Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Melrose Park, IL has a lot to offer. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Melrose Park, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Melrose Park. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
$20 - $138 / night
"We stayed in the primitive tent area near the back of the park. It is walk in.
There was a pole for a lantern, a picnic table, a fire ring and tent pad."
"The tent sites are right next to the water which is beautiful but can get very windy. There is no privacy between the sites (no trees, etc)."
$45 - $60 / night
"There are pavilions, air conditioned/heated dining hall, shower building, restrooms (seriously the cleanest I’ve ever seen, even the ceilings were cleaned!)"
"The staff is so helpful, well maintained, nice trail system. We tent camped on site #1 and would definitely book that spot again."
$35 - $250 / night
"Located in a Cook County forest preserve this family camping option is a nice local getaway. The facilities are all newly built or remodeled. The bathrooms are modern."
"As stated, there is electric hookup but no water at the site. However, staff was more than happy to meet us at the bathrooms to allow us to fill our tanks before we set up camp."
$43 - $73 / night
"The lake is beautiful and surprisingly picturesque as it is all nature preserve on the opposite side."
"Very Friendly Staff I received warm welcome from nice staff at the entrance gate. Tent Campground is nicely tucked inside by the lake. Quit place night time I can hear fish jumping from the water."
"Plus they have a quiet time at night.So people and kids can go to bed without a bunch of noise."
"Cozy, small park with friendly staff and plenty of amenities. You can walk from one side to other no problem. Plenty of large and small RV's and Trailers with tent camping."
$49 - $57 / night
"A lake with water rentals, floating water slide, playgrounds and sport courts, general store with the stardust’s “convenience mark-ups”,and water/ electric at all sites."
"We were there the week before peak season opened so none of the pools or splash pads were open, but they were very accommodating so that we could still play mini golf and ride around on the pedal cars."
"*** reviewing as a baby/toddler camp family on the go :-) we chose the loop 11 was on because it was close to the path to the playgrounds and lakes plus bathrooms… avoid the first 2 sites from either end"
"This is our go-to state park when I need to get out of Chicago for the afternoon. We camped here once as a starter trip with our two kids, since it was easy enough to go home if it all went south."
"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."
"You can hear whatever highway is nearby pretty clearly and constantly.
But if you’re not looking for something super remote then it’s fine!"
"The campsites are very spread out and you will have a very private quiet campsite. This site is near a small cemetery that has tombstones that are hundreds of years old."
"The campground manager was very friendly and helpful and our site was clean with a nice fire pit with built-in grill and very clean. Lots of shower stalls in the shower house."
Guide*** reviewing as a baby/toddler camp family on the go :-) we chose the loop 11 was on because it was close to the path to the playgrounds and lakes plus bathrooms… avoid the first 2 sites from either end as the ones closest to the main loop aren’t very deep. Closer to the center of this row is best.
Pros- easy pull in sites and lots of walk-in availability. Sites are almost all flat thankfully, so no weird slopes to sleep on and easy for babies/toddlers to stay safe. Also seemed pretty respectful in the evenings with people toning down the noise.
Lots of electric sites, deep enough for 2 tents, 2 cars (although close to neighbors and no trees between sites), picnic table and fire pit.
Bathroom shower houses were decent (we usually just have toddler use her travel potty, but this one was fine).
Multiple playgrounds, access to launch sites for kayaks, little store to buy ice cream or snacks.
Cons - SO many ticks. With a baby crawling that needed to be set free, we were constantly doing checks. Luckily our screen house pop up on a tarp that was sprayed ahead for tick repellent plus a blanket on top of that did the trick, but they literally fall out of the trees into people! Plan for toddlers and babies to have a contained covered screen house and have them wear hats or a wagon shade on walks so nothing lands in their hair.
Also - the raccoons at night here are no joke. The second it’s dusky, they come scavenging for absolutely anything food has touched. So basically, eat dinner and do s’mores early, then everything must be packed into cars for the night and all surfaces wiped down.
TravelerWe stayed in the primitive tent area near the back of the park. It is walk in.
There was a pole for a lantern, a picnic table, a fire ring and tent pad. There is one clean flush toilet and shower per each gender (the shower stall was spacious with plenty of hooks and benches). There were also vault toilets not too far away. The water spigot was pretty far away though. There were plenty of garbage cans.
There were a few small trees but very little shade. On hot days I think a pop up shade shelter would be necessary to make it bearable.
Overall it was pretty quiet.
The last night we were there a large group of people with their tents showed up. There were not enough tent pads or picnic tables for all of them. I don't know if it was the park that booked so many people or if it was the group that overbooked.
GuideI visited Palos early this week (mid-April) for a very very chilly three days. The tent sites are right next to the water which is beautiful but can get very windy. There is no privacy between the sites (no trees, etc). There are small and medium cabins, some heated with their own bathrooms, that feature bunk beds and are great for getting out of the cold. The central bathrooms are clean, heated and offer showers. The water is not yet potable so bring your own or check with the park team to ensure it's drinkable when you go. The hiking here is AWESOME with a bajillion different routes right from the campground. We hiked 10 miles and saw tons of animals and birds including a snake, loads of herons and songbirds, deer, a raccoon and a Cooper's Hawk. I will definitely be back!
LegendWe camped here for 3 nights to visit the Dunes National Park.
The campground is privately owned and was almost at the end of the season. There is a check in station at the entrance.
When we arrived we were the only tent campers, so we could pick our spot. Non of the tent sites have electricity or water. Only a few have a picnic table and /or a fire pit. It was basically just a long lawn with numbers on. Some of the sites are in the woods for more privacy.
The RV sites have electricity and water access. Some campers are stored there over the winter months.
The bathhouse was a little out dated but clean during our stay.
You are surrounded by farmland, so we were greeted every morning by donkey braying. It didn't bother us. There are also noises of cars and the train coming through.
The owners are very nice and laid back.
The drive to the national park or state park is about 15 min. The dunes are very impressive and beautiful. If you need something, there are stores, gas stations or restaurants within 10 driving minutes.
I think we would camp her again. No idea how it is during peak season but even with other tent campers around on the last 2 days, it was pretty quiet.
LegendWe 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:)
ScoutStaff was polite and helpful. They escort you to your spot. They hand out activity sheets for the weekend. Petting zoo, camp store, pool, lake/pond for swimming and fishing. Cell signal for ATT just one bar. No internet. Lots of full time residents. Lots of activities for kids. Pet friendly. They charge extra if you have visitors.
LegendPrivately-owned and just a short distance from Indiana Dunes. The owner was very nice and helpful at check-in. There were several open spots on that rainy Sunday, so we were allowed to pick any open spot. Some spots were out in the open, others along the tree line, and a few in the woods. All sites had a picnic table, fire ring, and seemed fairly level.
TravelerThis is our go-to state park when I need to get out of Chicago for the afternoon. We camped here once as a starter trip with our two kids, since it was easy enough to go home if it all went south.
Non-electric sites in the loop on the small fishing pond were relatively quiet, well shaded, with decent screening between sites. Easy walk to bath house adjacent the electric sites, which were jammed with RVs.
Nice easy hiking/biking trails. Boat rentals. Stocked concesion building.
Our kids, 4&8, really like it here. Nothing too hard or scary for my little city kiddos.
LegendThese sites share an electric box. Some spaces the box is further than 30 feet from the pad. A lot of the spaces are also crowded together. Recommend sites 23 to 46 for spacing and electric distance. We originally booked 96 but could not extend our slide because of large trees on either side of the pad and then the electric was about 50 feet away. Moved to 50 one of the nicest spots. Staff is friendly and bathrooms were clean. There are a large amount of trails to hike and you can walk to Turner Lake from the Honeysuckle Hollow campground. There is not a lot of grass around the campsites and lots of places have over grown weeds. DO NOT FORGET your bug spray the files are huge. The upside of lots of bugs are lots of bird watching. Many pretty varieties. We did not encounter any COVID restrictions, bath and shower house and camp store were all open.
Cabin camping near Melrose Park, Illinois, offers a delightful escape into nature with a variety of amenities and activities to enjoy. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or family-friendly fun, there are several options to consider.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Melrose Park, IL is Camp Bullfrog Lake with a 4.2-star rating from 30 reviews.
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