Best Campgrounds in Illinois

This is an incredibly quaint, somewhat out-of-the-way (in a very good way) location that will treat you to a heavy dose of isolation and privacy wherein you’ll feel completely blessed by the nature you will be surrounded by. This incredibly friendly (pet-friendly as well BTW) operation does an excellent job in how it is set up, offering up a few distinct loops that are ear-marked pretty much exclusively for the wheel-toting camping variety (think RVs, rigs, trailers and 5th wheels) providing 59 pull-thru and 12 back-in slots, while also offering up a discreet space flanked towards the front of the property that is simply perfect for mi tent pitchin’ bredren, which is surrounded by mature Oaks. And, just in case you either forgot your tent or RV, Geneseo Campground has 4 super comfy cabins (each sleeps 4 and come with A/C) or an amazing yurt that sleeps 8 that they’ll gladly rent you.

From an amenities standpoint, there’s an amazing kid’s playground, well-stocked camp store, propane refueling station, kayak & canoe rental, gas grill rental, e-bike, pedal carts & fat tire bike rental, full and partial hook-ups offering 30 / 50 electric amp, water & sewage hook-ups. There’s also a meeting room, WiFi everywhere, enclosed dog park, firewood & ice for sale, arcade games, RV dump station, coin-operated washers & dryers / laundr-O-mat, excellent showers & bathrooms, direct access to the Hennepin Canal and don’t forget the 60 or so miles worth of hiking trails!

This place is spacious, very well organized, incredibly clean all the while within a short 10 minute drive into nearby Geneseo, which quite frankly, is one of the most idyllic small towns you’ll come across anywhere in Illinois that is both convivial and provincial, but also quite emblematic of a typical Norman Rockwell painting. What I loved most about this place is that while it doesn’t offer up EVERYTHING that you might be looking for while camping, you only need to head due south to Izaak Walton Park (further south of this spot) or to Geneseo Prairie Park, both of which offer up amazing hiking trails as well as good launch spots to access the Hennepin Canal via kayak and canoe.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you’re reeling, you should expect to catch blue gill, catfish, bass and crappie, and while you can throw your line from the Geneseo Campground property, I would highly recommend you cross the canal to Izaak Walton Park on its east side where there’s a large open canal / lake to cast in; (2) While there’s tons of hiking trails, you don’t want to forget your bikes – there’s 72 miles of biking trails as well as miles and miles of nicely paved empty country roads to pedal on; (3) Maybe you have a kayak or canoe, but in the case you don’t, do yourself a favor and rent one from the good people at Geneseo Campground in which to explore the Hennepin Canal - trust me, you won't be disappointed; and (4) Should you grow weary of eating franks & beans again from your campsite and want to try out some local cuisine, then get yourself over to nearby Geneseo where you can dine out at The Cellar, Sweet Peas Grill & Bar or Geneseo Brewing Company.

Happy Camping!

OMG where do I even start? It’s Illinois. It’s all corn and soy until the actual park which is just a few trees along a very industrialized and ugly river. This was just a stopover and we weren’t expecting much for nature, but it somehow had less than I expected.

Stopped at the office which was closed (4pm on summer Saturday). A sign said to just go set up. There is an initial sign pointing you in the general direction of Whitetail, but then more intersections with no indication of which way to go so you get to drive around aimlessly until you find the right place. Hint: go in the direction of the Lock.

Once we finally found Whitetail, I was getting quite discouraged. In the non-electrical side there is a giant ugly unnecessary lawn in the middle of a loop with sites on the outside of the loop. There is one vault toilet at the very beginning of the loop that would mean probably a 5 minute walk at least to get to the toilet if you’re on the farther end of the loop. The sites are ugly. It’s just weedy vegetation that looks more like a disturbed junk yard or ditch than a nature area.

Our site could have been fully enclosed with shrubs or brush but had a large opening to the next site, so no privacy. But there was almost no place to put our small tent, especially since, at the end of a very long trip, our pads no longer stay inflated and we need somewhat flat ground under our them.

The “fire pits” are weird like fireplace insert things and so previous campers have built fires on the ground all over. The vegetated area surrounding the site was covered in litter. The “fire pit” was completely full of someone’s garbage. I wish I had taken a picture before leaving. There were shingles, a charred baking pan, other garbage, and even a 10 foot long metal furniture thing? Idk what it was but the campground is clearly not managed at all or they would have cleaned that stuff up. There was a bunch of fishing line strung from the trees as if people were using it to hang things and then just left it there?

The good thing is that there was cell service so we used it to book a hotel room and left immediately. Wasn’t able to successfully cancel my reservation. You have to call the park directly to do that and I don’t know if they are ever actually open for that.