Best Camping near Clayton, IL

Looking for the best campgrounds near Clayton, IL? Clayton is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Clayton, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Best Camping Sites Near Clayton, IL (67)

Showing results 1-10 of 67 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Clayton

Recent Reviews in Clayton

179 Reviews of 67 Clayton Campgrounds


  • Stuart O.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Nauvoo State Park Campground
    Nov. 13, 2024

    Nauvoo State Park Campground

    Late season option

    We stayed in mid-November when a lot of places are closed. They had electricity and the dump station was operating, but the water hookups were shut off and the bath house was closed for the winter. Water was available at a hydrant across from the bath house, but lacked a garden hose thread, so you could only fill water jugs. The roads are very narrow and in need of repair. Fee was $18.

  • David F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Jim Edgar Panther Creek - Family Campground
    Sep. 2, 2024

    Jim Edgar Panther Creek - Family Campground

    JIM Edgar Panther Creek S.P.

    Praire Lake Campground has 3 facilities on the lake. FAMILY camp for Rv, Tentand cabins. 1. 84 sites with Electric or 19 have FHU. 2. Primitive Camp has seven three-sided shelters to camp near or in for a fee of $6 per night 3. Group camp area. A separate location has the equestrian campground, Questing Hills, with 51 electric sites.

  • Frank H.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hickory Haven Campground
    Jul. 22, 2024

    Hickory Haven Campground

    Great Tent Camping

    Level grass tent sites. Shade of trees. Electric outlets at sites. Water accessible. Bath house kept very clean. Plenty of hot water for showers. Picnic table & fire ring at site. Economical. Laundry. Ice bags available. Picnic shelter with sides, 3 picnic tables, small mini fridge, electric lights & outlets, ceiling fan, portable fan, water and deep sink available for campers to use.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Driftwood Campground & RV Park
    Jun. 18, 2024

    Driftwood Campground & RV Park

    Nice family owned csmpground

    At one time this campground was a KOA campground so if you are familiar with KOA, you know the basic layout. We stayed here in our tent and while the tent area was closed for receding new grass the owner let us stay in a grassy area under the trees near the office. It was a great stsy and the restrooms and pool were nice and clean. We enjoyed ourselves and cooled off in the hot weather.

  • Rayn C.
    Camper-submitted photo from Spring Lake Park - Macomb
    Jun. 17, 2024

    Spring Lake Park - Macomb

    Just lovely so spacious and clean. Gorgeous view of lake from cabins.

    Friendly staff. Kayak and Pontoon to rent. Trails go all over the entire park! Clean showering facilities. Our furnished cabin faced the lake it was an incredible view.  We had fun fishing and sitting by the campfire in the evenings. Overall definitely worth the 5 stars!!!! Thanks Ryan and all of the staff out there! We will revisit soon.

  • Amanda B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Ranacker Conservation Area
    Apr. 15, 2024

    Ranacker Conservation Area

    Definitely off the beaten path!

    This place was in the middle of nowhere. There is a shooting range and it seemed to have several trails. Camping wise, there was one vault toilet and a large open field. It looked like there were a couple of spots where people had a fire in the past. We did not stay, we went on down the road to vandalia community lake instead.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Anderson Lake SFWA
    Apr. 6, 2024

    Anderson Lake SFWA

    Simple yet beautiful & peaceful.

    We have been here 3 Xs over the pas years as a stop over while traveling. They only have vault toilets, but clean. This time no water due to water break.issue. just a nice place on a beautiful lake. Nice for bird watching.

  • David F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Primitive Campground — Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area
    Nov. 30, 2023

    Primitive Campground — Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area

    State Park away from busier Illinois

    https://camp.exploremoreil.com/ 84 electric RV sites all reservable except 21 First Come sites. 18 sites are full hookup. Several 50 amp sites but majority are 30 amp. Modern Shower house and 7 Vault toilet buildings. Newer Campground so Shade Trees are smaller still. Have camped here 4 times past 3 years. Like the quite agricultural Illinois environment but suggest shopping for your needs prior to leaving larger cities as most of the few small towns are limited to a Bar and Dollar store.

  • Sam H.
    Camper-submitted photo from Rodeo Park
    Nov. 16, 2023

    Rodeo Park

    Perfect for a work trip

    I stayed at the RV section right next to the rodeo arena. Full hookups for only $20 per night with a self-service registration box. I forgot to count but looked like maybe 20 spots max. I was here mid-November in town for work and there was no more than four other campers at any point. Pretty basic surroundings though. There's barrel trash cans, didn't see a dumpster. Didn't see any toilet or shower buildings. Hardly any trees near the sites. Decent playground close by though, and a heavily wooded park with trails beyond that.

  • L
    Camper-submitted photo from Siloam Springs State Park Campground
    Oct. 30, 2023

    Siloam Springs State Park Campground

    Hidden Gem of Illinois...

    This site was so much better than what I was expecting! My friend, Kari, her 3 Doodles, my Beagle, and I camped out the first night in the group section, because there's hardly anyone there and we got there too late in the day to actually start hiking. In the morning, we loaded up our packs, put the little packs on the dogs (they have to carry their own food and water), and headed up the Red Oak Backpacking Trail. I don't know if we started at the beginning or not, but we parked by a little wooden bridge and the hill to start off our adventure kinda kicked my ass a little bit. After we made it up the initial incline, the landscape was beautiful and varied from flat areas to valleys and some creeks (which I was very thankful for after a few hours in 90° and 25 lbs on my back). We ended up setting up camp at a spot we thought was nice just before it got dark, because we didn't know where or how much further the primitive hike-in campsites were. The next day, we figured it out, but we wouldn't have made it there before dark. Towards the end, there were stairs built into the earth that were way too difficult to manage when your legs are jelly and your pack is heavy, so it was almost easier trying to take the side of the stairs and make your own little path, so just a heads up there. We had so much fun the whole time and I can't wait to go back for some snow camping later this year (they are open year round)!!!

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Dupont Reservation Conservation Area
    Oct. 21, 2023

    Dupont Reservation Conservation Area

    Lovely camground along the banks of the Mighty Miss

    It’s actually the Ted Shanks Conservation Area. Dupont is a bit further north, no camping there that we saw.

    . All sites fronting the river, shaded by trees. Mix of campers, fishermen and hunters. A few trains at night but not many. Vault toilets. No tables, no fire rings.

  • Sonia  Nathan B.
    Camper-submitted photo from Buena Vista Farms Campground
    Sep. 4, 2023

    Buena Vista Farms Campground

    Nice and Quiet

    If your looking just to get way and relax or go explore Jacksonville or Springfield you can get there in 40 minutes.

    The wifi isn’t strong enough to reach back to where we were but that was okay, I guess we didn’t need to watch tv anyways.

    You can still here some cars because of the highway but it wasn’t like really crazy. The part is a decent size if you don’t want to hear traffic go further in the back.

    Terry the owner she is super nice and friendly you would want to come back just for that alone.

    The wifi isn’t so strong but i guess we didn’t need to watch TV. If you don’t want to hear the traffic I suggest getting a spot in the back. The part is a decent size we really didn’t hear it until the morning so by that time it getting up and getting ready to go and explore. You can hit Springfield in bout 40 mins or downtown Jacksonville in 15.

  • MickandKarla W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Mark Twain Cave & Campground
    Aug. 26, 2023

    Mark Twain Cave & Campground

    Accommodating Staff

    Coming into Hannibal, the RV GPS wanted to take us around town up to I-72. Had we been on our toes, we could have turned right at the“campground sign,” making our trip a bit easier and shorter. We came into the campground(CG) and resort area with some other campers. There was plenty of parking, and we checked in at the gift shop where you can purchase cave entry tickets. Our friends had come in the day before and told us that our reserved site E-05 was long enough for our new 40’ 2” Brinkley Model G, but we would need to park our F-450 elsewhere. Our friend suggested F-17, which was an easy back-in. F-17 was available, and was actually cheaper, so we saved$6 on the back-in site. The office folks here were very nice and accommodating, as we had expected to arrive the day prior with our friends, but due to loading up our new rig, we arrived a day late. The nice people at the office helped us work out this situation plus changed our campsite when we arrived. We proceeded to F-17 and settled down for our first camping night in our Brinkley. The F area back-ins are fairly new, with few trees to block the satellite. The older pull-throughs have mature trees and a lot of shade, so satellite would be spotty depending on the site. The water and electric are towards the back of the site, with the sewer in the middle. The water pressure was good. We got one bar on Verizon, and the CG WiFi worked better than average for a CG this size, but we were here for just an overnight from Monday to Tuesday. We were told that this private CG fills up on the weekends.

  • Cyndy & Selena R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Silo Access Area - O’Neil Creek
    Jul. 31, 2023

    Silo Access Area - O’Neil Creek

    Great quiet location ON the Mississippi River

    Very impressed with this beautiful location. The site is right on the Mississippi River!

    There are 13 sites for RVs and Travel Trailers. Three sites are curved to pull in and out easily. Site 13 is large enough for 2 RVs. There is a large boat ramp. The area is freshly paved and undergoing reforestation. However, there are a lot of trees. No water, no electrical hookups, and no bathrooms. There is 1 small trash bin. Mosquitoes are prevalent.

  • AThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Spring Lake Park - Macomb
    Jul. 17, 2023

    Spring Lake Park - Macomb

    Awesome campground

    Always a great experience at spring lake. Fishing, boat rentals, convenience store and shower house are all great. Beautiful and we’ll maintained.

  • Ray & Terri F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Pittsfield City Lake
    Jul. 14, 2023

    Pittsfield City Lake

    Nice small CG just above the lake

    We have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow and stayed in site 33 for just 1 night in late June. This is a relatively small CG, 33 sites, and there were only a handful or so of sites available when we arrived on a Friday afternoon and they do not accept reservations. The showers were clean and hot. The electric and water hookups on some sites, at least ours, was at the back and on the wrong side. Our electric cord just reached the post. AT&T coverage varied, with 1-2 Bars of LTE service and speeds between 0.4 and 3.5 MB/s. We had a clear view of the southern and northern sky, so we were able to get DISH coverage on all three western satellites at our site and Starlink had speed up to 12 MB/s.

  • AThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Driftwood Campground & RV Park
    May. 13, 2023

    Driftwood Campground & RV Park

    Super Clean, Super Helpful

    I tent-camped at Driftwood during a bike tour along the Mississippi River Trail. The showers and restroom were impressively clean. The hosts could not have made me feel more welcome.

  • Gamer Fortnite K.
    Camper-submitted photo from Whispering Oaks Campgrounds
    Nov. 8, 2022

    Whispering Oaks Campgrounds

    Pompous A$$holes

    This campground use to be a great place to camp until it got new owners. They no longer offer tent camping and they completely shut it off from the public. My family has been going there for generations including having family reunions there. That place helped so many parents and kids get thru their summer breaks. Now you can't step foot on the property without having rented an rv spit.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Buena Vista Farms Campground
    Oct. 24, 2022

    Buena Vista Farms Campground

    Has potential

    Based on other reviews, we drive to the campground with intentions of staying the night. l talked with the owner over the phone to see about booking a site as we were getting in late. $50 per night and she would give 10% discount for Dyrt members. She said there were lots of sites open late in the season.

    Upon driving in, we saw sites on a large paved pad near the road with hook ups. Drive past the check in to see if there were sites that were off the road due to the road noise. Even though it was a bit off of the interstate, the noise from the highway was awful. The prairie land is flat which lends itself to easily traveling road noise. The road coming in was gravel, with some potholes. It has potential, but felt like a drive in theatre upon entering. We ultimately drove 30 more minutes to Jim Edgar Panther Creek WA for $20/night.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Primitive Campground — Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area
    Oct. 23, 2022

    Primitive Campground — Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area

    Great Friendly, Family Park

    We certainly didn’t expect the Prairie Lake Campground to be full in late October! Both loops were full, but there was just enough space for us to squeeze in for 2 nights! (A few spaces seemed to be filled with deer hunters who were up and out quite early.) Site has electricity with water centrally located in the center of the loop. We needed a 100 ft fresh water hose to fill up. Luckily a friendly neighbor had one for us to borrow! Nice warm bath house had push button showers with locks on the stalls with a dry space to dress inside the stall. Lake has boat dock with about 6 slips. The point on the lake was a beautiful setting for a fall wedding on Saturday! Lots of families with kids riding bikes around the loop and some playing wiffle ball in the open field. Each spot had a picnic table and fire ring. Our spot, #78 sat under a tree with great shade. Bagged ice is available at 1st host site for $4 and a bundle of firewood for $6

  • Paul B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Mark Twain Cave & Campground
    Sep. 28, 2022

    Mark Twain Cave & Campground

    Exploring Hannibal

    Stayed here 2 nights, while we explored Hannibal. The campground is large, but half empty when we stayed. It meet our needs, always love having WiFi. My biggest complaint would be only 2 washer/dryers (one which was broken). The cave tour is interesting, but a little expensive. I would stay on the main street of Hannibal to see the Mark Twain sites, rest of the city is seedy



Guide to Clayton

Camping near Clayton, Illinois, offers a mix of beautiful nature and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a family-friendly adventure, there are several campgrounds to explore.

What to do:

  • Hiking: Enjoy the trails at Siloam Springs State Park Campground. One visitor mentioned, "The trails are pretty well marked and are best in mid/late fall or early spring."
  • Fishing: Many campers love to fish at Wakonda Lake Campground. A reviewer noted, "Great for fishing. There are also full hookups."
  • Kayaking: Rent a kayak at Illinois Spring Lake Park. One camper shared, "We had fun fishing and sitting by the campfire in the evenings."

What campers like:

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate the cleanliness of the restrooms and showers at Ray Behrens Recreational. A visitor said, "Bathrooms and shower house are cleaned regularly."
  • Spacious Sites: Many enjoy the large, well-separated sites at Indian Creek Campground. One reviewer mentioned, "Very wooded campsites but large and spaced apart nicely."
  • Friendly Staff: Campers often highlight the helpfulness of the staff at Mark Twain Cave & Campground. A guest noted, "The office folks here were very nice and accommodating."

What you should know:

  • Reservations: Some campgrounds, like Primitive Campground, have reservable sites, while others operate on a first-come, first-served basis. A camper mentioned, "We certainly didn’t expect the Prairie Lake Campground to be full in late October!"
  • Limited Amenities: Not all campgrounds have markets or stores nearby. One visitor at Indian Creek Campground advised, "Suggest shopping for your needs prior to leaving larger cities."
  • Wildlife: Be prepared for wildlife encounters, especially raccoons at Indian Creek Campground. A camper warned, "Raccoons visited nightly so secure your food supply and trash."

Tips for camping with families:

  • Activities for Kids: Look for campgrounds with playgrounds and open fields. At Primitive Campground, families enjoyed "kids riding bikes around the loop and some playing wiffle ball in the open field."
  • Pack for Comfort: Bring extra blankets and games for cozy evenings. One family at Wakonda Lake Campground mentioned, "The sites are very large and our RV site has a cement pad."
  • Plan for Meals: Consider cooking together over a campfire. A camper at Siloam Springs State Park Campground said, "The pines give great cover when hot and add that familiar pine scent to the whole park."

Tips from RVers:

  • Check Site Levels: Some sites may not be level, so bring leveling blocks. A visitor at Ray Behrens Recreational noted, "Only drawback is finding a level site if you are in a motor home."
  • Electric Hookups: Ensure your site has the right hookups for your RV. One camper at Indian Creek Campground mentioned, "Several 50 amp sites but majority are 30 amp."
  • Stock Up Beforehand: Many campgrounds are remote, so fill up on supplies before arriving. A camper at Mark Twain Cave & Campground advised, "You'll want to stock up before you pull in."

Camping near Clayton, Illinois, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. Enjoy the great outdoors!

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What camping is available near Clayton, IL?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Clayton, IL offers a wide range of camping options, with 67 campgrounds and RV parks near Clayton, IL and 2 free dispersed camping spots.

  • Which is the most popular campground near Clayton, IL?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Clayton, IL is Siloam Springs State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 10 reviews.

  • Where can I find free dispersed camping near Clayton, IL?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 2 free dispersed camping spots near Clayton, IL.

  • What parks are near Clayton, IL?

    According to TheDyrt.com, there are 8 parks near Clayton, IL that allow camping, notably Mark Twain Lake and Mississippi River - Pools 11-22.