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Best Tent Camping near Marengo, IL

739 Reviews

Tent campsites near Marengo, Illinois range from primitive walk-in sites to established campgrounds with basic amenities. MacQueen Forest Preserve offers secluded tent camping with nine well-spaced sites set in wooded areas and open meadows. Castle Rock State Park provides a unique boat-in tent camping experience along the Rock River, accessible only by canoe or kayak, creating a truly remote tent camping experience approximately 50 miles southwest of Marengo.

Most tent campgrounds in the area feature minimal amenities, focusing on primitive camping experiences. MacQueen Forest Preserve provides fire pits and picnic tables at each site, with vault toilets available but no drinking water. Sites require a short walk from the parking area, with wagons available to transport gear. Castle Rock's boat-in tent sites include fire rings, picnic tables, and a porta-potty, but campers must bring their own drinking water. A camper noted, "There are about 8 nice campsites right on the river. Despite being what the park calls 'primitive' sites, there were picnic tables, fire pits/grates, and a cute little outhouse." Self-registration is common, with fees typically under $10 per night.

The tent camping experience in these areas offers genuine seclusion rarely found so close to urban areas. MacQueen Forest Preserve's tent sites are spaced at least 50 yards apart, providing privacy even when other campers are present. One review mentioned, "This is one of those places that's so awesome, you really don't want to tell people about it." Sites in wooded areas provide shade and shelter, while meadow sites offer stargazing opportunities. Castle Rock's boat-in tent camping creates a true wilderness experience despite being relatively close to civilization. The paddle upstream on return trips can be challenging but rewarding. Both locations offer hiking trails and river access, making them ideal bases for day hikes, fishing, and wildlife observation for tent campers seeking an authentic outdoor experience.

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Best Tent Sites Near Marengo, Illinois (10)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Marengo, IL

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Tent Camping Reviews near Marengo, IL

739 Reviews of 10 Marengo Campgrounds

  • Marisa A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 16, 2020

    MacQueen Forest Preserve

    Secluded Hike-in Tent Campsites on the Kish

    This is where to go if you don't like pitching a tent in a field of RVs. There is one wheelchair accessible tent site on a blacktop path in the forest canopy. This is a very primative campground with 1 set of Vault toilets. The other campsites require a walk/hike along a gravel path for completely wooded sites or cross a football sized meadow for open air sites. There are several well-water pumps "not for drinking." Each campsite has a fire pit and a picnic table. Pack out your garbage for the dumpster in the parking lot. There are only 9 sites total. VERY private and secluded. Tents only! Massive forest preserve area for excellent hiking. Some fellow campers were doing a diy tubing right to the campground. (About a 2 hr lazy river tube from Kingston or 5hrs from Genoa on the slow moving S. Branch of the Kishwaukee River which can be pretty deep in places.) Absolutely NO ALCOHOL. Cost for tent sites is only $4 per tent or tent-like structure. There are primitive cabins for rent and a large lodge if you rented the structure for an event here. By their facebook page, it looks like there have been beautiful weddings here. This is a former scout camp flanked by more forest preserves. The ranger is very nice and the entrance is locked from sunset to sunrise. I hesitated even posting this tent-camping primitive heaven, because I almost want to keep it for myself and the locals. Please practice leave no trace and follow the rules if you go so this place stays open. Dog friendly, but must be leashed all of time or a $50 fine. My dog loved the trails and river crossings! Gorgeous hidden gem about an hour into cornfield country from Chicago NW suburbs like Woodfield Mall. I had cell service at one spot in the parking lot, but it was fleeting with T-mobile. A fellow camper had the best private spot (#2) which other than the ada site was the best because it was closest to the parking lot, yet she still had a festival/yard cart to pull her gear up a gravel path. Make sure you bring yours or are outfitted with backpacking gear. Like anywhere, prevent insect deforestation and don't bring firewood, it's fine, they have plenty.

  • Stacie H.
    May. 29, 2022

    White Pines Forest State Park Campground

    Lovely natural scenery; campground leaves something to be desired

    Let's start with the good stuff:

    • The park is beautiful. Lovely trees, lots of shade, the hiking trails are nice, well marked, and they even have an accessible trail for those with disabilities!
    • There is a restaurant and gift shop on site. Gift shop sells wood if you run low or forget.
    • The bathrooms and shower house are relatively clean and well kept.

    Now for the not so great stuff:

    • Many of the campsites are sloped and some are sloped A LOT. This isn't obvious from the booking page.

    • The campground is absolutely jammed with camp sites- it's ridiculous. I've never been to a campground where the sites were so on top of one another.

    • We stayed in the Sunny Crest loop and the drinking water well was broken so we had to travel to other parts of the campground for water. When carrying a 10 gallon jug full of water back, that really sucked.

    • The sites that are marked as "hike in" aren't secluded and away from other sites at all, as one might expect. They are jammed in with all the others but there just isn't any parking nearby.

    • It had rained the day before was went and so the road to the campgrounds was blocked off (presumably because the creek was running too high), but there was NO SIGNAGE telling us how to get there another way. There was no one in the park office or in the camping registration station to ask. We finally figured out that we had to take an emergency road/auxiliary road to get to the campground, but that was after about 30 minutes of confusion.

    • The breakfast buffet at the restaurant is mid but very pricey- $50 for 2 of us.

    • The quiet hours and no alcohol policy are not enforced at all. While we were there, there was a very loud group playing beer pong into the wee hours of the morning.

    • About half of the fire rings don't have grill grates so bring your own or bring a camp stove (See pic). Also, when you book your site, there is no way to know if your fire ring will have a grill grate or note.

  • Meg
    Jun. 12, 2022

    Rock Cut State Park - Staghorn Campground

    Beautiful View (site 20), serious slope

    We LOVE site 20 as does everyone else who books this one up quick. Literally the only downside is that you have no flat spots anywhere on the site, which killed our backs sleeping in tents.

    Pros - lake view, but a safe distance down the hill so no worries about the kids at the campsite.

    On the end with tons of privacy, full row of trees and a ton of space until the next site. It’s like your own mini oasis.

    Lake is also fabulous. We decided to rent instead of hauling our own kayak and they were clean, affordable and quick process.

    Cons - lol that hill is no joke. Pit toilets I wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole, but that’s pretty typical.

  • D
    Aug. 3, 2025

    Paul Wolff Campground

    No showers

    We would gladly stay here again!

    Great campsite with the best staff ever! The sites are clean and very well maintained. We loved the staff patrolling the grounds. The trail system is great for walking the dogs. And I even grew to like the no alcohol in the preserve rule.

    The vault toilets are clean but smell like vault toilets at 95 degrees. There is one very clean flush toilet building but no showers. They don't advertise showers, but this is the newest and nicest campsite I have seen without showers. There is some shade, but you have to search for it.

  • Marisa A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 16, 2020

    Paul Wolff Campground

    Great value Chicago suburb campsite

    I've camped here four different occasions this 2020 covid-19 year. The staff are super nice and the campground has great social distancing rules in place for the check-in shack and bathrooms. It is a super clean campground with multiple hosts and forest preserve staff. There are a large number of RV pads overlooking the prairie and a few along a grove of trees. I was lucky once to see the equestrian area full of campers with their horses. There are 9 walk-in tent sites about 10-20 yards from parking (the two at the end p7 and p9 are connected for groups that know each other). There are multiple ada sites and two "walk-in/ie roll-in" site in the tent-only area. It's a good mix of young people, retired people, and families. I've seen weekends with mainly RVs and one weekend with a quarter of the drive-in sites being tents. The most shaded sites are p1,3,5,7 and 9. Many of the sites in the middle are wide open with little shade but nice summer breezes. Prices are a great deal if you live in Kane county but still worth the trip if you live in another county. Firewood is $7 for about .75 cu ft (what you can fit in a milk crate.) There are a few trails and I've seen lots of butterflies, gold finches, hawks, deer, flocks of giant sandhill cranes, rabbits, ground squirrels, and of course actual squirrels. Lots of people (including me) bring their leashed dogs. The other campers have been polite and friendly. I wish there was more distance between sites in the water/electrical loops for more privacy, but I'd go every weekend if I lived in Kane county because it would be worth the resident price even tho there are so many RVs. Because there is electrical it is a peaceful campground with no generator noise.

  • S
    Oct. 2, 2020

    Rock Cut State Park - Staghorn Campground

    Good Tent Sites

    We visited this spot last summer as a place to stay for 1 night on our way farther north.

    We really enjoy tent camping and prefer walk-in/hike in sites so we can have some privacy away from other campers. The campsites were decently dispersed and the ground was nice and grassy so it was pretty comfortable.

    We always want more space between campsites, but I think the privacy level was fine. The tent sites are right off the parking lot where the boat ramp is so maybe on a busy weekend it would be a little loud, but overall a nice night for us!

    We left in the morning to continue our drive so we didn’t spend much time checking out the hiking trails.

    We did however go checkout the beach which wasn’t much to write home about. If I remember correctly, we had to pay a fee to enter. Always happy to support a state park. We just figured since we were already paying to camp there, it wouldn’t cost extra. I’m pretty sure we paid an admission fee and didn’t stay for long. It was across the way and requires a drive instead of a hike to get there.

  • Becca Z.
    Aug. 30, 2020

    Lowden State Park Campground

    Great camping spot!

    We were so happy with the size of the tent camping sites. They were mostly all flat, plenty of space and gave privacy from the neighbors. We were at site 28 which had both sun and shade. Right across from the pit toilets which I wouldn’t pick next time. There was no shower house or running water in the loop we were at. Across the street were the electric rv sites and a few tent sites. Only compliant is even from the middle of the campground we could hear the road noise. Otherwise great!

  • Scott N.
    Jul. 14, 2020

    Thomas Woods Campground

    Great trails, loud neighbors, lots of bugs

    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

  • GoWhereYouAreDraw N.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 12, 2020

    Honeysuckle Hollow — Chain O' Lakes State Park

    Well maintained and clean

    Very impressed with this state park! It was huge, almost 3 miles just to our site! The showers were clean. The spots were large and wooded with nice fire ring set ups. The staff was very helpful answering any questions and giving recommendations. We stayed on a primitive/wilderness site for $12 with no electric. They will allow anyone on these sites-we even saw huge RV'S and 5th wheels on primitive sites.

    There are amazing trails through park for people to hike, bike, or ride horse on.

    Spring Grove is a tiny town nearby with a little corner bar called “The Grove”. They serve amazing food with great service. Very clean! I recommend checking it out if you’re looking for some good food.

Guide to Marengo

Tent campsites in the Marengo, Illinois area offer a mix of environments from prairie landscapes to riverside settings. The region sits at approximately 850 feet above sea level with summer temperatures averaging 80-85°F during peak camping season. Most sites in this region remain open from April through October, with frost possible in early spring and late fall camping trips.

What to do

Explore waterways by boat: Castle Rock State Park provides unique river access for paddlers. The campground is accessible only by canoe or kayak, creating a truly secluded experience. A camper noted, "Site selection is first come, first serve and the registration and payment is done on the honor system, and they do have rangers that monitor."

Hike through prairie and forest: Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center offers "over 640 acres of meadow, forest, and stocked pond" with various trails. One visitor mentioned, "Sometimes there are family retreats planned where you can bring your tent or trailer and camp in designated campsites in a tranquil meadow."

Try stargazing in open meadows: The open fields at some campgrounds provide excellent night sky viewing opportunities away from city lights. At MacQueen Forest Preserve, "About half of the campsites are in a meadow at the back end of the campground. It would be beautiful for stargazing!"

What campers like

Privacy between sites: Many campers appreciate the unusual spacing between tent sites in the area. At MacQueen Forest Preserve, a reviewer noted the sites are "spread out at least 50 yards apart. That's right, at least 50 yards. You can't see the campsite next to you."

Budget-friendly options: Most tent sites in the region have affordable fees. A camper at Franklin Creek State Natural Area Equestrian Campground appreciated the value, noting the campground offers "picnic shelters, restrooms, potable drinking water, stand-up grills and fire pits" while remaining reasonably priced.

Natural sounds and wildlife: The sounds of nature enhance the camping experience. At Castle Rock State Park, one visitor reported, "In the morning, the river was bustling with sounds from kingfishers, herons, and flycatchers."

What you should know

Train noise at some locations: Be prepared for occasional nighttime disturbances. At MacQueen Forest Preserve, a camper warned, "If you cannot sleep to the sound of trains at night, this is not the campground for you...there were probably three of them that went by in the middle of the night rather close to the campground."

Limited drinking water access: Many campgrounds require bringing your own water. At Castle Rock State Park Campground, visitors should note that "water is not available at the campground and must be boated in."

Paddling challenges: River current can create difficulties for canoe/kayak campers. A Castle Rock visitor cautioned, "Paddling back up river was not easy, but it was not impossible. It took approximately 3 hours, allowing for a few breaks to rest."

Tips for camping with families

Look for gentle hiking options: KMSF Shelter 1 Backpack Site offers family-friendly trails with "a decent walk and terrain to get to the site. There is an open shelter to put your tent if you prefer to outside."

Plan water activities: Streams and small bodies of water provide entertainment for children. Franklin Creek State Natural Area features "a very nice stream here that the kids will love jumping across and/or wading in searching for crawdads or small fish."

Consider educational sites: Historical features can engage young campers. At Franklin Creek, "this place has a really nice connection with history as it features a fully functioning grist mill" where "on weekends, you can actually take the kids to this site...for a super-cool interactive exhibition."

Tips from RVers

Check campground layout carefully: The terrain at many sites impacts RV accessibility. At Snug Harbor Inn Campground on Turtle Lake, "This is primarily an RV/mobile home campground" with a unique "three tiered camping spot. Full hookup, and great views."

Prepare for basic amenities: Even RV-friendly sites often have limited facilities. One Snug Harbor reviewer noted, "Great three tiered camping design" that provides "a very clean bathroom and bathhouse, freshwater for campers, and some electric tent campsites."

Consider seasonal timing: For the best tent camping near Marengo, Illinois in an RV, plan your visit carefully. A visitor to Snug Harbor mentioned, "Wanted someplace close to home...Staff was great, helped me back in" during their spring trip when the campground was less crowded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Marengo, IL?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Marengo, IL is MacQueen Forest Preserve with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Marengo, IL?

TheDyrt.com has all 10 tent camping locations near Marengo, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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