Best Tent Camping near New Athens, IL

A great spot for a quick get away from St Louis. Beautiful park with lots to do not far from the campground. If you are tent camping you don't have to worry about generators from the RVs as there are two separate camping areas that share a really nice shower house, but have their own bathrooms as well. Be careful to not get a tent site in the middle, in the low area, as rain runoff will run down to the middle area. No tent pads, but plenty of grassy areas to pitch your tent. Activities in the park include swimming in the pool or the Big River, canoeing (rent at the Thunderbird Lodge), hiking, and petroglyphs.

Peaceful tent camping on Walkers Island at $8 per day.

Doesn't allow pets for tent sites

Nice state park close to St Louis. Good, if short, trails. The campground is used a lot by RV and campers, not so much by tenters. Lots of campsites had electric. All had the standard pininic tables and fire rings, and the campground has a decent and clean shower house. You might end up pitching your tent on a parking pad as many tent sites don't have level grassy spots for your tent. Sites are not very private, and some are right on top of the next. I like sites 65 and 58 for their privacy or grassy tent spots.

Plenty of tent camping sites. There are primitive also. Great Lake to fish and plenty of trails to hike. Looks like the rv site can get booked up on weekends.

Camper area is well cared for but tent camping needed to be mowed desperately. Lots of bug spray required. the area is very hilly and narrow to drive through. Over all very nice place to camp!

Cleanest bathrooms ever and heated and air conditioner. Quiet and plenty of trees and a walking path. A beach to swim at and a dock to fish off. A playground for kids. You can tent camp in a.few places but mai.ly for electric campers and.RV's. We camp here several times a year.

We spent a Saturday and Sunday there camping in the electric site. They do have tent sites but we wanted to be closer to the river which was a 2min walk.

Great place, awesome people and kid friendly. Definitely will be back!

while there are many full service sites available, this campground offers dozens of rustic tent sites right next to Carlyle Lake as well! Our tent site was shaded and our one neighbor was quiet and friendly. We felt secluded yet had easy access to the campground shower house, swimming pool, wooded nature trail, campground hosts and camp store. We were within a few minutes drive of the main lake beach and facilities that include a restaraunt and visitors center. A 7 minute drive gets you into the town of Carlyle which has all the necessities- food, gas and Walmart.

We were incredibly pleased with the quiet tranquility of this site and the views were fantastic. We woke up to hear the lake lapping at the shoreline. We had a nearly private cove to fish as well.

This is a wonderful campground and we will certainly Be back again!

this ground is very well kept and is oerfect for tent camping. the only downfall is the amount trees. although the sites are very large, flat, and easy, you can see everyones business because there is maybe 1 tree in between each site. but there is a creek, trails, walk in sites, and lots of history to check out.

Typical Jellystone, lots for kids to do. Really small sites. Tent sites seem fairly flat. I’m in a site for small campers. The site is bowed front to back and not level side to side. You can hear highway traffic all night and the kids hit the playground, right outside my window, at 7:00.

We stayed here last minute for Labor Day Weekend and the staff were great with finding us a good tent site available. This is not a rugged style campground as there are many amenities such as a pool, putt putt golf, volleyball, and more. They also host daily kids activities and crafts. A very family friendly campground and would highly recommend if camping with kids!

Not a huge campground but, Its a really simple beautiful place to enjoy Missouri's rolling hills. It is located 1 hour from St. Louis and 30 ish min from Elephant Rock State park. If your in the area check out the other amazing Missouri state parks while staying here. The Missouri Mines state park is maybe a 5 min drive and a neat place to see. Tent sites, Bathroom and some hammock spots.

Really great campground. Good mix of tents and RVs. Bath house was very well kept and clean. Showers ran cold at first but after a few mins it gets warmer! There were plenty of pit toliets through out the campground and trash cans. My tent site was clean, good flat spot for tent, picnic table and fire pit with attached grill.

The Concession building in the park is closing. No boat rentals, selling everything he has on the shelf.

Caught a few bass and and good amount of hiking. Large trail around the whole lake, smaller trails lead to sites around the different campgrounds.

“Hazlet” has over 300 sites with electric hook-ups and 30+ tent sites. It is a popular destination for locals and those nearby during the summer and fall, but if you are able to choose your site early, there are quite a few options that will offer more privacy. Some sites sit directly on Carlyle Lake.

There are many walking trails in and around the campground, plus a pool and campground store at the entrance. The bathrooms and showers are pretty well maintained and spread out well throughout the large campground.

Lots to do for all ages, including swimming and hikes of any difficulty/length. Famous for petroglyphs and other history too. Green rolling hills that would be ideal to visit in the fall. The electrics sites are closer to the river, the tent sites are more private in trees in a separate area.

Yay: Rent a canoe/kayak/tube to enjoy the river (on site!).

Nay: Make sure to get away from the developed part of the campground to enjoy this nature. Surprise: Petroglyphs are the icing on the cake here!

Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site is located on the remains of historic Fort Kaskaskia, constructed by the French in the 1700s to defend the town of Kaskaskia. Founded in 1703, the town was a central commercial center. The fort was periodically occupied by French or U.S. troops until 1807.

The remnants of Fort Kaskaskia include long earthworks forming a rough square. A footpath leads to the Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site, located at the bottom of the bluff.

Near the pavilion, which was recently rebuilt after being destroyed by a fire, you can get sweeping view of the Mississippi river below. The overlook area includes picnic shelters with tables and grills.

The campground includes tent-camping and RV sites, 32 are electric sites. There is a bathroom and shower building.

We stayed here with a new camper, to be near our RV dealer and hardware stores. The site was ok, tricky to level. There was a steep drop just past our steps, and not a lot of room to set up chairs, etc. Honestly, the site we were in felt like an afterthought, as we were just pulled off the lower loop road. But we were there primarily to op check the camper features, and this campground allowed us to do so.  

If you're visiting Six Flags this is an ideal location, with a great camp store and restaurant, and lots of things for kids to do. I found good hiking trails nearby at Rockwoods Range. There are a lot of cabins and tent sites here as well.  The camp staff were friendly and helpful. And the sunrise from our site was beautiful!

Saint Francois is a tent and rv campground just 1 hour south of saint louis, MO in Bonne Terre. It also along a river which allows swimming at your own risk because there is no real entrance site. But plenty of gravel bars. I personally enjoy this park and its sites. The rvs and tents are separated which i love. And the tent sites have plenty of room for 2-3 tents plus games. They provide individual showers, out houses every 6 sites, flat areas for tents, ice, wood, and activities. Trails, parks, and lots of fields to play in.The only downfalls are (1) entering the park. You enter on a dangerous highway where you need plenty of room and stopping to enter but there is none. Getting out is the worst especially if you have a trailor and move slow. There is no lane for you to pull out. Cars are fine. (2) the river is monopolized by 1 company for rafting/kayaking/canoing. You have to make an appointment, they only accept cash, and the websites dont show correct equipment. But it gets the job done.

Babler is always a place you should try. we camp here every weekend because its so close to our house when we cant travel. but there are a few things to keep in mind.

The good: good trails, the whole park is a memorial so good history, very large, equestrian available, showers and bathrooms, playground, paved drive in, wood and ice available, near a grocery store and restaurants

The bad: racoons everywhere! they are scandalous and will be happy to shake your hand they dont care. thats how close they get to you. we used homemade cayenne pepper water for a perimeter but it only works until we went to bed. if you are tent camping your spot is very hit or miss. we always plan ahead and look at the pictures because some sites say its for tent but its just a dropping slope. you might as well pitch on the concrete. the sites are good are Very good! the sites that are bad... just annoying while sleeping. it lools like they are fixing it this year though. the ticks are pretty bad in spots nesstled into the trees. fpr RV's half the spots for you are out in the sun. you have to look at the pictures and choose wisely.

i know its a lot but babler is really a great park.

Huge area with 3 campgrounds: lonely oaks campground (tent) little bears campground (tent) and shady rest (RV with hook ups). Shady Rest Sites have electrical hook ups for RVs there are good amount of trees and shade — just a basic nice campground spaced out from your neighbors. About 100 sites between all three campgrounds. Arrived mid week in October and only at 25% capacity. Really nice and easy.

They were very picky about every single thing we set up. They required the tent had to be set up on the gravel but we had 2 large tents and they did not fit. Plus who wants to sleep on gravel. Had to buy wood but was only open a couple hours day. It was not a relaxing weekend.