Join the fun near Junction. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Junction is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Find the best campgrounds near Junction, IL. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.
"On a gravel road, in the back country like most everything else on this side of Illinois , fill your gas tank up and your food locker or you will be driving back out a ways to refill. "
"There was potable water from a spigot and lots of kindling around to get fires going. No showers. Over all a nice site. I would stay there again."
$8 / night
"There is a dump station and potable water at the entrance to the campground. There are also some water spigots sprinkled throughout the campground."
"This was a great campground with fantastic views of the lake.
We also hiked Garden of the Gods and Burden Falls in the Shawnee National Forest. The hikes were great."
"Campground is smaller but the sites are spread out well, most have fire ring with grill stand and table, firewood available to gather onsite when I was there, vault toilets, right on the river so may be"
"There is a pit toilet, but no water. "
"The tent pads are right by the water, offering stunning lake views. Each site comes equipped with a fire ring, picnic table, and access to toilets—everything you need for a comfortable stay."
"Lake mauzy is very quiet. No hookups but if you want to boondocks this is a great place."
"Great fishing, 15hp motors allowed on the lake. Lake side camping spots available. Cabins are nice, FYI No mattress, bring your own."
"Beautiful lake."
$18 / night
"There are a lot of hiking trails and we really enjoyed them all! The tent camping accommodations were less than stellar, simply because of the “outhouses “."
"It was easy to find firewood with out having to go very far, becareful there is a good amount of poison ivy. The only trail I hiked was Happy Hollow."
"Beautiful spot with easy access and not far off the highway"
"Lake Egypt so peaceful and relaxing ."
"Not a lot of tent sites, but enough. Nice wooded primitive sites with easy access to water and toilets. Had my pups with, and no problems at all. Nice trails for different hiking skill sets."
"Ferne Clyffe State Park is in the Shawnee National Forrest near Goreville, IL., south of Carbondale."
LegendPrimative camping at its best. This is heavily used in the summer and early fall. Picnic tables and fire rings, vault toilets. Go in the off season and you will have plenty of privacy. Fairly level tent sites , some with nice trees for hammocks. Close to Little Grand Canyon, a really neat natural bridge, and Illinois wineries.
Legend21 campsites with a fire ring/barrel, lantern post and picnic table. A couple of the campsites had damaged fire rings. Most sites should be able to fit medium size trailers, other sites have trees in the way. Vault toilets and a water station. Very quiet, clean and peaceful. Trail system is about 8 miles and has great views. Don’t forget to bring your swimming suit!
TravelerThis is an amazing spot for free camping! The tent pads are right by the water, offering stunning lake views. Each site comes equipped with a fire ring, picnic table, and access to toilets—everything you need for a comfortable stay. Despite its remote feel, Walmart is just a 12-minute drive away for any last-minute supplies. We would have loved to stay longer, but incoming storms cut our trip short. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a peaceful and scenic getaway! No electricity or showers!
TravelerThis camping spot is just down the road from Southern IL’s Garden Of the Gods. There were 12 camping areas. Plenty of room and trees for tents and hammocks. Also, there is a good amount of shade so if you tent in the right spot you don’t wake up roasting from the sun. The campsites have a lot of room so your neighbors don’t seem like they are on top of your site. The spots include a picnic table, hanging poles for trash or lantern, and a fire pit with movable built-in grill. The area is very wooded so unless the ground is wet you can find lots of firewood. There is a drinking water pump at the entrance of the campsite but it’s pretty chlorinated. There is no shower or running water and the toilets are pit style; but there are toilets. I don’t know if other sites had this but ours had 2 trails leading right out of the woods. Great for close to home hiking.
P.S. Beware of tailless raccoon at site 12 that likes to steal Doritos.
GuideThis campground area is beautiful! We stayed here 3 nights. We arrived on a Thursday and there were plenty of open spots. Friday they open some of the other loops up for more people to stay and it did fill up for the weekend.
You can get some cell service but only in choice areas (at the front by the water spigot and some of the roads leading down to the lake. We were not able to get any cell service (Verizon, AT&T, or T Mobile) in the electric loop.
This area is a primitive area and is not really set up for RVs. Don't get me wrong... RVs can definitely fit in most of the camping spots but only 1 loop has electricity, there is no sanitary dump station, and the water spigot does not have a way to hook up a hose to fill your tank. If you dump your tanks and fill with fresh water before coming you should be good.
It does have vault toilets... no showers. The toilets were very clean for vault toilets.
The lake area is beautiful with a swimming area, fishing pier, and pavilion to eat or sit under for shade. It looks like they really keep the area cleaned up!
Another little note that we learned is that the park rangers can help you move sites... or even campgrounds if your site is not working for you so you don't loose out on money like we did. This only applies to other Shawnee campgrounds of course but there are quite a few to choose from!
LegendI arrived on Friday around 2:30pm hoping to get a spot but unfortunately, all spots were already taken (about 10-12). The vault toilet looked decently clean and all sites had a nice fire ring, picnic table and hanging hooks. Some sites were closer together than others but would work for a night or two to enjoy the beauty around! Little picnic area just around the corner and about .5 from several awesome hikes!
GuideI actually didn't end up camping here because it looked like a rock site. I maybe saw two tents, everyone else in big RV's. If you are doing tent camping I would look elsewhere. I might've missed an area that was more tent friendly but I didn't see it. I would do primitive with a tent probably.
GuideThe sites are nice and level. Quiet in the area. Picnic table and fire ring at every site. Park offers firewood. Pond for fishing so bring your poles. It's catch and release. Manager is very friendly and accommodates you as possible.
GuideThis campground has a great view of the lake. It’s well-kept and the site has nice spacing in between. The shower house and rest rooms were clean and well-kept. There’s a biking trail the we also used as a walking trail. Beautiful scenery along the way. Most sites are level but ours (#90) had a drop off between the drive way and the picnic table/fire ring. We had to use blocks so our camper stairs would reach the ground. We suggested they build that up.
Tent camping near Junction, Illinois offers a serene escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a peaceful retreat.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Junction, IL is Camp Cadiz Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 13 tent camping locations near Junction, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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