Best RV Parks & Resorts near Mattoon, IL

The Forest Bo Wood Recreation area has grown each year since I first camped there in 1979.

In 2017 it has 150 camping sites, a boat ramp, fish cleaning station, several picnic areas and a bait shop at the entrance on Illinois Route 32 4 miles South of Sullivan. The camp sites all have parking space for a big rig and one vehicle. There are some tent only sites but most have been converted to at least 30 amp electric sites with water hookups near the site. Many lake side sites are available, some years back there was a problem with the bank, but that has been dealt with.

Bath rooms and shower houses are very clean and there is good bank fishing near the pavilion at the turn around at the west end of the area. There is a marina just 1 mile South and across the bridge another ½ mile is the Sullivan beach. Just 1 more mile South is a Rosatti's pizza located in a gas station with a liquor store. Rossati's delivers pizza's to the 2 campgrounds that are this close to the business. People that love the comforts of home while camping love this campground, so it fills up in the spring and summer months.

All sites are spacious and include a picnic table, lantern stand, fire pit with grill grate and some have added camp stove stands. I find that October camping at Bo Woods most agreeable with less people tent camping and less boat traffic on the lake. The fishing this time of year is also very good.

The Opossum Creek Recreation area is open year-round for the boat ramp and Disabled / children fishing pond and pier. The campground is only open Memorial Day to Labor Day. I camped here in June, however I did the photography in October so there are no campers in the shots. This campground is only about 6 miles from the town of Shelbyville where there is a Walmart, restaurant’s, gas stations, bait, hardware stores, medical care, the Shelbyville Dam, Beach, City Park with lakeside trails and firewood. This proximity to facility’s makes it popular, so having less than 100 campsites it tends to fill up quickly. It is advisable to book ahead on-line if you want to stay here. The sites are nice and the park is clean, but the sites are close together. The boat ramp is well thought out with tons of parking and being close to town is usually busy in the summer season. This campground is also cared for by the Corps of Engineers and seasoned camp hosts man the gate house at the campground. The disabled fishing pond is well stocked so it is easy for wheel chair bound fishermen to catch their daily quota. I recommend this campground for people with motorhomes, fifth-wheels and campers that want to take in the Shelbyville lake town experience while visiting.

General: 40-site campground with three non-electric and the rest are either 30 or 50-amp electric. Several water spigots are sprinkled throughout the campground. 

Site quality: All sites are gravel and level. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart and with the many trees, it did not feel crowded, despite being almost full when we were there. 

Bath/Shower: Very clean with soap, paper towels, and a shelf for toiletries. Did not use the shower but it looked clean as well. 

Activities/Amenities: There are two well-marked and well-maintained trails plus a playground and basketball hoop. There is also a historic schoolhouse, and guided tours are available by calling. Before leaving the next morning, I enjoyed a walk on the two trails. There is a dump station and potable water.

The campground was almost completely full on a Friday at the end of October yet very quiet.

Review of Drive In Tent Camping Site 2. Showed up on a Thursday night and had our pick of all the drive in and walk in sites. We decided on site 2 in the drive in area. Previous reviews and a book by John Schirle on Tent Camping in Illinois helped us with this decision as well. Decent maintained sites with some older picnic tables and fire rings, but let's be honest this stuff sits outside 24/7. Site 2 seemed to sit back the farthest with site 1 a close second. Both wooded sites that made for great shade and helped some when it was raining. Any two families looking for two sites could certainly set up and share the experience. Nice little cove behind them to try fishing. Just watch the hike down the path or ravine. Dog friendly, fresh water supply (hint put the handle all the way up and wait a few seconds), ability to store stuff in the car close by, outhouse toilets visible at the walk in parking lot, and helpful host for easy check in who even sells fire wood made for a great few days ($5 a bundle). Rated B/S site at a cost of $10 a night.

The Lithia Springs recreation area near Shelbyville, IL. On Lake Shelbyville has so many things to offer. This is one of my favorite places on the lake for boating, swimming and group camping. There are 105 campsites and they fill up with reservations in the spring and summer months, I would recommend reserving a site on line at: https://www.recreation.gov .

The campground is run by the Corps of engineers, it is well cared for with clean shower houses and restrooms. There is a boat ramp, picnic areas, a small swimming beach and very nice lakeside campsites. Half the campsites have electric hookups and water near the sites, the other half now have full hookups and 50 amp service. It is recommended to fill your tanks as you enter so you won’t need to get water during your stay for the sites on the point, those do not have full hookups. I tent camp when I stay here now, but have camped here with a motorhome and filled up when I entered and dumped when I left for a long weekend.

All sites have picnic tables, fire rings with grates and most also have a lantern stand. Most sites have a decent amount of room between them and there are some buddy sites where you share a large table cooking area and park facing each other. There are flat areas for tents and you can have two tents as well as an RV on each site.

The marina here is great with boat gas, fishing equipment, bait, snacks and other items you might need in a pinch. They also rent fishing boats and pontoon boats so you can go on a boating excursion while camping here for a price.

There are also cabins and motel rooms with a kitchen near the park entrance if you have a desire for that kind of lodging. See the links below for that.

http://gregorysresortmotel.com/

http://www.lithiaresort.com/