minutes away to eat. However, the cabins did have beautiful fire pits at each site. It was nice to be able to sit around the fire throughout the day and night.

it was fun to be able to fish in the creek there, and just relax!

Overall it is a beautiful place. Last time we were there a new hbo series was being filmed, so a lot of stuff was blocked off, however it was pretty awesome to see the production of it come together.

We’ve gone camping here the last two Memorial Day weekends with our three kids currently aged 8, 6, and 3. the hikes are all very doable, there is a playground, ice cream at the lodge and a few wide open spaces for frisbee or playing catch. The hikes were confidence boosters for our kids. Some of them you get to walk through the streams which is always great fun for everyone. highly recommend this state park!

I didn't camp here and I'm not sure I'd want to but they do have a great trail system if you want to hike around for a day.

I've been to this park a few times and every time it is always a nice weekend getaway. There are a handful of trails around the park that allow you to do a variety of hikes (none of them are very long, so you can do a few different ones). The campsites are a bit close together and some are not level, but there are plenty of choices! There also are enough open spaces in the park. Along the trails you'll find some spots that remain from the CCC. Don't forget to check out the White Pines Inn!

This is one of hte better state park campgrounds in northern IL, in my opinion. The sites are a bit more private and secluded than others. Like all state parks right now (2016) they could use some attention and maintenance, but it's not bad given the current situation in our state. The state park itself is nice, with pretty trails. There are several other state parks in the nearby area, which makes for a fun weekend of exploration.

This was my favorite place to go camping as a kid because you could drive through the water! There's a creek/river that runs through the park and the road runs through it in two spots. There are bridges for pedestrians. But for a 7 yr old Midwestern kid this was exciting stuff. This place is great though the campground never fills up so you can still just drive out on a weekend. Nice trails well kept. Also they have a cute lodge and restaurant so check those out too.

The sites here are rather close together and ours was not very level for sleeping comfortably. Another unfortunate draw back was that you could hear trains passing throughout the day and night. The cabins might be a nice choice if you want to stay at this park :) The park itself has a few short trails.