Top Tent Camping near Harrisburg, IL
Looking for the best Harrisburg tent camping? Find the best tent camping sites near Harrisburg. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Harrisburg, Illinois's most popular destinations.
Best Tent Sites Near Harrisburg, IL (19)
1. Jackson Falls
20 Reviews•66 Photos•418 SavesJackson Falls offers many opportunities for technical climbing and is a beautiful scenic area of the Shawnee National Forest. It is in the general forest area located east of the small town of Ozark, IL. This non-developed area has a small trailhead with a vault toilet. A short trail leads from the trailhead to the top of Jackson Falls. There are high dangerous bluffs in the area, visitors should be cautious and aware of their surroundings. Camping is allowed here at no cost, since this is part of the general forest area and not a developed campground. Access: A narrow gravel road leads to the Jackson Falls Trailhead, but then the road becomes dirt and deadends past the trailhead.
- Pets
- Fires
- Tents
- Group
- Equestrian
- Standard (Tent/RV)
2. Turkey Ridge Campground — Ferne Clyffe State Park
16 Reviews•47 Photos•9 SavesTurkey Ridge is for campers who want a serene outdoor experience. It is a Class C walk-in campground that includes camp pads, picnic tables, cooking grills and showers. Drinking water and toilets are located near the parking lots.
- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Trash
$18 / night
3. Camp Cadiz Campground
6 Reviews•22 Photos•64 SavesThis campground is the site of an old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work camp. Somewhat off the beaten path Camp Cadiz is usually quiet and rarely do the campsites fill up; with the exception of turkey and deer hunting seasons. The campsites are level and each has a fire ring with grill and picnic table. __Equestrian camping is allowed.__Recreation Area brochure/map
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Group
- Equestrian
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Trash
4. Saline County State Conservation Area
2 Reviews•15 Photos•62 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- ADA Access
- Tents
- Standard (Tent/RV)
$8 / night
5. Tower Rock Campground
6 Reviews•28 Photos•47 SavesLocated along the banks of the Ohio River, Tower Rock Campground offers beautiful scenery and close proximity to water activities like fishing and boating. The 1/4 mile trail can be accessed near the boat launch. Be aware this area is prone to flooding when river levels fluctuate.
- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- ADA Access
- Tents
- Group
6. Hamilton County State Fish and Wildlife
3 Reviews•8 Saves- Pets
- Electric Hookups
- Tents
7. Dutchman Lake Camp
3 Reviews•6 Photos•44 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Group
- Dispersed
8. Backpack Campground — Ferne Clyffe State Park
3 Reviews•10 Photos•2 SavesBackpackers enjoying their commune with nature will appreciate the solitude of the individual campsites in the Class C Backpack campground. Located a half-mile from the Turkey Ridge primitive campground parking lot, these woodland sites have cooking grills, toilets and showers. Water and trash receptacles are available at the Turkey Ridge parking lot. You're reminded to be careful with your fires and to pack out what you pack in.
- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Tents
- Trash
- Drinking Water
9. Buck Ridge - Lake Of Egypt
2 Reviews•1 Photo•8 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- ADA Access
- Tents
- Trash
Showing results 1-10 of 19 campgrounds
Recent Tent Reviews In Harrisburg
489 Reviews of 19 Harrisburg Campgrounds
Rodarius S.
Traveler
Dispersed Campsite Shawnee National Forest
Nice spots on the highway
Love this spot! It's easily accessible by all rig types. Backs up to the open forest and you pull right back onto the highway.
Jonathan H.
Scout
Dutchman Lake Camp
Weeke d at the lake
Great little spot right off the interstate. Lots of nice scenery and decent fishing.
Twan M.
Ranger
Oak Point - Lake Glendale
Stellar Illinois
This is a little gem of a refuge within the Shawnee NF - about 30min from Marion, down a beautiful country road before nestling among the trees around the lake. The drive is paved/gravel the whole way, so very easily drivable for anyone in anything. Plenty of camp sites, both with electric and non-electric, double and single. Bring bug spray - horseflies and ticks. Beautiful lake, beautiful biking trails, etc. Firepits w/ grates are spacious and nice, fees are online. 1 bar verizon at camp, can get up to 3 bars within the area.
Scott B.Ranger
Hilltop Campground
Nice stop
Stopped here for the night driving through the area. Nice campground, clean, safe, and right off the interstate.
JASON L.
Guide
Grayville KOA Grayville IL
Excellent KOA in Grayville I-64
We stayed here on the way to and on the way home from The Kentucky Bourbon Trail. It is a fairly new KOA with so many enjoyable amenities, family fun, food, ice cream, mini golf, full hookups and shady spots if you ask for one. We want to go back and stay at a patio lot with a swing. Staff is friendly and helpful. Nearby services, fuel, farm store, etc.
- EEric W.Scout
Shawnee Forest Campground
Great place to camp!
We stayed 4 days and had a great time. The camp was clean and well maintained. The staff are very friendly and helpful and was more than happy to offer places to visit in the area, places to eat and provide assistance as needed. The trails are paved so we had a nice area to walk (twice around the lake from our site was 3 miles). :) We plan to visit again!
- KarenGuide
Rend Lake Gun Creek Campground
Great
We were on electric only. Wish we had known we could have gotten a senior discount. Very nice campground.
Matthew Z.TravelerDutchman Lake Camp
Road trip break
Beautiful spot with easy access and not far off the highway
- Wil V.Scout
Benton KOA
Loud
1 side is directly on the freeway VERY loud, the other is in between the sewer treatment plant and municipal airport. If you're a light sleeper might want to stay away Full video review on YouTube https://youtu.be/QpuNpA7UVZI
- Denton T.Scout
Union County Fair
Kentucky Bike Ralley
I stayed here and camped for a bike rally. I think you can only camp during an event. And cost is different from each event. Nice place
Brian F.ScoutShawnee Forest Campground
Great and clean!
Great little stop, everything is clean and a fresh shower was refreshing.
- JJames N.Traveler
South Marcum Campground
Great Campground
Only $26 a night for full-hookups is amazing. Cell service for AT&T is marginal at 2 bars LTE. Only issue that I have is that site 49 is very hard to get level in, make sure that you bring extra leveling blocks if possible
Siegfried M.Guide
Cave-in-Rock State Park
Awesome Campground
Was the only one there $ 20 with Electricity, what a Deal Steve is a great Host Also had free Music….. Cicadas
Dante V.GuideOak Point - Lake Glendale
Solar Eclipse Crossroads
We camped here during the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse and it was also the overflow site which at that time was the side of the camp entrance road. Fast forward to April 7,8 & 9 2024 We are again on overflow campground where this time was their group camping site which was much better than the side of the road. The overflow site has 4 unisex bathrooms but no showers (showers are at the main campground) there is dining (open) pavilion with a fireplace and a filtered well water system. We had a blast watching the Total Solar Eclipse.
- JJames N.Traveler
Archway RV Park
Great campground
Sites are nice, although all sites face each other meaning you will be 5-10 feet from your neighbors if you are sitting out front. Full-hookups with only a 50amp connection so if you are using 30 make sure you have a 50/30 adapter. Overall very nice campground, well maintained.
Jon H.Scout
Oak Point Campground
Nice national park campground
Location is everything and this is well in the middle of a great area in Shawnee National Forest. Garden of the gods, Bell Smith springs, Ferne State park, and on and on. You can spend a week here and not see everything.
There are primitive and electric (with water) sites. There are no sites with sewer hookup. There is a dump station at the entrance.Sites are generally level and well kept. Very large rigs (35+) will be challenging, but I've seen them - more towards the front. There are some lake front spots that can be had. Sites are first come and there are no reservations taken. During the week, no problem. Weekends would be iffy.
Large lake with swimming, fishing, kayaking. Also has a bike trail around it - maybe 2 miles.
Shower houses are kept clean, but as of this posting, they need some maintenance work.
All in all, this is a must stop if you want to enjoy what the area has to offer.
Barb N.Ranger
Gun Creek
Blue Jay #49 Water site
Love this state park! Clean, quiet, water views and lots of bike paths to ride.
Steve G.
Legend
Crab Orchard Lake Campground
Excellent Lakeside Campgrouind
Getting there: Easy access off Illinois 13 East of Carbondale
Check in and staff: Campground is now under the egis of recreation.gov& reservations through them are a must. This is new& when planning the trip the website said“first come first serve” so we arrived on a Friday evening(4pm) with no reservation. The sign said RV sites all taken. The host was wonderful! He has been here 9 years and steered us to a nice site for the one night we will be here. The online experience with recreation.gov was not pleasant, impossible in fact. So I had to call. This took quite awhile. Once I got a real live person it was great, and we got our site with no problems.
Amenities: Bathrooms: clean, paper towels& air dryers.
Site: A-35. In the middle of the A loop and therefore not on the water. Still, very nice. After all, beggars can’t be choosers! Sites are somewhat spacious, but not terribly private.
- MMARY K.Ranger
Fern Lake Campground and RV Park
Friendly, well kept, just off I24
This is a convenient and pleasant campground, just off exit 3 on I24 in Paducah. The staff was friendly and walked us to our site and showed us the hookups. He gave us a lovely spot in the shade by the little lake. Have not used the showers yet so can't comment on that. We stayed on a Sunday night. The park was about half full. Seems to be a nice quiet family place.
They are across the street from a Mexican restaurant. There is a liquor store next door. Other businesses nearby.
Noise from the nearby traffic may bother some, but we didn't mind it and it was not loud enough to hear inside our RV.
It is a good place for us to stop on our way from MN to visit friends in FL. Also convenient for visiting the National Quilting Museum. We will stop here again.
- JJ A.Guide
Dutchman Lake Camp
Beautiful Verizon works well
Beautiful little spots as you come in. Quiet and easy to get too.
Tonya B.GuideShawnee Forest Campground
Great Place!
Stayed here on the way to and from Florida (home in Minnesota). Very nice campground. Well maintained, big sites for our 40ft fifth wheel, great sunrise/sunset views, and the bathrooms are very clean and well lite. The gentleman/host that greeted us at the office upon arrival was polite and helpful. Will definitely stay again!
Jake C.Legend
Willow Springs Campground
New to the Dyrt!
Jake from the Dyrt here! We're excited to have this campground on the Dyrt and ready for you to book, check them out and make sure to leave a review!
Logan W.Guide
Giant City State Park
Great trails and well kept campsites
We stayed at Giant City in February on a very cold weekend. It was still a fantastic trip! The campsites, fire pits and pit toilets were well maintained. The shorter trails in the park were beautiful even in the winter. The Lodge also had excellent food and a very cozy feel. Definitely visit the Lodge!!
David F.Guide
Turkey Ridge Campground — Ferne Clyffe State Park
Southern Illinois getaway
Great campground away from roads and noise. Goreville is small local town with grocery store and service station for supplies. South LOOP sites 1-23 are first come sites. NORTH LOOP SITES 24 - 59 Reservable at https://camp.exploremoreil.com/ Some 50 amp sites (4, 6, 18, 32, 36, 38, 47, 48) rest have 30 amp. See map in photos. WATER potable at Dump Station also 5 hydrants scattered amongst camp sites. TENT and Equestrian camps take road to the south west of lake.
Jennifer N.GuideFern Lake Campground and RV Park
Easy booking, pretty lake front
Fern Lake was super easy to book and very inexpensive. The host was easy to access and was happy to show us to our site since it was dark when we arrived. We stayed on site 51 which had a fire pit (we brought our own wood) and very pretty view of the lake. The bathhouse was very close to walk to and the showers and bathrooms were fine. Like most small campgrounds, it was pretty outdated but had the basics. One bummer was that the electrical outlets were not functioning in the bathrooms so I had to leave them with a wet head assuming I could dry my hair in the van, but unfortunately the electric pedestal was not compatible with our 30amp plug. Our inverter doesn’t like the heavy power suck of a blow dryer so I was counting on plugging in. :( Being in the 30’s I was looking forward to dry hair. Oh well.
Stuart O.GuideTurkey Ridge Campground — Ferne Clyffe State Park
Quiet in November
We do most of our RV travel in the early spring and late fall. Ferne Clyffe does not take reservations after November 1, so its first come first served. Payment is deposited in a kiosk near the black water dump site. This was not well explained on the signage or websites, but, at least in mid-November, there were enough experienced campers around to explain things.
Otherwise, Ferne Clyffe is gorgeous. Great for star-gazing. Lots of mature oak and sycamore trees that I'm sure provide nice shade in summer. In mid-November, there's lots of deer hunters, which means it gets quiet early in the evening. Spaces are of moderate size on the interior, and are more spread out on the perimteter.
- TTori P.Scout
Shawnee Forest Campground
Suburb Camping
Came to this campsite with my boyfriend and I as well as our two dogs. We were in spot 51, we have a large 8 person tent and need water & electricity so we rent out RV spots instead of the typical tent spots. When we arrived after our 15 hour drive, someone decided to park in our site. Once they moved we were able to start putting up our tent which was on a hill so we were slanted throughout the night. A family rented out the entire rest of the cul-de-sac, which isn’t the parks fault, but they claimed the pavilion and surrounding area. I would call this more of “suburb camping” because there are hardly any trees for privacy, large open fields of grass, and you are 2 minutes from the highway, food, and gas stations. It is only a single bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower instead of any stalls. They provide WiFi that did not work for us, we had better connection with our cellular data. No garbages anywhere in the campsite, thankfully we had our own garbage bags and tossed it in the dumpster before we left. It was fine to crash for one night, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for an extended period of time.
Guide to Harrisburg
Camping near Harrisburg, Illinois, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. From scenic views to family-friendly activities, there’s something for everyone in this beautiful region.
What to do
- Hiking: Explore the trails at Giant City State Park Campground. One visitor mentioned, "The shorter trails in the park were beautiful even in the winter." Another camper noted, "There are many wineries within a short drive of the camp, which made for a fun afternoon."
- Fishing: Enjoy fishing at Gun Creek. A reviewer shared, "Clean facilities. Self check-in. Golf onsite, clubhouse with food." This campground is perfect for those looking to relax by the water.
- Nature Watching: Visit Jackson Falls for some great wildlife spotting. One camper said, "Great hiking around the area," highlighting the natural beauty of the surroundings.
What campers like
- Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate the cleanliness at Shawnee Forest Campground. One visitor stated, "The camp was clean and well maintained," while another added, "The bathrooms are very clean and well lit."
- Friendly Staff: Many campers enjoy the helpfulness of the staff at Hillman Ferry Campground. A reviewer mentioned, "The staff were friendly and helpful and their store had everything we needed during our stay."
- Spacious Sites: Campers at South Sandusky Campground love the spaciousness. One camper noted, "Well spaced sites. Well worth the money," making it a great choice for families.
What you should know
- Limited Amenities: Some campgrounds, like Redbud Campground at Bell Smith Springs, do not have drinking water or electric hookups. A visitor mentioned, "There is no potable water on site," so be sure to plan accordingly.
- Busy Weekends: Campgrounds can get crowded, especially on weekends. A reviewer at Pharoah - Garden of the Gods Rec Area Campground noted, "Very busy on Fridays and weekends," suggesting a visit during the week for a quieter experience.
- Road Conditions: Some campgrounds, like Jackson Falls, have rough access roads. One camper said, "The road to get into the primitive camp area is long, and just a little bumpy," so a vehicle with good clearance is recommended.
Tips for camping with families
- Playgrounds: Look for campgrounds with playgrounds, like Harmonie State Park Campground. A visitor shared, "There are trails, picnic areas and a boat ramp," making it a great spot for family activities.
- Safety: Choose campgrounds with friendly neighbors and safe environments. One camper at South Sandusky Campground mentioned, "It was very safe and had close restrooms and playgrounds."
- Plan for Bugs: Be prepared for bugs, especially in warmer months. A reviewer at Harmonie State Park Campground noted, "I was demolished by mosquitoes," so bring bug spray.
Tips from RVers
- Check Site Levels: Not all sites are level, so check reviews before booking. A camper at Gun Creek mentioned, "Not all spots are level," which is important for RV setups.
- Electric and Water Availability: Make sure to confirm the availability of electric and water hookups. A visitor at Hillman Ferry Campground noted, "Clean facilities. Not all have water, septic."
- Self Check-In: Many campgrounds, like Shawnee Forest Campground, offer self check-in, which can be convenient. A camper mentioned, "Self check-in. Golf onsite, clubhouse with food," making it easy to settle in.
Camping near Harrisburg, Illinois, provides a mix of adventure and relaxation, with plenty of options for families and RVers alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Harrisburg, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Harrisburg, IL is Jackson Falls with a 4.2-star rating from 20 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Harrisburg, IL?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 tent camping locations near Harrisburg, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.