Best Equestrian Camping near Hanover, IL

If you fancy pitching a tent or parking your RV for the night in an actual horse / farming working ranch environment, which puts you quite close to some pretty amazing river kayaking, somewhat challenging, yet scenic hiking all in a fairly historic area of north central Illinois, then Hansen’s Hideaway may just be the spot for you. Located a good 15 to 20 minutes southwest from downtown Oregon, in 1962 Bill & Evelyn founded Hansen’s Hideaway, which is comprised of 100 or so acres of rich farmland and pastures where you’ll see a good swath of horse roaming freely. Out here, there’s nothing to obstruct your pretty amazing view of the Midwest moonlit sky, apart from the handful of red barns and scattered Oaks that will provide you plenty of shade during a hot, sunny summer afternoon. 

As for the campground, you’ll first look for a sign pointing you to Hansen’s Hideaway while you are driving west on S Harmony Road – and when you see the sign, you’ll want to head due south, passing a few houses, until you will have no other choice but to follow the bend in the road, which immediately reveals the main office at Hansen’s Hideaway. You’ll pass underneath one of those oversized wooden ‘OK Corral’ ranch gates that welcomes visitors to Hansen’s Hideaway, which is a nice touch. The office itself is quite homey with a wood-burning furnace, a number of comfy sofa chairs to sit in along with the check-in desk. The front office also serves as a bit of a market store, although there is not a whole lot here for sale. 

Additional amenities here at Hansen’s Hideaway include: game room / video game arcade, horseshoe pits, covered pavilions with picnic tables, firewood & ice available for sale, designated dumping station, snack bar, fairly decent restroom and shower facilities, kid’s playground, water and electric hook-ups (no sewage lines to speak of) as well as scattered picnic tables, fire rings and BBQ grills. The ‘crown jewel’ amenity at this camping ranch is the man-made swimming pond with a small little beachhead encircling it, which the kids will love. And while you could pitch a tent here, to be fair, this is definitely more of an RV countryside outpost. There are two primary ‘neighborhoods’ or loops here, with the first being just past the main building where you would have checked in at, while the second is further afield and requires you to veer to your left just before reaching the pond and driving about 100 years before reaching 2 oval loops that have RV slots around the perimeter. In all, there’s about 40 slots for RVs in both of these two designated outposts. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) I think the name ‘Hideaway’ is fairly accurate here, as you will find that you are very far away from just about everything, which is great if your goal is to commune with nature, but this also means that you should come prepared with everything you may need during your stay; (2) While there are 2 different neighborhoods to consider parking your RV, the area closest to the main office is definitely the one that is more congested, with sites being quite close to one another and given that the main office as well as the swimming pond are in the vicinity, of the areas to choose from, this is definitely the busier of the two, although it does provide you quicker and closer access to the amenities; (3) If hiking is on the agenda then you should definitely check out nearby George B. Fell Nature Preserve and Lowden-Miller Forest, both of which have some easy-to-medium trails to hike; (4) Should you coming towing watercraft, I would hightail it over to Castle Rock State Park, where on the bend of the Rock River (just look for the overlook signs) there’s a very decent kayak launch that you can depart from and which will take you down river; (5) If you’d like to take to the water in style (and have a good meal at the same time), then check out Maxson Restaurant & Riverboat, which will provide you with an AMAZING view of the Oregon area, but on the river, all while you are throwing some strong martinis back to wash down all that Saturday night prime rib special!; and (6) If you don’t have your sea legs about you and would rather stay on land while trying out the local fare and don’t mind a short 20 or so minute drive back to civilization, I would recommend the deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich with natural cut French fries all while slurping down the chocolate cake shake at Jay’s Drive-In, the Fettucine Rose pasta with shrimp and the most amazing Sauvignon Blanc in the world at La Vigna or fried anything (chicken, catfish, cod, wings, oreos) at Messie’s Bar & Grill in Oregon. 

Happy Camping!

 This is a very large state park located halfway between Mineral Point and New Glarus, both nice visiting destinations in their own right.
It has a large lake with three boat launches, a main one with a motor ramp, a canoe launch near the marshy end, and a fishing pier. There's also a boat rental place run by the nearby Cork Down Saloon. There are no boat-in or lake accessible campsites however.
 The campground is up a long 30 degree hill across from the main launch and Beach/ main picnic area. The sites are more secluded from each other than you'll find at most parks , which is very nice. Beware that some sites are so secluded that they are bi-level. That is, parking pad and then step(s) down to the site. Be sure to check the photos provided when reserving.  There are very nice walk-in sites, but no carts are provided.
the facilities are clean, but there's only one building with running water and showers. Water throughout has a mild iron taste.
There's no playground in the camp area, it's located in a picnic area near the canoe launch that you pass as you com in. Not walking distance, remember the big hill.
 There's an Ice Cream/concession at the east end of the lake with limited hours. Beyond that is the Cork Down Saloon, just outside the secondary entrance to the park. It's your closest option to eat out. Also there is the private Chalet campground (see others for a review) Neither has a view of the lake as they are below the Dam.
A fun place to visit in the area is the Toy Train Barn Museum in Argyle, indoors if you have a rainy day.

Ever dreamt of working / living / camping on an actual working horse ranch?  Then you've arrived at the perfect spot.  As my post from a bit more than a year ago provided quite a bit of detail on this campground, I’m following up on that review by sharing more fotos as well as providing a topline update:

Highlights: (1) Great hiking and kayaking in nearby Rock Cut State Park & George Fell Nature Preserve; (2) Supreme amount of peace & quiet; (3) Authentic feeling like you are actually on a working horse farm; (4) Sites are spacious and nicely shaded; (5) Excellent, well-maintained amenities like a game room, arcade, playground, small swimming pond, clean restroom & showers; (6) Very friendly and welcoming CG staff; and (7) Ample space to wander around and get lost in nature

Lowlights: (1) This CG is very remote; (2) There is nothing nearby to either stock up on supplies or grab a bite to eat, so when you come here, bring everything with you that you’ll need

Happy Camping!

First, once you are here and settled, the rolling hills and man-made lake are truly peaceful. I have camped here for over 30 years, and seen many changes. Unfortunately, this State Park is the hardest hit by the budget crisis. The roads are a pot-hole obstacle course, and the bait shop/boat rental, and restaurant is closed. There are always three campers taking advantage of the Campground Host position, but nine times out of ten, you have to wait until well in to the evening for the one, overworked, ranger to check you in. Surprisingly, the bath house is always clean. Do not plan on mountain biking...the trails are open to everything, and the road apples are impossible to avoid...not a pretty site as mountain bikes do not have fenders. The absolute most annoying thing about this park is that there are "gawkers" that constantly flow from Lena, and zig-zag the entire campgrounds. All Saturday evening, after church on Sunday, and anytime you are outside of your camper, you can expect gawkers driving by at 3mph, staring like the village idiot. The only humor is to stand there and make like you are filming them, or taking their picture...although some seem to like even that...WIERD!!! (None of them have car passes or trailer hitches...or, a life.)