Best Glamping near Machesney Park, IL

Great for the times that we have to work weekends and still want to go camping. We can both drive to work and then come back to relax. Close to some great places for antiquing if you don't want to hike the trails or fish. The only big minus is the full hook ups fill up fast no spur of the moment camping unless it is early or late in the season. The other thing is ALL Illinois State Parks are now enforcing a no alcohol policy even if you are on your own site.

This was an unexpected good find in Illinois. The campground was nice with the standard set up - picnic tables, restrooms, water available. You can follow the road or the trails and make your way to the lake. We didn't go in the lake but we saw people fishing.

The hiking trails were enjoyed often by us. We found one section that had some interesting wildflowers. We paused and turned around when we found the archery area. We suggest keeping an eye on hunting season if you head this way.

We would certainly return in the future.

I drove out here from the Chicago area this last nice weather weekend in October 2020. I haven't been here in years, but as every campground in Illinois was booked-up from everyone getting out during the pandemic, I took a chance on the few walk up sites still available according to Reserve Amereica. They were open, but I took a hard pass. I forgot about the "ford" crossing into the campground. It's where the water crosses the road about a foot high. My husband would have been joining me later, and I knew he would not have been happy seeing that on his motorcycle. The few walkup sites still available were in the Sunny Crest loop. I've never seen so many people camping so close together. The sites all had some form of firepit. Some had a table, but many didn't. There were hundreds of people camping on hilly terrain. It looked like a music festival, only without music and lots of families who looked like they had never been outside before so they were set up about 15 feet apart. Even if the campground would have been empty, all of the tent sites are in the open right next to the next one. Winnebago county forest preserve has a few campgrounds nearby that are much more private. This kind of "camping" is not for me.

Always full on weekends. Popular destination for locals and people from Illinois. 4 stars because it's not the camping in nature experience I am looking for. Lots of noise. Lots of kids. Lots of dogs. It's park area is very nice. Nice playground for kids. Volleyball nets. Lots of picnic tables and grills available. Dogs not welcome in most of the park. More of a party place. But the staff is very active. They clean sites quickly, clean the bathrooms regularly.

We stayed on site 50. We were closer to our neighbors than I'd like, including the campsite behind us. The campsite behind us had a path thru it to get to the bathrooms. There was a thin layer of growth between sites but not much. Our site had a nicely placed tree providing just enough coverage but nothing stayed wet in the rain. We camped in a popup, if we had a tent I think we would have been soaked. Lots of pooling water on the backside. The campground just added new gravel to the sites and asked that all trailers and vehicles stay on the gravel but the gravel doesn't go back far enough for both car and camper to stay on.

The inner ring of the campground are smaller(shorter) sites. The outer ring sites are better for RVs. Except for site 70. That should be tent only because there are 2 trees right in the middle behind the gravel. 50, 69, 74 seemed the best for both shade and sun combo. Site 79 is paved but not marked as handicap because it isn't being maintained as handicap and is not close to the new bathrooms. Not enough sites with electric, however we didn't need it for the weekend.

We stayed in the Turner lake south loop, which has nice and private sites. This is in contrast to Honeysuckle hollow which is open and row after row of RV sites. Fox den and Prairie view loops are nice as well with mostly primitive sites. Be aware that the map on www.ExloreMoreIL,com(where you make your reservations) doesn't show where the restrooms are. In the Turner loop, the pit toilets are next to the path to the fishing pier, while the showers and full restrooms are between Turner and Fox den, there is a short path between sites 60& 61. Facilities are clean and well lit. Fire pits are slightly raised steel troughs with a heavy adjustable grill. This is a BIG park, the campgrounds are two miles from the front gate, and it's a drive to the main boat launch at Maple Grove, where you have access to the Fox River and Grass lake. This location has a huge parking lot for boat trailers, a very well stocked general store with fishing supplies, a cafe, boat rentals and good firewood. To get away from the crowd if you're a canoeist or kayaker it's nicer to leave the park and go back in at Oak Point picnic area and boat launch at the northern border. This will put you on the Fox river with developments to the north(including a bar& grill) or to the south which is all nature. I think the distance by boat between the two launches is 4-5 miles, but I'm not sure, Halfway there you'll meet up with the Goldfinch trail which is the shortest loop and the most diverse in term of flora. There are horse/ snowmobile trails, but no equestrian campground. Chain o' Lakes is one of the busiest waterways in Illinois, with motorboats everywhere in the height of the summer season. We canoe, and both times we stayed there it was October, so I can't tell you how crowded, but the vast number of picnic areas must be there for a reason. An odd thing is that you can hear a Steam Train whistle quite often, this is from Richardson's Adventure Farm in Spring Grove. We don't have kids so we went to Stade's Farm& Orchard(which is also large and kid friendly) because they have an orchard and vegetable market. One last thing, the gates close at 10:PM and there are tire shredders, you can leave but you can't get back in… unless you want to walk 2+ miles in the dark:)

 We came across this one day during a day hike in the Marengo Ridge Forest preserve in McHenry county. It's about 90 mins NW of Chicago. The trails are both wooded and hilly, but there's also a large prairie nature walk. 
The campground has many secluded walk-in tent sites and a variety of sites for other types of campers. Many with elec and some are ADA accessible. The county website doesn't have photos, but does describe the sites well (" suitable for truck camper" "up to 40' trailer") Maximum people per site is ten, so good for family gatherings. Sites are widely spaced, and even the most open ones feel private. The campground is heavily wooded and there is a nearby pond.
 We camped here to spend time at the Railroad museum, 8 mi away, The weekend we were there, the museum was open till 9:30 PM, and the campground closes at 10, so it was perfect for an overnight stay. We had no problem reserving a space with just a few days notice (48 hrs min). There is a friendly host on site, and you can purchase wood in advance when you make your res and they will deliver it to your site. Good wood too, dry and easy to split.
Fire pits are low to the ground, except in ADA sites, so bring your own grill. The pumps have water with a strong iron taste, and the toilets are clean, but only outhouses. There is a dump facility.
Marengo and Union are both nice little towns with some good dining options; Niko's Supper club, Fire & Ice BBQ/Ice Cream and Clasen's a 120 yr old tavern. Cody's Orchard, 3 mi away, has Apple and strawberry picking, great fresh veggies, pies, donuts, cider and jams.

Limited to weekend camping, but spread out private-like tent sites. Camp hosts are super engaged and seem to love being caretakers. Hand pumps for water and well-kept pit toilets. Hiking galore! My "leashed" dog loves this place, as do I.

Camped here on a whim. Amazing area. Super friendly hosts. The only thing I wish was a little more accessible is the website. I didn't know what kind of site I was getting, what it looked like, or if it was a hike in site or not. Turns out mine was, but it was not an issue for me on this trip. Site 30 for anyone interested.

Thomas Woods campground has some great sites, particularly the tent sites. Many of them are set off a short distance from the parking area. I stayed at site 30 which was less than a tenth mile from the parking spot. There are no trash cans at the site, the dumpsite is near the entrance. Most of the roads are one way so after dropping the trash off you must drive all through the campground to get back to your site. The site itself had plenty of room and privacy. The woods are dense and block all views of the neighboring sites. Unfortunately, I think some people think if they can’t see you, you can’t hear them. Every site has a raised pad for a tent. This was very nice. I did track in some of the small gravel into the tent, though. It looks like kitty litter. Not a big deal. It was nice sleeping flat and not sliding off my sleep pad.

Near Marengo Ridge is a bike trail called H.U.M. Trail. It is only 3.5 miles long. From what I understand is they lost funding for the project. The path is paved and offers a scenic forested view. The hiking trails of Marengo Ridge are the true stars of the area. I walked for almost two hours and still didn’t see them all. Some of the trails have wide paths of grass while others are single-track dirt. 

As other reviewers have written, the mosquitoes are insane.  Bring plenty of bug spray!

My website:  https://www.lost13.com/camping/2020/7/13/marengo-ridge

My video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh4TzLzf\_PY&t=1s

I biked to this campground from the Woodstock Metra station. While the highway riding was occasionally a bit harrowing, it was absolutely worth it for the beautiful views and camping here.

I stayed in one of the tent camping sites with a little walk up (parking for a car available about 50 feet away). Nobody else was camping within sight of me, which was nice, though 2 other sites were visible from mine.

The camp host delivered my fire wood right to my site (which was extra helpful because no car). There were lots of bugs, but not too many bitey ones. Pit toilets and well water a short way away from my site were helpful.

Beautiful woods and prairie trails around here. Some really spectacular views to be had. Plus they now have online site reservations! I would definitely recommend camping at Thomas Woods.

The campground is set up nicely. Our site had the usual picnic table and a short walk to the restrooms and water. What we enjoyed the most was the variety of hiking trails. They aren't the longest but we were able to vary the route up to keep it fresh for our dog to sniff out her adventure. Some of grass and others were dirt. The wildflowers caught our eye and we enjoyed pausing to appreciate their beauty.

We would come back here to have a weekend getaway in the fall or spring.