If you're looking for glamping near Charleston, look no further. The Dyrt lets you enjoy a unique, rustic Charleston experience while glamping. The Dyrt's camping photos, reviews, and tips are an easy way to find the right Illinois glamping spot for you.
$20 / night
Forrest W. ''Bo'' Wood Recreation Area has a large campground on the northern shore of Lake Shelbyville in the heart of central Illinois. The lake and surrounding land offer outdoor activities for people of all ages, including fishing, swimming, picnicking and simply relaxing. Click here for a virtual tour of the Lake Shelbyville area.
Lake Shelbyville offers a multitude of fishing opportunities for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskie, walleye, white bass and bluegill. The campground has a boat ramp for easy access to the water, and for those without a boat, several ponds with farmed fish are available around the lake. Hunting areas located within a short drive offer numerous game species, including quail, rabbit, pheasant, deer, dove, turkey, waterfowl and woodcock.
This facility lies on the shoreline with a steep descent down to the water. Oak and hickory forests offer plenty of shade. Foliage turns a variety of red, orange, purple and yellow each fall, while prairie flowers dot the landscape in spring and summer. Numerous species of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors inhabit the lake area, as do mammals such as cottontail rabbit, white-tail deer, gray and fox squirrel, muskrat and mink.
Wolf Creek State Park, Woods Lake Waterfowl Refuge and Okaw Bluff Wetlands Complex are popular locations for wildlife watching, birding and hunting near Lake Shelbyville.
$18 - $48 / night
This recreation area is part of Lake Shelbyville
This recreation area is part of Lake Shelbyville
Lithia Springs Campground sits on the eastern shore of Lake Shelbyville in the heart of central Illinois. This facility has a variety of amenities and offers outdoor activities for people of all ages, including fishing, swimming, picnicking and simply relaxing.
Lake Shelbyville offers a multitude of fishing opportunities for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskie, walleye, white bass and bluegill. Lithia Springs provides a boat ramp, and for those without a boat, several ponds with farmed fish are available around the lake. Hunting areas within a short drive offer numerous game species, including quail, rabbit, pheasant, deer, dove, turkey, waterfowl and woodcock.
The campground lies in an oak and hickory forest. Foliage turns a variety of red, orange, purple and yellow each fall, while prairie flowers dot the landscape in spring and summer. Numerous species of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors inhabit the lake area, as do mammals such as cottontail rabbit, white-tail deer, gray and fox squirrel, muskrat and mink.
Wolf Creek State Park, Woods Lake Waterfowl Refuge and Okaw Bluff Wetlands Complex are popular locations for wildlife watching, birding and hunting near Lake Shelbyville.
$18 - $36 / night
Sites with water, electric and sewer. In-ground outdoor pool, pond, horseshoes, 2 playgrounds, game room, tent sites and showers. One-room cottages with bath air, heat and two bedrooms.
Lone Point is a secluded campground that sits on the western shore of Lake Shelbyville in the heart of central Illinois. This facility has a variety of campsites that can accommodate large and small groups, as well as individuals. The lake and surrounding land offer outdoor activities for people of all ages, including fishing, swimming, picnicking and simply relaxing.
Lake Shelbyville offers a multitude of fishing opportunities for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskie, walleye, white bass and bluegill. Visitors have access to a multi-lane boat ramp and courtesy dock at the adjacent Lone Point Day Use Area. For those without a boat, several ponds with farmed fish are available around the lake. Hunting areas located within a short drive offer numerous game species, including quail, rabbit, pheasant, deer, dove, turkey, waterfowl and woodcock. Hikers can explore the lake shore using a number of trails, including the 11-mile Chief Illini backpacking trail, which begins nearby and runs along the edge of the lake.
The Lone Point area is heavily forested with plenty of shade. Oak and hickory are the lake region's dominant tree species. Foliage turns a variety of red, orange, purple and yellow each fall, while prairie flowers dot the landscape in spring and summer. Numerous species of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors inhabit the lake area, as do mammals such as cottontail rabbit, white-tail deer, gray and fox squirrel, muskrat and mink.
Wolf Creek State Park, Woods Lake Waterfowl Refuge and Okaw Bluff Wetlands Complex are popular locations for wildlife watching, birding and hunting near Lake Shelbyville.
$16 - $240 / night
Guide
One of the first campgrounds I ever went to and when camping in Illinois, my go-to campground and lake. My wife and I love this lake and have a lot of memories here.
Guide
Review of Drive In Tent Camping Site 2. Showed up on a Thursday night and had our pick of all the drive in and walk in sites. We decided on site 2 in the drive in area. Previous reviews and a book by John Schirle on Tent Camping in Illinois helped us with this decision as well. Decent maintained sites with some older picnic tables and fire rings, but let's be honest this stuff sits outside 24/7. Site 2 seemed to sit back the farthest with site 1 a close second. Both wooded sites that made for great shade and helped some when it was raining. Any two families looking for two sites could certainly set up and share the experience. Nice little cove behind them to try fishing. Just watch the hike down the path or ravine. Dog friendly, fresh water supply (hint put the handle all the way up and wait a few seconds), ability to store stuff in the car close by, outhouse toilets visible at the walk in parking lot, and helpful host for easy check in who even sells fire wood made for a great few days ($5 a bundle). Rated B/S site at a cost of $10 a night.
Traveler
Great little campground close to Charleston and Eastern Illinois University. Not really anywhere to fish close, but nice quite park.
TravelerThis is a real nice small park. Each site has great privacy and has very spacious sites. Close to Eastern Illinois University and lake Charleston which has trails.
TravelerA great little park close to Eastern Illinois university. A great place to camp with family and friends.
Traveler
Stayed here 2 nights on our way to Northern Illinois, easy access off the interstate, sites are spacious, grounds are well maintained, staff was very courteous and friendly, nice lake with trail around it, would highly recommend this place.
Traveler
The best kept secret in Argenta, Illinois. We’re from Arizona and the lush green makes me speechless. The camp spaces are spaced far apart for privacy. The bathroom and showers are immaculate. We can’t say enough about Friends Creek.
GuideThis hidden gem of a campground is very quiet and serene - surrounded by tall trees and next to a tall grass prairie conservation area - complete with historic schoolhouse, mowed trails to a nearby creek, gentle rolling hills, trees, birds & wildlife and a small bridge. Best place to stop in central Illinois - 13 miles from Decatur
TravelerI visited Fox Ridge frequently as a student of nearby Eastern Illinois University, but never camped there. We came back to visit campus and stayed in site #12 at Fox Ridge.
All sites were spacious and shaded. We did not use any of the facilities but were impressed with how secluded our campsite felt. Each site is Isolated by trees and growth and the entire camoground is shaded.
There are plenty of trails in the park and things to do in the area. Be sure to check out the Worlds Fastest Soda Machine in Lerna, IL!
LegendIn mid-Illinois a campground waits for you. Well tended grassy sites with an impeccable grassy picnicking area. There was plenty of room in our site but most of the campground is empty. It would feel more crowded when full due to a lack of vegetation between sites. We grabbed a non-electric site but most have electric. The showers/restrooms are centrally located and could be crowded if the camp was full.
We set up and walked some in the trails. The conservation area extends across the road and that’s where most of the trails are. Start at the one room schoolhouse and make your way down wide trails. They aren’t that long but take a few and they add up. Stay on the camp side of the road and you can find large grassy areas with playgrounds and picnic shelters. A few trails are on this side too.
Clinton Lake Recreation area is just down the road if you want to fish or bring some watercraft.
One note: if you reserve a camping spot it’s just to have a site. Specific campsites aren’t reserved. Get here early and you have your choice.
This is a nice mid-Illinois campground!
RangerI have been here hiking many times but camped only 1 time in July of 2017. There are good campsite for both RVs and tent camping with clean restrooms and shower house. The park and trails are usually busy since the park is near the Eastern Illinois University. The no-drinking campground prevents many noisy student campouts. The hiking trails are some of the best in the state because the glaciers dropped of mountains of soil in the area where this park is located. The surrounding farm land is flat as can be, but the forested hills and creek beds in the park are almost mountainous. Bring everything you need for the weekend with you, there are no businesses close to the park. This is a great place for day hiking and a weekend getaway.
Guide
This is a KOA Journey, it is right off the interstate in a nice little town in East Central Illinois. It has full hookup, and electric and water sites.
The ground seems pretty level throughout the entire place so getting your rig setup should be fairly easy. The sites are pretty close together but I expect that at a commercial type campground. The staff was nice and responsive when needed. The playground is old and could use an upgrade along with the recreation room. The pool was nice and well maintained and so are the showers and restrooms. But the shower house does not have AC so keep that in mind.
Overall it’s a nice get away we did stay on Labor Day weekend so there a lot of people coming and going but it worked for us and the kids enjoyed themselves.
Ranger
We have camped here many times and this time was awesome as well. The park is huge and is one of the only state park's in Illinois with horse camping and horse trails. There are 13 horse camp sites and additional trailer parking for about 6 more rigs with tie out posts for riders that will not be camping. There are several miles of horse trails and the area is set apart from hiking trails and the other camping areas. There are hundreds of campsites in this park in addition to the horse campgrounds and the entire area is maintained by the US Corps of Engineers. There are full hookup RV sites everywhere with tons of flush toilet bathrooms and shower houses in each large section. There is also a tent camp area without electricity, these sites are cheaper and there are lake front sites available here too. There is a beach that closes after Labor Day, but there are lots of sites available all year round. There are lots of hiking trails and deer run through the park in herds in the winter months. The hiking is OK in this park and good if you like short 1 to 1 1/2 mile hikes. I recommend visiting in the fall after Labor Day, October when leaves are changing is my favorite time for this campground. Clean restrooms, showers and a small store at the entrance for bait, firewood or forgotten items make this a great place to spend a few days.
Website: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Parks/Pages/WolfCreek.aspx
GuideWe found out that the back loop was not available due to downed trees, but that didn't diminish the stay for us. (Back loop was no electric and normally first come, first serve.)
We couldn't reserve a site because it was March and because of the time of year, and Covid I suppose, so it was first come, first served. You have to put your fee in the envelope provided when you enter the front loop. Reserved campsites were supposed to be posted on the board, but I didn't see a list.
$18 for electric was very reasonable. The restroom near our site, #13, was open, but no lights and no shower. We almost needed it as a tornado shelter the evening we stayed, but the thunderstorms were all we had to deal with.
There is a dump station. We didn't need it.
TravelerWe only live about an hour north of Fox Ridge, so we made a last minute trip down for an extended weekend when the weather was perfect. :) It took a bit of maneuvering to get into our site, due to the trees on each side of the site, but once we got in, we were really happy with the space and privacy. There was a playground for the kiddos across the street, a bathroom a few sites down, and the bathhouse was a short walk away. It was the perfect place to spend a low key fall weekend.
TravelerPrices and availability for sites was easy great hiking trails clean shower and bath houses I recommend trying this campground to anyone.
TravelerWe stayed in Site 20 for 5 days and had a great experience. The hosts at the time of stay were Alice and Jim. Very sweet old couple.
It was very quiet, even during the day. Nobody was too loud or disrespectful. Sites vary in size and some are FCFS (20-32) while the rest are reserved. Site 20 is the largest FCFS available. Site 14 seems to be the nicest and largest site on the grounds and is where we’ll be staying during our next visit.
Women’s bathroom was in good shape. Kept clean but stained due to age. Women’s vault toilet is fine, but spend the extra 5 minutes and walk to the actual bathhouse if you can.
Cell coverage for Verizon was 1 bar consistently, 2 bars occasionally. Fine for basic tasks but don’t expect to game or stream HD video.
ScoutThis is this is a beautiful Campground. All the sites are perfect there's not one bad site in this Campground. The camp host is very friendly and goes above and beyond to help you with all your needs.It is dog friendly and people friendly!
RangerWill definitely stay here again. Not that far off the interstate 70 and a great campground. Level sites with growies between sites. Cell signal is off and on, but got us through. Pulled in on a Saturday in June and have available sites. $20 per night isn't bad for a nice campground with nice showers and facilities.
Scout2000 acres of lush park. Good paved road, big sites, but unfortunately all back in sites. No pull throughs. After unhooking our car, here was plenty of room for our 31 ft motorhome, slide, awning and all. Good water. Great host and staff. I really recommend this campground for a real restful stop.
ScoutStopped here for lunch and stayed about an hour. Easy to find, multiple shelters with grills. Some light paths and a playground.
ScoutWhen asked why I couldn't put up a small fence for my dogs he went to great details to tell me why dogs had a bad rep in his park. When I said it wasn't on the website he got extremely angry, came close to attacking me and thru me out of his park and called the police. Don't stay there if you have pets.
ScoutSeeking academic essay help is common among students striving to meet their writing requirements. When considering options, exploring services like https://www.writingpapersucks.net/speedypaper-com-review/ can offer valuable support in content creation and meeting academic deadlines.
TravelerThe Casey KOA has a full range of offerings typical of camping/RV resorts. Friendly service, Clean restroom/showers and even a pond for fishing.
TravelerWe've stayed here for a few nights in the past. We have peaceful, quiet nights, nice facilities, good Wi-Fi, shade. We always enjoy our stay.
ScoutGreat place for an overnight stay. The new owners couldn't be any nicer. They're working hard to maintain and improve the campground. I had back issues while there and they kept on rearranging their reservations to accommodate us. Even offered to take me to a doctor. Fantastic people.
Traveler
Incredible people who will gladly be your new best friend, super clean, Great Lake to be on, tons of trails to hike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Charleston, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Charleston, IL is Fox Ridge State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 13 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Charleston, IL?
TheDyrt.com has all 13 glamping camping locations near Charleston, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
