Best RV Parks & Resorts near Bartonville, IL

Spaces are tight. Most are pull-though but there isn’t a lot of room between campers so don’t expect much privacy. Grounds are very well kept and they have two nice ponds stocked with fish. Because of COVID, the opry house wasn’t open, the camper store took appointments only, and playground was closed—but that playground looked fantastic! Shower houses were small but clean. Full hookups on most sites from what we could see. There are a LOT of long-term campers there.

General: City camping is generally challenging but this was a good place for us to land for the night as we were passing through. Very easy access as soon as you cross Peoria Lake to East Peoria. The flip side of this is that you will hear constant road noise and an occasional train. Reservations are made by phone and when I called to make mine, was told we would be in Site 33. Typical for us, we arrived after the office was closed and saw Site 33 was occupied. We took Site 36 and when I went to pay the following morning, I discovered this is where we had been moved to as site numbers are not supposed to be guaranteed. It appeared that there were many long-term campers staying here. The rate of $24 for an electric site was reasonable. Full hookup sites and a few tent sites are also available. 

Site Quality: Site sizes are, for the most part, very generous and can accommodate a large RV and extra vehicle/s. Some are very close to each other (beach and overflow) and there is no physical separation between them. Each site has one (or two) picnic tables and a fire ring. Some sites have paved pads while the ones closest to the water are either gravel or sand. There are also several cabins.

Bathhouse: Clean but the only downside is there is only one sink, and it is located in an awkward place (perpendicular to and close to one of the stalls). Showers were small and I did not use so cannot comment on how well they worked. Hot water was appreciated. 

Activities/Amenities: If you are a boater, this is a great place for you as this is a marina! Small and outdated playground and a basketball stand but no basket or net. There is also a laundry room. 

Conclusion: For us, passing through, this was an ideal place to land for the night but since we don’t have a boat, we wouldn’t stay longer than one night.

We used this as a quick unplanned one night stop. It’s right off the highway and easy to get in and out of. Full hookups, level sites and everything you need.

This place has beautiful views of illinois river. Nice sized campsites. Everything was clean and well taken care of! Not a lot of amenities, however that isn’t what camping is all about! Full hook ups at a reasonable price. Each site also has a picnic table and fire pit. The guy that runs the place is AWESOME! So nice and willing to help with anything you need. This park is close to town, so if anything is needed you are only minutes away. LOVED camping here & will definitely be back :)

This review is from the point of view of an overnight or short-stay campground(CG) versus a destination CG. The CG was easy to get to as it was right off the interstate and adjacent to the Loves main facility. We did the online check-in, but a nice gentleman met us for a formal check-in at their gate and office/shower/laundry facility. We then proceeded to pull through site 43 with full hookups. We paid$42 for the night with a military discount, plus$2.70 in transient tax and a$3.00 booking fee. The CG is fairly new, as our RV GPS didn’t show this Loves address. The campsites are decently spaced, and all the utilities worked fine. As this is a new CG, there are no trees, so no problem with satellite, plus there are plenty of OTA channels. We got 3 bars on Verizon. The water pressure is also good at around 50 psi. There are little barbecue pavilions and a community fire pit. We were pleasantly surprised at the adequately sized fenced dog area with separate large and small dog areas. There is a concrete sidewalk that leads you out of the CG over to the Loves facility. As this RV Park is right off the interstate, you get highway noise.

If you’re looking to stay close to Peoria and enjoy beautiful sunsets and the water this place has it. Big trees, deep shade and it’s right on the Peoria Lake on the Illinois River. The place could use some TLC but the owner is super nice and the the location and shaded spots are well worth it. Took my son out fishing and had him practice casting! He is 4. If you’re looking to escape, be in nature, close to the water with nice sites, this place is it. If you’re looking for super clean and lots of amenities this is not it. Most sites are full hook up with some that are for tent camping. Plenty of room and easy to get a site. Our family enjoyed a little time in the breeze and shade by the river away from the scorching summer heat! We really loved our site!

Sankoty Lakes is nice, but seems more or less like the RV equivalent of a gated community with a strict HOA or a country club. People were frequently circling the area on golf carts, and someone stopped to interrogate us about our trailer and whether we had told the reservation department that we had a trailer when we booked. Sites are good, level with full hookups, but the RV area is only accessible by driving around the side of the complex and through a neighborhood, and then you have to wait for someone to come open the gate. Might be great for some folks, but we just didn't feel welcome.

We were late reserving a campsite for Memorial Day Weekend. But Don had a spot for us. We are glad we stayed.

The campground sits along the Illinois River: many campsites face it. It's secluded and quiet. Campsites are spacious and well-distanced.

There is much to do on site. The campground is situated between a nature preserve with nice walking paths and a beach. There is also an old barge to explore.

A little further away is Old Mill Vineyard. Well worth the 20 minute drive! The wine and ambiance are very nice. Ask for Ellen.

The campground only had two restrooms available during our stay. But they were nice. And don't forget your RV water filter! The water here is very rusty.

Lots of full hookups. Sites a little close. Campground managers friendly and very helpful

We went camping for the weekend and absolutely loved this place! Full hookups was a huge plus and at $44 a night a very reasonable rate for full hookups. The owner is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in your life. Friendly, caring and very down to earth. He treats you like a friend, not a customer. Camp ground was very clean. No garbage anywhere. I will say, it's not paved roads n pretty public buildings but that's not what camping is about! Nice gravel lanes with well manicured sights. Firewood for sale and picnic tables n firepits on all the sights. Headed back next weekend !!

We spent two nights here enjoying the beautiful panoramic view of Lake Allison. The campground is small and in a bit of a noisy part of town, but still very pleasant! There is a shooting range not far from the campground across the lake and we would hear shooting off and on. It wasn’t obnoxious, just not as peaceful as we like. There is also some traffic noise from the street near by. Our sight sat far enough away from the road so that noise didn’t bother us, but if you need full hookups and have a larger trailer, you will be closer to the road. There are two bathroom/shower houses on each side of campground. One is newer and has individual private locking shower/toilet areas. We preferred that one, but the older one was just as clean and nice. The campground staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Some of the sights at the campground could be very challenging for bigger rvs, some very uneven and small spots, but the staff are very helpful in directing you towards a good site suited for you. Overall we very much liked this campground and will be back!

Excellent value at $28/ for full hookup. A lot of surface streets to get here from the freeway. Not much noise once you arrive. Good water pressure, cell service solid 2 bars. I’d stop again

Nice campground very spacious many site options full hookup, partial hookup, primitive. Lots of grass and wooded area tons of great trails multiple places to fish, swim beach, I think I saw two different parks. Each site had a fire pit and a picnic bench huge sites tons of possibility $ 34 a night is what it looks like we only stayed one night. Siren blows at 10am every morning.

This place felt like real camping. The spots were pretty spread out and easy pull through. It was full hookup with electric, water, and sewage. The host was fast as soon as we pulled up he printed a receipt and escorted us to our spot with his truck. He even gave a coupon to a pizza shop that he owned which was super cool. 

Plenty of big shady tree and river front views. Bugs werent too bad. We were able to do some fishing and kayaking. We caught some bluegill, buffalo, and large mouth bass. 

It was dog friendly with plenty of room to walk your dogs around. 

The only thing that was weird was there was no dumpsters to be found. We looked everywhere for them and could not find them. We ended up hauling our trash with us.

All full hookups are in the sun most of the day. So if you don’t have a canopy or awning it’ll be hot. On concrete pads. Fire rings are right behind each site with plenty of room in between. Fire wood available on site. Shower houses 8/10 nice walk down to the lake good fishing and kayaking. Lots of trails to walk threw the forest.

Let me begin by saying that I scored this Love's RV Stop as high as I did not because it is my ideal camping spot - it isn't - and I don't think anyone looks for a spot to camp out on next to a super busy highway next to a commercial big rig gas station, but if you are doing some heavy duty highway traveling with your RV or 5th wheel and simply need a place to hold up for the night, then this place really is pretty amazing.  With that in mind, hopefully you'll pay this place a visit, stop, get fueled up, rest for the night and enjoy the convenience and easy on- and off-access that this place provides.  With this in mind …

This spot is brand spanking new, incredibly flat and offers up all the flat poured concrete where you want it and freshly poured gravel where you drive and all the other parts are surrounded by freshly sodded grass that has already grown in to near maturity everywhere else. Conveniently located on the highway axis where I39 / US51 meets I55, here in central Illinois in the city of Bloomington, Love’s RV Stop is an incredibly convenient and easy access spot to drop your RV anchor for the night. Extra points to Love’s RV Stop for providing gated key-pad entry and 24 hour CCTV security delivering a real feeling of safety throughout your roadside RV or 5th Wheel stay. 

The convenient app-managed reservation system is seamless and provides for an incredibly simple, remote check-in and payment process. You’ll find back-in or pull-through as well as ADA accessible sites with full hook-ups with water, sewer and choice of either 30 or 50 amp electrical at every site. At the main kiosk where you’ll check-in, there’s a brand new spartan clean single person shower facility as well as individual men and women’s restrooms in addition to a coin-operated laundry facility. Additionally, the property has 2 covered pavilions with picnic tables and gas-powered BBQ grills, community firepit that can easily seat a dozen people, 2 pickleball courts, kid’s playground and a dog park with real grass for the pups to do their business on.  Now granted, you'll be enjoying all of these amenities right next to all of the swooshing highway traffic, but surprisingly, we all got over this very quickly!

Because Love’s RV Stop is connected and managed by the neighboring Love’s Truck Stop, you’ll have nearby access to their full convenience store, as well as ATMs, Bojangles Restaurant (mediocre BBQ at best), as well as additional shower facilities along with, but of course, all the gas you can pump by the gallon. But if it’s something simple like firewood, ice, sundries or snacks, you can get these items back at the Kiosk and there are 2 soda vending machines as well as an ice machine behind this small building as well. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) As you are literally on the corner of one of the busiest highway intersections in the entire Land ‘O Lincoln, there is no escaping where you are at, no matter how high they build the fence or how many bushes and trees they place between you and the 8-lanes of rushing passerby traffic and there’s not a single site here to escape the noise, so bring your earbuds if it bothers you or crank up some Van Halen;(2) If you are looking for something more than the stale coffee or the Bojangle’s food they are serving up at the truck stop, there are endless chain options like Starbucks, Dunkin’, Moe’s Southwest Grill nearby as well as further afield; (3) If you want my top recommendations for restaurants that are worth the drive, try out Giordano’s for Chicago deep dish pizza or Portillo’s for their Italian beef & sausage sandwich (don't ask, just order and send me your thanks later); and (4) If you are looking for something to do with the kiddos, head on over to Miller Park Zoo for the wild animals, performances and mini-golf or try out Grady’s Family Fun Park, which is an amusement park with rides and games. 

While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot: 

Convenience: 5 

Safety & Security: 5 

Quality: 5 

Peace& Quiet: 4 

Amenities: 5 

Overall, I scored this location a 5.

Happy Overnighting!