Best Cabin Camping near Benton, IL

Kind of a bare bones campground but this state park does offer rock climbing (if you have the expertise and your own gear). A few picnic shelters and an amazing CCC lodge that has a cabin rentals and a pretty good area restaurant. The park used to have an interp center but I believe the state closed it do to funding. The trails aren't always maintained it definitely depends on the season but the park itself is not to be missed.

This State Park is located outside Carlyle,Illinois. This park offers playground areas and more. Cabins, campsites with power or no power the choice is yours. This is one State Park i enjoy visiting. However there are times this park cannot be accessed because of flooding.

What an absolute craphole. We rented the Wrangler cabin for 2 nights, the cabin(single-wide trailer) looked as if it it was placed in the 1980's and has never been touched. The floor in the cabin was soft(rotted), they had about 3 or 4 stick in air freshners in the cabin, so many that both my wife and I got a headache as soon as we walked in. We took them out, then after about an hour the smell that they were covering started to show up, musty, moldy smell. The furniture in the place I am sure they found on the side of the street. Broken tables, the one couch in the place was full of sweat stains, the beds were so soft and old, felt like sleeping in a bowl. The so-called microwave in the kitchen had food cooked in it. The black stuff near the air vents on the ceiling of the cabin is not dust, pretty sure its mold. There are water stains all over the ceiling. The cabin has stairs at both end of the front, the one end looks to be an old set of plastic pool stairs, that are busted. The floor in the bathroom was actually a sub-flooring, without flooring on top of it. IT IS A DUMP. Health and human services needs to go out and condemn this place. If you have dogs with you, and keep them on a leash, don't worry, they will have plenty of friends to play with, as there are loose dogs all over the place, we counted about 12. Like I said, we rented it for 2 nights, left first thing in the morning after the first night. I spent a lot of time in the Army, and slept in some bad spots before, this place is worse. Glad I got some money back. I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE, not even to someone I don't like!

Stayed in Shawnee Lodge in camp campus. Camp Amenities include: lodges, cabins, shelters, parking, fire pits/ fireplaces all with wood supplied, amphitheater s, fishing along Little Grassy Lake, trails, swing set.

Campground here has both electric sites for campers and primitive sites for tents. All are shaded and quiet. Showers/bathrooms are really nice and clean. In addition to campgrounds, there's a very nice lodge with a good restaurant, and the cabins here are pretty good too.

Lots of amazing, beautiful hikes in this park, especially if you're into bluffs and large boulders. Easy drive to many other picturesque and unique parks (i.e. Garden of the Gods, Ferne Clyffe), and easy drive into town if you want something more civilized.

We did a little weekend getaway to do some geocaching near Utica, IL. Nice pool and great owners!

It is overcrowded all through the week in the RV area with no great views of the lake, sadly. 2. cabins.but overpriced due to no running water or nearby ttoilet but more private and great lake views Awesome fishing here and boat rentals

If you live in the St. Louis area and are looking for a great park for a weekend getaway near the water then look no further. Tons of reservable and walk up sites for primitive and RV. Most sites have plenty of shade and room in between so you were not right on top of your neighbors The only thing that would be a complaint about the sites is that many of them have a metal culvert running under the entrance to each campsite so if you’re not careful backing your camper out you can run over those and possibly cut a tire Other than that it is a great campground that boasts the only swimming pool in an Illinois state park. There is also a small store that has all of the basics and even has a built-in laundry mat The only other small complaint is that there is only one fill station to fill your freshwater tanks. So during busier times there can sometimes be a line of people waiting to fill their freshwater tanks so if you can do that at home I highly advise it

Came here for a weekend getaway, to camp, hike and visit wineries, and was not disappointed. The campground is good, and camp hosts very friendly and helpful. Lots of trees for shade. Narrow roads with tight curves, along with the trees, made for a bit of a challenge. The hiking trails are beautiful, and not too crowded. There are many wineries within a short drive of the camp, which made for a fun afternoon. Really enjoyed our weekend here, and plan to return.

Really great campground. Good mix of tents and RVs. Bath house was very well kept and clean. Showers ran cold at first but after a few mins it gets warmer! There were plenty of pit toliets through out the campground and trash cans. My tent site was clean, good flat spot for tent, picnic table and fire pit with attached grill.

The Concession building in the park is closing. No boat rentals, selling everything he has on the shelf.

Caught a few bass and and good amount of hiking. Large trail around the whole lake, smaller trails lead to sites around the different campgrounds.

This wasn’t our first choice for a campground but Oak Point was full and sites were open here! I’m so glad that was the case as this definitely turned out to be an awesome campground. The sites are flat and open, but most are still shaded by a y’all tree canopy. The lodge and restaurant are a great way to escape the summer heat for a few hours! The Trillium Trail in the Park has beautiful views and rock formations. Get ice cream and walk the Secret Garden in Makanda. Lake Glendale is close by for swimming and kayak rentals. Of course you have to hike to the Garden of the Gods, but our favorite was the Little Grand Canyon. Both require some level of experience hiking and good hiking shoes/boots.

Not very well maintained by the State of Illinois. Restrooms are horrible! So many better places to camp in the Carlyle Lake area.

This is a nice little park in southern Illinois. It is surrounded by cornfields, however the park is wooded. The park surrounds a very pretty lake and I have attached a picture.

The host was very nice and helpful. The bathhouse was clean and had hot water for the showers.

Has electric sites only. Water and dump at the entrance. Shower houses. Very nice pool and camp store. Hosts scattered and occasionally hard to find to pay for your spot. Wildlife galore. Next to largest lake in Illinois. Fishing good with a boat. Worth the trip.

You're welcome to at longbranch! Please make your reservations.
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Ava Illinois +1 618-318-6734 Text your name and number of people on your campsite to reserve your spot.

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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.