Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Metropolis? Camping with your horse in Metropolis just got easier. The Dyrt can help you find the perfect equestrian sites that are scenic and easy to access.
Located in the Middle of Southern Illinois just Off I-24 it is a great place to stay while you explore all the the Shawnee Forest. From Giant City to Garden of the Gods. The Tunnel Hill bike trail is a half mile away and Cache River is just down the road. We have 60 Full Hook up sites. Large pull through sites up to 120 feet long. We have Shower Houses and Laundry Facilities. Our Campground is Open Year Round.
$40 / night
Situated along a peninsula between the lush shorelines of Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, Canal Campground offers modern camping and provides the ideal setting to enjoy nature at its best with family and friends. Visitors can enjoy a stunning view of the Barkley Dam and boats traveling through the canal from the comfort of their campsite. The campground faces Barkley Lake, and the shore of Kentucky Lake is a brisk one-mile walk across the canal.
From water sports to wildlife viewing to hiking and biking, Canal Campground is the perfect setting for outdoor activities. Eagle nests can be spotted throughout the grounds, and its not unlikely for visitors to encounter deer and other wildlife. A short hiking trail allows campers to enjoy the outdoor scenery at their leisure. Fishing is also a popular pastime, and during warm months bass and catfish are plentiful in both lakes.
Lake Barkley, as part of a dam project at the Cumberland River, spans 134 miles along the Kentucky landscape, offering countless recreational activities to visitors. The canal connects Lake Barley with Kentucky Lake, forming one of the greatest freshwater recreational complexes in the country.
Grand Rivers, a short drive from the campground, has several restaurants and two public marinas.
$256 / night
This 34 acre farm in Western Kentucky is surrounded on all sides by rolling woodland and farmland. Wildlife, sunsets and starlit skies abound.
**Visit us April 8th, 2024 for the total Solar Eclipse!
$30 - $90 / night
Situated on the shores of beautiful Lake Barkley in the Kentucky Lakes region, Prizer Point Marina & Resort and Kentucky Lakes KOA is the area’s finest destination for family getaways featuring condos, cabins, RV camping, boating and family recreation.
Welcome to our stunning campground resort on the shores of Lake Barkley near the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area. All RV site rates include 6 guests, Deluxe and Primitive Tent includes 4 guests, extra guests are $10/person/day, 5yrs and under are free. We are pet friendly!
Located near the Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky Lakes KOA Campground at Prizer Point Marina & Resort offers breathtaking views, relaxation, and outdoor recreation. This western Kentucky Campground is Big Rig friendly and welcomes pets. RV and Campsites are spacious and shaded. Complete with a fire ring for marshmallow roasts and story telling under the stars and amazing views of Lake Barkley.
Our Pull Through Sites are pull through, full hook-up, waterfront sites; See Video. Your front door opens to the beauty of Lake Barkley where you can relax or fish from the shore. These sites take advantage of our location on the intercoastal waterway. Premium Lake Side Water & Electric sites are also available. Prizer Point offers a free honey wagon service every other day on all non-tent campsites for your convenience. See Video
All RV sites include water, cable TV, 50 or 30 Amp electric, and rates are based on 6 people. Only one camping unit is allowed per site, unless approved in advance by management. Only two vehicles are allowed per site and overflow parking area is provided.
This recreation area is part of Barkley Lake
At Hayes Canyon Campground we have 34 RV campsites available for rent for a day, weekend, week, or longer!
We offer 2 cabins and 3 rental RVs. There is a rental available for all budgets so book now! They go fast!
Reservations are recommended, especially during peak seasons and holiday weekends, when we often are fully booked months in advance.
We specialize in catering to campers with horses who want to enjoy trail riding on the many scenic trails in the Shawnee National Forest. Other campers, backpackers, hikers, and hunters are always welcome. To view a trail map online . . .
$15 - $32 / night
We are located in the heart of southern Illinois in the middle of all of the nice horse back riding hiking and kayaking drop offs we have several cabins to choose from and guided horse back rides to offer. You can bring your own horse and venture out on the trails or requests a guide by appointment.
$30 - $200 / night
$30 / night
Scout
We stayed 4 days and had a great time. The camp was clean and well maintained. The staff are very friendly and helpful and was more than happy to offer places to visit in the area, places to eat and provide assistance as needed. The trails are paved so we had a nice area to walk (twice around the lake from our site was 3 miles). :) We plan to visit again!
Scout
I stayed here and camped for a bike rally. I think you can only camp during an event. And cost is different from each event. Nice place
Guide
Stayed here for a week and it was great. Plenty to do to keep you busy. Nice pool with retractable roof. Playset for kids. Full service marina with boat rentals. Golf cart rentals as well.
ScoutGreat little stop, everything is clean and a fresh shower was refreshing.
Traveler
Very nice campground, better than what I expected. We stayed at site 20 with a 36' travel trailer we had to actually drive all the way to the end of the campground to turn around so we could back into the site. Cravens Bay is secluded and about a 2 mile drive off the main road running through LBL.
There is a attendant at the site that you have to check in with first who will let you know what sites are available and pay after you have chosen your site and settled in. The attendant station did have some snacks for sale as well ice, also in the event that you may need assistance with any problems at you camp site or even with your camper the attendant more than likely has the tools to help you.
The road leading into the campsite is paved but narrow, the roads at the campsite are well hard packed gravel and very narrow. Cravens Bay basically breaks down into two areas, the low ground (first sites upon entering) and the high ground (sites further in at the top of the hill), there are some sites scattered in-between these two areas but for the most part the largest campsites areas are the high and low ground sites. The sites in-between the two high and low ground areas are very private and two are definitely secluded.
We stay three days and during that time other than the occasional fisherman or the attendant driving by it was definitely very private and quite. There were some seasonal campers there who were very helpful and friendly (even cut up some timber for us to burn).
If you don't mind not having any hook ups and dry/boon docking with your camper Cravens Bay has a lot to offer in terms of privacy, peace, boating, fishing, and swimming. Defiantly for the nature lovers out there, nothing like seeing a Bald Eagle hunting fish while drinking coffee first thing in the morning.
GuideStayed here on the way to and from Florida (home in Minnesota). Very nice campground. Well maintained, big sites for our 40ft fifth wheel, great sunrise/sunset views, and the bathrooms are very clean and well lite. The gentleman/host that greeted us at the office upon arrival was polite and helpful. Will definitely stay again!
Guide
We stayed at Giant City in February on a very cold weekend. It was still a fantastic trip! The campsites, fire pits and pit toilets were well maintained. The shorter trails in the park were beautiful even in the winter. The Lodge also had excellent food and a very cozy feel. Definitely visit the Lodge!!
ScoutCame to this campsite with my boyfriend and I as well as our two dogs. We were in spot 51, we have a large 8 person tent and need water & electricity so we rent out RV spots instead of the typical tent spots. When we arrived after our 15 hour drive, someone decided to park in our site. Once they moved we were able to start putting up our tent which was on a hill so we were slanted throughout the night. A family rented out the entire rest of the cul-de-sac, which isn’t the parks fault, but they claimed the pavilion and surrounding area. I would call this more of “suburb camping” because there are hardly any trees for privacy, large open fields of grass, and you are 2 minutes from the highway, food, and gas stations. It is only a single bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower instead of any stalls. They provide WiFi that did not work for us, we had better connection with our cellular data. No garbages anywhere in the campsite, thankfully we had our own garbage bags and tossed it in the dumpster before we left. It was fine to crash for one night, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for an extended period of time.
GuideThis was one of the best I have stayed out. I met some nice people, Manager helped me get my electric set up, (user error), Facilities clean and very nice, roads and park well taken care of..
ScoutEasy access, very clean facilities and lots to do and see nearby, friendly service. The constant interstate noise is a bit annoying
RangerThis campground is very clean! Large open sites- shade is minimal for most sites but we had a beautiful large site with some shade (site 51). They have new trees planted.
There is no pool or activities for kids but we went out and explored the area
Beautiful walking/bike paths around the property
Hosts were very kind and helpful, we felt very welcomed!
There is some freeway noise but didn’t bother us at all
Laundry and bathroom facilities were very clean - was great to do a laundry mid trip!
RangerThere are numerous state park campgrounds in the area, but we stayed here for the full Hookups and available wifi. Just of I-24, was a plus as well. We did hear traffic noise from the interstate, but it was tolerable. Showers were clean. With a discount from this app, we saved $16 off our stay. Close by are dining options and a dollar general.
Traveler
We spent 5 nights on Site A5 at Crab Orchard Campground. All sites are FC/FS. Full hookups are in Loop B & it was full. Overall the campground was full but not very many people around. Appears many locals take spots on the weekends & then hold onto them during the week. The 2 nearest to us we saw on Sunday (Easter) and the only 1 more time during the 5 days. Someone in one of the sites by the late (A9, A11 or A13 I think) said they saw snakes but we never saw any and our dogs would have noticed.
Showers and restrooms are nice. Ones in Loop A are no new (Loop Bs are new) but still nice. Lots of hot water.
Lots of trails (within 10-30 minute drive). Fishing was good (especially catfish and crappie). Went into Carbondale a few times. Also went South to Alto Pass but wineries all closed on Tuesday; locals told us they are open more hours during summer.
ScoutThis is a very spacious campsite. The bathrooms and new laundry room are clean.
Guide
Lots of choice camping spots! Serene and private. Beautiful rolling farmland, just minutes from town. They also offer tiny home rentals, yurt-style glamping tents, RV spots with 30 amp, 50 amp and 110 outlets, and The Art Barn for larger groups, retreats or family reunions.
GuideEasy in/out, reasonable rates, but pretty plain. Used to be a golf course, so few spots have any trees that could provide shade as of 2022. Host was nice, matter of fact and all business.
Stayed here twice, once on the way out to Yellowstone, and once on the way back. The nearby town is small and kind of dumpy.
Was fine for a one night stay. Giving it an average, 3 star rating.
Guide
We had this received for a large group and it was great! Tons of room to spread out especially with the water as low as it was. Vault toilets on site and a few fire rings. Multiple picnic tables available. Lot's of fun and great views!
LegendPrizer Point is where I hostess a (Usually) large-ish group of women campers for a looong weekend of festivities. Our weekend themes have been simple (this year I taught Geocaching) to full blown festival (last year was Pirate's in the Cove). The success of the event weekends is largely due to the amazing staff at Prizer, as they accommodate a lot of last minute pleas for changes and help! This customer service amenity was truly evident this last April, when I hosted over 70 women campers from across the United States who camp local to a natural disaster area while they do volunteer services in the affected community - the Prizer staff made our stay very accommodating, even opening up the new "lagoon" area for our RV's with freshly paved full hookup pull through sites, a beautifully renovated bath house, large grassy area for gathering and our tent campers, and a bonfire area. The pools were (are usually are not) open when the women and I come to camp on our "week-end" (every September), and the lake was already at winter pool this year, but that makes it quite easy to launch a kayak, or SUP right from the floating dock that is sitting on the bottom of the inlet. In years past we've stayed in the cove area, on the original side of the park, where there is only water and electric hook ups. Prizer has a "honey wagon" that comes and pumps your waste water tanks every other day or as needed. The new lagoon area has full hook up so you don't need the honey wagon.
Guide
I stayed here for 1 night in early April at an RV back-in site#81 on the hill. Water and electric were at the site. There was a dump station, trash and recycling near the campground entrance. The views were spectacular- especially the sunset. I would gladly stay here again!
ScoutGreat spot just a quick trip, good Wi-Fi, nice setting easy to get in and out.
GuideCheap campground that is clean and quiet. The back in site we had overlooked the lake. For the price, you can’t beat the view. If I return to the area, I would stay here again
ScoutEasy access from interstate, full hook-ups, clean bathhouse and friendly camp hosts. Only stayed one night, quick stop on way home but will definitely be back when we when head this way again.
Guide
I’ve stayed here a couple of time, car camping and tent camping. You have to walk from the parking lot into the basic sites but they are super close. Trying here was nice, and campsites a quiet and well taken care of. My only complain is the trails in this park are not clearly marked and they do not offer maps you can take with you. Other than it’s a great place!
GuideNice campground, loved having electric, water, and sewer hookups.
GuideCame here for a weekend getaway, to camp, hike and visit wineries, and was not disappointed. The campground is good, and camp hosts very friendly and helpful. Lots of trees for shade. Narrow roads with tight curves, along with the trees, made for a bit of a challenge. The hiking trails are beautiful, and not too crowded. There are many wineries within a short drive of the camp, which made for a fun afternoon. Really enjoyed our weekend here, and plan to return.
TravelerWe had a blast at Prizer Point KOA with our family over a weekend recently. Our site was on Ontario Rd, waterfront with plenty of spaces for the littles to run and play. Love that it’s dog friendly. Very clean and updated with more improvements in the works. Looking forward to visiting again this summer!
RangerSpacious and level sites with full hook-ups. The campground is convenient to all of the attractions in the area. There is easy access to the tunnel state trail in Vienna. It’s about a 9 mile ride to the tunnel. Be sure to visit Garden of the Gods. Really remarkable.
We very much enjoyed our stay and will return!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Metropolis, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Metropolis, IL is Shawnee Forest Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 32 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Metropolis, IL?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 equestrian camping locations near Metropolis, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
