Best RV Parks & Resorts near Charleston, 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.

Amazing family owned camp. Full hook ups 50/30 and pull through. Super easy to get to from the highway. Super friendly and amazing service from the time you pull up till the time you pack up and leave. Level sites. Very peaceful and quiet at night. I 100% recommend.

There are  81 sites in total, 17 tent with electric, 17 full hook up  and the remaining are electric RV sites. There are 6 water hydrants in the park that make it easy for all not water sites to fill up with their hose.  There is a dump station, boat launch and fish cleaning station.   There is one main shower and bathroom house with a second bathroom only site.  There are porta-potties at each of the three tent groupings.  There is a children's playground and trails to walk toward the lake and fantastic views.

If you don't care about full hook up, try for the sites 39 to 46 and 11 to 34 that offer more privacy.   We were in spot 11 that is  right next to the shower house, but faces away from it and your view is trees and the lake. 

Less than 10 minute drive to the town of Shelbyville and the US Army Core of Engineer Visitor Center and dam.  Lots of great fishing around and several marinas if  you don't have your own boat.

This campground has a dog park and beautiful views, but the sites are very crowded.  There are full hook up sites and electric only.  If you like the party atmosphere, this place is for you.  If you like a more spread out and quiet park, look at Lithia Springs or Opossum.  Your park pass from any COE campground will get you in.

Photos view from dog park.

This campground is well spaced and offers both privacy and full hook ups.  In addition there is a marina in walking distance and it is a short drive to the Dam Project Office and Visitor Center.

This campground is great proximity to I-70 for an easy on/off the interstate and just outside of downtown Terre Haute (approximately eight miles). The park is nice and shady with large trees. When we were there in November, there were very few other campers and most appeared to be transients there for just one night. With all the amenities in this place there is probably a lot going on in the summer. Downtown Terre Haute has plenty of activities including live music, sporting events, museums, restaurants, and historic sites.

RV sites are pull thrus and back-ins that vary from 50 amp full hook-up with deluxe patio to 30 amp water/electric. All sites were level. There are definitely sites big enough for big-rigs with tow vehicles so you don’t have to unhook if you are just stopping for a night. Water, sewer and electric hook-ups were well-placed and easy to reach. In addition to the RV sites, there are kamping cabins with deluxe accommodations (including air conditioning, kitchens, and bathrooms) capable of sleeping up to 6 people to rustic cabins without bathrooms. Tent sites are available as is a “teepee.”

Amenities at the park include: swimming pool, camp store (with fire wood), full service restaurant (May – November), propane fill, bike rental, basketball courts, playground, horseshoes, petting zoo, and coin laundry. The restroom and shower house was clean. There is a dump station located at the exit of the park. Our Verizon 4G phone and hotpsot had great service. Our antenna picked up about two dozen television channels

If you have a dog, there is an off-leash dog park and you are free to walk dogs around the property and there is a long road leading into park. The only problem we had with the park was that some of the trees were not trimmed and the roads where narrow and would rub against our RV.

Our second time staying here we had site #2 waterfront pull through with full hook up and shaded till late afternoon. The sun sets behind the camper. Very nice clean restrooms, laundry room and a area you can grill in using their grills. We had pizza in their bar it was locally made chicken, bacon, ranch and Butch’s sweet hot sauce. Good music on the jukebox.

Sites 1A and 19 are nice 19 has a deck. There are nice paved sites too.

We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed the place.

We stayed 1 night years ago in a spot that was close to the lake. They have a store with a bit of supplies and a bar that has slot machines. We went in for drinks and pizza it was nice to not cook or worry about food. We took a walk along the lake and sat on a bench watching people fish.

I would stay here again actually were staying here again this year on the way to and from our summer trip. We reserved a spot on the waterfront this time #2.

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.

I have camped here in a motorhome with full hookups and tent camped as well.

The camp sites are divided into many loops and have side pullin sites and backin sites. The RV and tent sites are grouped in the same loops and there are many that have trails from the site right to the lake and people leave the boat near the campsite but still on the water. The restrooms and shower houses are clean as all the Lake Shelbyville campgrounds are maintained by the Corps of Engineers. This campground is very busy in the prime camping season, but if you are camping with a group and have a boat this is the place to go. There are several buddy sites here that are set up very well for groups of RV's and tents camping together. There are a few isolated sites on corners of loops, but most are fairly close together. There is a swimming beach here and lots of boat traffic, but quiet hours are observed, so you can get a good night's sleep before an action packed day on the lake. The fishing is good if you have a boat, but there is very little bank fishing areas available. Part of the campground is open after Labor Day, but the main season is Memorial day to Labor day.

The Lithia Springs recreation area near Shelbyville, IL. On Lake Shelbyville has so many things to offer. This is one of my favorite places on the lake for boating, swimming and group camping. There are 105 campsites and they fill up with reservations in the spring and summer months, I would recommend reserving a site on line at: https://www.recreation.gov .

The campground is run by the Corps of engineers, it is well cared for with clean shower houses and restrooms. There is a boat ramp, picnic areas, a small swimming beach and very nice lakeside campsites. Half the campsites have electric hookups and water near the sites, the other half now have full hookups and 50 amp service. It is recommended to fill your tanks as you enter so you won’t need to get water during your stay for the sites on the point, those do not have full hookups. I tent camp when I stay here now, but have camped here with a motorhome and filled up when I entered and dumped when I left for a long weekend.

All sites have picnic tables, fire rings with grates and most also have a lantern stand. Most sites have a decent amount of room between them and there are some buddy sites where you share a large table cooking area and park facing each other. There are flat areas for tents and you can have two tents as well as an RV on each site.

The marina here is great with boat gas, fishing equipment, bait, snacks and other items you might need in a pinch. They also rent fishing boats and pontoon boats so you can go on a boating excursion while camping here for a price.

There are also cabins and motel rooms with a kitchen near the park entrance if you have a desire for that kind of lodging. See the links below for that.

http://gregorysresortmotel.com/

http://www.lithiaresort.com/

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