Best Tent Camping near Bismarck, IL

i have been to Thousand Trails in Indiana for 25 years and each time i visit i get more disappointed. its no longer a campground but an RV park. which makes me sad because tent camping is forced onto gravel or next to a septic tank hose from a neighboring RV.

however, the park is very large, has many activities such as swimming, fishing, arcades, cornhole, volleyball. you will need a vehicle to travel to activities because thry are far away. there is a general store that now serves breakfast so that is pretty nifty. it seems they are making improvements regarding grounds but i would not recommend tent camping. they do have cabins surrounding the lake.

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place until this year. The walk in tent sites are in a shady woody area and with lake views. Clean pit toilets, serene setting, and a really cool hike to an abandoned observatory. 🙌🏕

I am tent camper and stayed at tent primitive section right by the creek. They have RV section, electric tent sites and primitive and those do not mix - no tents at rv section and vice versa. I camp weekdays so I had all section to myself for three days. You can carry your chair right to the creek and hang out in the shade. There are few trails looping around for the walks. Most of tent sites got shade. Rv sites all seem to be level, although kind of close together. Nice and clean bathrooms and shower facility. I have not tried renting canoe because they were closed for a season, due to low water level in the creek. There are a lot of nice places around to visit Turkey Run and Shades state parks are not far as well as numerous covered bridges to explore. Campground stays quiet at night - haven’t seen partying or noise. They also have few cute cabins for rent right by the creek. Will definitely be back and would recommend this place to anyone.

The staff was great, all the amenities were fantastic. This campsite would be great if you were staying in an RV, camper, or one of the cabins, but the tent sites are terrible. They are right next to the highway, and they are all very exposed, and have little protection from mosquitoes.

This campground is great! The creek is awesome for catching tadpoles and minnows. And definitely take time to float or kayak down the river. The pond is stocked with GIANT fish (catch and release only) and definitely go for a hike over at Turkey Run. Our site (4) was a good location for us, although we tent camped in 25 before and you can't beat those views

Super easy reservations online, and if it’s a weekday or a Sunday you could likely just roll up. $16/night for a tent site plus $9 out of state car fee. Security is at the main gate until midnight so later check-ins are possible. Great set-up after driving 11+ hours!

I stayed at one of the primitive tent sites. It was nice and shaded. As the other reviewer pointed out, further away from the entrance will get you away from the road noise. The shower house was very clean and well kept.

I would definitely stay here again. I would just select a site toward the back.

Nice clean park in west-central Indiana that has a lake and a large number of camping sites along with restrooms and showers. The primitive tent camping sites don't require reservations, and each have a picnic table. There are modern campsites that have water and electrical hook-ups, and there are some small cabins that can be rented. The bath house was clean, and the grounds crew does a great job keeping the grass cut. Camp sites seem more spread out here compared to most state parks. Location is fairly close to Sugar Creek and other parks such as Turkey Run and Shades State Park. The lake is popular for fishing.

Prophetstown is a very well kept and clean park.  The sites book up super fast on weekends and you have to book months out. If you tent camp like we do the park makes you set tent up on gravel which is a little disappointing.  The best sites are the rev sites and they are slowly growing the tent ones.  Very little shade.  Unless you are on a full hookup site.  The playgrounds are nice and big but far away from the electric sites.  Bike trails are great and paved roads make it easy.  The best thing about this park is the water park. Not included for camping price but still decent priced.  We did go 3 days ina row which cost us $40 total for the weekend.  It can become costly if you go to the park multiple Fay’s ina row.  Overall our trip was great.  We have camped 2 times now.

A friend and I came here with her pop-up tent for a random weekend in 2020 when the weather was absolutely perfect for camping - in the 70s the entire trip. 

We arrived and were shocked to see that our site was basically on top of our neighbor's and it was not flat at all. Luckily, we weren't tent camping or it would've been a disaster. 

We did have some lake views, although we were in the middle of the road so we didn't have our own private space like other sites did. We were in the non-electric area, but did have modern restrooms.

The restrooms were kept very clean and smelled of bleach at all times (a good thing during COVID). There is also a hiking trail that goes near the lake that is very close to the campground, so good access point for hikers. 

One thing to note is how close the sites are to each other, especially for those in the electric areas. It was as if it was a little city with how many people/campers/RVs/campers there were. I wasn't a fan.

We just left after a 2 night stay and we’re really pleased with this camp ground. The staff were very friendly and wanted to make sure our stay was the best it could be.

Our primitive tent site was in the very back isolated from the rest of the grounds. A port-a-potty was near by, but the shower house was a short drive away. Also, the site, 27C, was alone with timber separating it from the nearest site. The downside to this site is the morning/afternoon sun, but we adapted with a pop-up canopy and positioning our tent to utilize the little shady available.

The shower house was one of the cleanest we’ve seen and the staff makes a concerted effort to keep it that way.

The camp store was a nice convenience and wood delivery was a plus.

Lastly, features include a pond to fish (and rental of paddle boats/canoes) where my son and I caught two decent sized fish from the dock. Playground, volleyball court, and a half court basketball were right off the backside fishing dock.

Il start this by saying: we prefer tent camping/primitive/atleast semi isolated spots. If you’re looking for RV camping, this is probably a decent spot so read no further!

We drove in to the Middle Fork Forest Preserve looking for a place to camp same day on our way down to Giant City. We weren’t able to make a reservation less than 5 days in advance online so we tried to call. No one in the office except Th-Sunday and it was Wednesday so we couldn’t get in touch. All good. It happens and it did say that clearly on their website and on voicemail. We needed a place for the night so decided to risk driving over from I57 S. Rolled in around 5 and all the campsites were marked reserved but there were about 3 people set up to camp there. We didn’t end up camping the night 1. Because we didn’t want to be jerks about the reservations although it seemed like no one else would be arriving until at the earliest the next day and 2. All of the campsites were pretty tight together and surfaced with gravel. That’s a personal preference thing. We always look for primitive/walk-in/hike in sites to set up tents/hammocks. This spot was mostly set up for RVs.

The hiking looked pretty lovely and the grounds/facilities looked well kept! Just maybe not our preference.

A very large campground with tent and rv camping. Gets very busy.

Close to great hiking trails, swimming, canoeing & rafting rental. Quiet and family friendly on every visit. Rv, tent w/electric available.

 We normally stay in state parks, but for two different years we wanted to attend the Feast of the Hunter's Moon and this was our best option. We have a tent and a canoe, so we really enjoyed the campsites they have by the river.
 The folks who run the place are very nice, one night they even opened up the camp store so we could get tent stakes, which we'd forgotten. They are great at planning activities for the guests and really like to make people feel at home. 
 In addition to the feast, nearby is Tippecanoe State Park and Frank Lloyd Wright's Samara house.

This state park is just beautiful, lots of camp sites with electricity and also tent areas. The best part of camping here is the hiking trails. Also very close to lots of old covered bridges. Very neat area. Gets really busy on weekends. Worth the trip and stay.

10$ a night next to a park on a slightly busy street. I pitched my tent amongst the many rv trailers and had a rest on my motorcycle trip south. Not ideal for camping but a great budget option if your tired

Stayed for 3 nights and loved it. Gave 4 stars instead of 5 because it was electric only. There are 4 total camp areas in the campground portion of the park. Grey Squirrel and Fox Squirrel are the RV sites and Grey and Fox Tent are the tent areas. Tents are allowed in the RV area as well. Each site has a gravel pad, grill/fire pit and picnic table, as well as electric hook up. There is one dump station near the campground entrance, and water fill there or in a few locations in the campground. There is not water and sewer hookup at each pad. Some spots have decks, but not all, and the handicap accessible spots are paved with concrete. All spots in Fox Squirrel are landlocked. In Grey Squirrel, odd numbered sites 15-25 back up to the lake. All the Grey Squirrel sites have trail access to several docks and a couple of boat launches. There are a few out house/bathrooms for each area. There is at least one communal shower house. There are playgrounds throughout the park and a concession building near the campground entrance. You have to get firewood at the concession building to burn in the park. You can also rent kayaks, purchase bait, get info, and buy snacks. The concessions has recently changed hands and is now run by the same company who handles Moraine View. Overall it’s a great little park. Nice hiking, lots of quiet fishing options. No swimming or motor boats. We will go back for sure!

Several loops.  Tent loops are pretty much open fields.  We stayed in a loop with electrical hook up.  Sites are level and there are trees through out the campground.  Sites on the interior of the loop can be close to the one behind it so check your site carefully before you choose it.  Bathrooms are older but clean.  Shower does not allow for adjustment of water temperature.  Hiking trails are not well marked except for the mountain biking trails, which were well marked.