Looking for an adventure where you can explore Collison and then fall asleep in your tent? Finding a place to camp in Illinois with your tent has never been easier. Each spot offers quick access to one or more of Collison, Illinois's most popular destinations.
$25 - $40 / night
Traveler
How about doing a fact che k before giving bad info? It states in the very first section telling about the park that ALL CAMPERS MUST OBTAIN A PERMIT FROM THE CAMP HOST OR RESERVATIONS, but on the pro section you tell us that we don't need a permit. You know hmmmm I just got a warning g ticket from AC DNR for camping without A PERMIT FACT CHECK YO SHIT, DO YOUR JOB
Scout
Lovely little campground with its own little lake. Well maintained. Clean laundry. Friendly and helpful owner. Visible presence throughout campground checking that all is well.
Guide
Stayed here recently and overall the trip was a 10, but as for the campground itself there are somethings that could definitely be better.
First, for all intents and purposes the sites are not marked. At some point years ago they stencil painted the numbers both on the concrete parking block and on the ground near the entry pad for each site, but obviously over time most of these are worn away. It's very difficult to find your actual site, even during the day when it's not busy. At night, or with a campground full of people - not a chance. Even more perplexing is why it's still like this when it's so easy to fix.
Second, on the back loop, where we were, almost every car we saw was going the wrong way around the loop. I've never seen this before and wasn't just one car. There is a sign at the start of the loop indicating it's one direction, so not sure why this happens.
Third, they have a camp store at the entry to the family campground, but it was never open in the time we were there, which was Friday / Saturday / Sunday, during the summer, so not sure what the situation was.
Fourth, while the campground does have functional flush bathroom and shower, they only have one, and the rest are pit toilets, so depending on how far your site is from the building, it could be a very long walk, especially at night.
The front gate to the park did have covered firewood, but the hours of the gate operation were not clear. The sites themselves were fine, but not particularly deep, and some are basically completely exposed to all the foot and vehicle traffic going to the toilets, the dumpsters, or just driving around, so basically zero privacy.
We did drive into Crawfordsville, which took about 20 minutes, and it was very nice with a local college (Wabash) and plenty of retail options to restock, grab a cold beverage, or refill the tank before driving home.
Would I stay here again, yes 100%, but be prepared and plan ahead. Would I recommend this to others? Meh.
Legend
Shade, grass, and gravel sites. A lot better than most KOAs. They ask that you not put outdoor rugs on grass; no problem as grass is nice. Sites 1-10 are your best bet for Starlink if that’s what you have; best opening through tree canopy of the northern sky. Pet friendly; counted three cats and a dog in the office when I checked in. Was given the option of choosing my site out of the seven available for my reservation. A mix of long term residents and travelers; some of the long term resident sites were a little junky.
Scout
People are very nice and the campgrounds are clean. Plenty of site room and clean and updated shower and washing machines. Rates have gone up to $40 per night
TravelerMy mistake for not researching this place further but it was listed on the dyrt’s free camping sites, but this is a paid/reservation based site. Unfortunately we arrived passed check in (which starts at 3pm) and couldn’t stay here for the night
LegendOur Garmin RV GPS’ conflicted with our new Ford RV navigation, wanting to take us a more direct route and Garmin through town to this city park. Either route would have worked but suggest you locate the campground(CG) on the map and verify the route with Google Maps or Waze. Check-in was at the camp host site near where you enter the campground near the shower house building in the center of the CG. After a quick check-in we were escorted to site 13 with FHUs. This site is technically a back-in but our host brought us around by the swing set to make it an easy pull-through. The utilities worked well and we got 3 bars on Verizon. There are a lot of mature trees. They have a nice shower house complete with laundry. This CG was well kept and a great choice for an overnight stay as we headed to our home base near St. Louis, MO.
Guide
We stayed in buddy sites 81 and 82. Buddy sites are large, have full hookup, fire pits, and picnic tables. Lots of dogs around, pricing was about $50 a night per site. Restrooms had showers as well which made it easy to rinse off the mud. Great time all around.
GuideCamp sites in the middle are on the smaller end but side sites have plenty of room. Drive is paved and pretty level. They have tubes kayaks and cannons
Guide
Turkey Run is a fabulous state park with a nice campground. My only complaint about the campground is that many sites are in an open, level area without a lot of trees or bushes between them. You don’t have a lot of privacy. Two sections of the campground, with the higher numbered sites, are much more wooded. If I go again, I will try to be there!
But the campground has two large modern bathrooms that are cleaned regularly. It also has clean well maintained vault toilets throughout the campground. Best of all, from the back of the campground you can access Trail 7, a moderate level trail that leads unexpectedly to a small stream running past a recessed cave. It’s a peaceful spot.
Be advised that a “moderate” hike at Turkey Run can be challenging, with plenty of steps up and down the hillsides. Many of the trails go along stream beds, so you often need to make your way across the rocks to avoid wet feet. Be prepared with hiking boots and sticks.
There are two covered bridges on the edges of the park. Be sure to check them out!
GuideTurkey Run is arguably the most popular campground (and state park) in Indiana and has its pros and cons.
It is definitely designed to accommodate RVs, as the majority of the sites are situated in an open field. There are a few dozen sites that are in “loops” that are situated in shaded areas. Some camp sites have zero privacy while others have a little. Either way, if you’re here on a weekend, you’ll definitely have neighbors close by. You can see the entire campground via google maps street view, just FYI
This is a very family friendly campground and you will see lots of kids on bicycles flying around. I’ve stayed here a few times, and no matter the day of the week or the time of year, there are always lots of kids.
This campground has a raccoon “problem” due to campers having poor camp etiquette and feeding them. They come out of the woods towards dusk looking for food. They will come right up to you without hesitation, so don’t be alarmed if there’s one next to you while you cook s’mores over your fire (ask me how I know, hah). They will take any food that is left out. Do not turn your back to your dinner table at any time if there’s food out.
On my last visit to turkey run (I’ve camped here 3 or 4 times) I arrived to my campsite and someone had left dog food out for the raccoons in little piles all over the place which was super disappointing. Additionally, my neighbors didn’t put their campfire out when they packed up and left.
Perhaps I’m just used to camping in other areas where you have to worry about bears and burning the forests down…But campers here just aren’t as mindful or respectful of the campground.
The restrooms and showers (at least the one I use at this campground) is modernized and cleaned daily but there’s no dish pit/wash room available if you cook. Just be prepared to clean up accordingly and put trash in trash receptacles. There are a few vault toilets in the campground as well.
You can hike from the CG into the state park (highly recommend. It’s gorgeous!) just wear shoes that youre willing to get wet.
Overall, it’s a beautiful state park with a conveniently located campground. It’s not the best campground ever but for Indiana standards, it’s great. Even with my complaints, I always return because I enjoy visiting and hiking through the state park.
Guide
This is a really lovely spot! There’s 2 bars of Verizon service, a shower house with warm water and flush toilets, as well as pit toilets. There are a few hiking trails that leave from the campground as well. My only problem was that it was extremely busy when I visited and some of my neighbors were quite loud (although they quieted down by quiet hours).
Traveler
I stayed by the lake, the spaces there are parallel to the road. Which gives you a beautiful view of the lake. I was there early in April when all the flowering trees were in bloom! Full hook up made it even the nicer!
TravelerI wrote out a 4 paragraph review and somehow it was just completley erased. Will update later.
Guide
This is a lovely campground with large dispersed camp sites. There is an on-site restaurant that has stayed busy, and we are here the second weekend of April. Cafe also sells firewood when in stock and rents out boats and kayaks. John, the host is very sweet! Electric only with a dump station. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained, I like that size of the showers. Fishing is good. A beautiful weekend for our first time here.
Scout
It’s decent—but the bathrooms are most certainly not. Definitely need someone out there at the very least keeping it tolerable for campers.
Traveler
We had a great two night visit right on the creek! Rented kayaks for a 3 mile adventure! Owners are super friendly and helpful. I would advise to camp during the week for a less crowded time. Would love to come back!
ScoutWhile this is always listed among the top Indiana state parks because of its amazing beauty and historic sites, the campgrounds are not up to the same level. The shower houses are old. No sinks, no flush toilets, no solid doors for privacy. Just curtains. So yes, that means put/vault toilets only, and there is no light for a middle of the night visit except the flashlight you will hopefully remember. Other state parks in the area do have modern shower houses. If you are disabled or just prefer better hygiene amenities, camp at Raccoon Lake SRA and take day trips to Turkey Run. I’m not sure of the status of nearby Shades Stare Park comfort facilities since we haven’t camped there yet.
Traveler
15 site campground, must call for reservations. Sites are on the smaller side but the higher number sites (13,14,15) can take larger RVs. Site 8 drops off quite a bit to the back so be sure to have appropriate leveling blocks. Clean, modern shower house.
TravelerI can only speak about the non-electric sites. It was a weeknight so I only saw 2 other occupied campsites in the whole area (did not see the campers though). Being that it was empty it wasn’t bad. If it was full I think it wouldn’t be quite so nice. It’s very open.
TravelerPlace was huge and packed. Really nice and it was quiet to sleep with nice facilities.
GuideBeautiful park. All sites are very close and covered with hard concrete or rocks. Best for RV or pull behind. All sites powered. Not recommended for tent camping.
GuideBeautiful campground located right off I-74! The sites are mostly wooded and relatively level. Clean, spacious shower houses. Only complaint I have are the weeds being quite tall between sites.
GuideTook my son on his first backpacking trip this week and felt like Shades would be a perfect trial run for us together. I don’t think this camp gets enough love as it’s a relatively short hike for most seasoned backpackers. Great for trial runs and gear testing. The trail was (recently) well maintained in sections, but there are spots that are a little weedy. That’s to be expected I think with a park that doesn’t see as much traffic as another well known park in the area (that doesn’t offer a backpack camp). The camp itself was fantastic. It doesn’t boast great views or any scenic points, but it is fabulously maintained and well thought out. Several awesome sites to choose from and we had our pick as the only campers there. Every site had a fire ring and picnic table, with paths heading to the bathroom and water. The bathrooms were pretty much immaculate and the water was great. We didn’t hike in early enough to take the path to play at Sugar Creek, but I won’t make that mistake again. Next time, because there will be a next time, we’ll go earlier for more downtime around camp. So glad we’re close enough we can make this trip again soon! Park entry: $7 Camping fee: $12 With tax our total was $19.84. If you have an IN state park card you can avoid the entry fee.
Scout
No room to fish, can't fish after dark, don't tell you what spots are reserved, no afternoon shade, sits on the highway. And don't even think about a refund even if you're there less than an hour. I grew up camping, I camp very regularly even when it's frosting. I have never in my life even considered one close to a highway but we were trying to stay local and try somewhere new. Rude,crowded,ghetto, inconsiderate and they don't tell you any of the rules until they got your money in the bank. Definitely a MUST AVOID!!!
TravelerWe 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.
Traveler
There are dozens of sites here, drive past the shower house where road bends to the left and down hill. The sites aren’t marked, but are indicated by picnic table and fire ring, though fire rings are not always present. Huge area is reasonably well mowed. This is a lovely space with lots of birds to observe. Not fancy, some updating of infrastructure is due. I would keep this on list as decent stop.
Camping near Collison, Illinois, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a fun family adventure, there are several campgrounds in the area that cater to different needs.
Camping near Collison, Illinois, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. With a bit of planning, you can enjoy the great outdoors and make lasting memories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Collison, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Collison, IL is Lake Waveland Park with a 4-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Collison, IL?
TheDyrt.com has all 3 tent camping locations near Collison, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
