Best RV Parks & Resorts near Effingham, IL

There are no RV hook ups but it's a great place for a stop over for a picnic. It has a beautiful lake you can fish or just sit back and let the kids play.

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.

Coles Creek is a nice, large campground located on Carlyle Lake in Illinois. It has full hook up, 50 amp sites with many located right on the water! Although not the most conveniently located campground to stores and restaurants, they are just a short 15 minute drive away.

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.

Rend Lake is a large COE recreation area with 4 campgrounds, some with full hook ups for $28 a night, two dams, 2 beaches, several boat launches, a marina, golf course and a restaurant.  Not all facilities were open when we visited in March.  Hiking and biking trails and close to town for gas and bait.  Each site has a stone picnic table and fire ring.  Showers, bathrooms and  playgrounds in multiple places and convenient locations.  Some sites do have steep grade, originally booked Bluejay 48 and moved.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233504?tab=seasons

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.

We live an hour away in St Louis and park our RV near Boulder because we visit so often. It is very clean, and most of the sites are waterfront or at least have a good view of the lake. The campground is only about 20 minutes from town where there is an IGA and Walmart. All the roads in the campground are paved. This is an Army Corp of Engineers park. Bathrooms and showers are available. Sites are either full hookup, or electric. Many can be reserved online some are FCFS. Boat ramp on site and plenty of parking. We like these parks better than most KOA’s we have visited.

We visit this campground on a regular basis. Large waterfront campsites, full hookup loop, and 4 other large loops that have electric. Nice new bath house for those who need it. This is a COE campground and takes our senior pass. If you are needing a full hookup site, make sure you book early!
Great campground for taking long walks and bike rides.

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/

Stayed at site 6. Had full hookups, plenty of space, lots of shade, and a wonderful view. The site is level and also has a picnic table and fire ring. Overlooks the marina so you can watch boats come and go. Would definitely stay again.

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