Best Cabin Camping near Norris City, IL

What an absolute craphole. We rented the Wrangler cabin for 2 nights, the cabin(single-wide trailer) looked as if it it was placed in the 1980's and has never been touched. The floor in the cabin was soft(rotted), they had about 3 or 4 stick in air freshners in the cabin, so many that both my wife and I got a headache as soon as we walked in. We took them out, then after about an hour the smell that they were covering started to show up, musty, moldy smell. The furniture in the place I am sure they found on the side of the street. Broken tables, the one couch in the place was full of sweat stains, the beds were so soft and old, felt like sleeping in a bowl. The so-called microwave in the kitchen had food cooked in it. The black stuff near the air vents on the ceiling of the cabin is not dust, pretty sure its mold. There are water stains all over the ceiling. The cabin has stairs at both end of the front, the one end looks to be an old set of plastic pool stairs, that are busted. The floor in the bathroom was actually a sub-flooring, without flooring on top of it. IT IS A DUMP. Health and human services needs to go out and condemn this place. If you have dogs with you, and keep them on a leash, don't worry, they will have plenty of friends to play with, as there are loose dogs all over the place, we counted about 12. Like I said, we rented it for 2 nights, left first thing in the morning after the first night. I spent a lot of time in the Army, and slept in some bad spots before, this place is worse. Glad I got some money back. I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THIS PLACE, not even to someone I don't like!

Peaceful, family friendly-playgrounds, pool, hiking trails, picnic areas, large camp sites. Cabins available. Electric hookup at trailer sites.

Probably one of the smallest campsites I've been to and it's never been crowded when we went which is nice for our family. There are some very nice hiking trails and a great museum and nature center. We live right across the Ohio in Evansville thus this is our go to park for a last minute getaway where we don't have to worry about making reservations months in advance to get a decent spot.

We were a bit nervous about this campground when reading reviews and seeing the location (there is an Impact Incarceration Program that shares the border), but I'm glad we found it. We booked this spot a few weeks in advance for Memorial Day weekend, and honestly we only booked it because it was the only campground left that seemed somewhat acceptable out of campgrounds that accept reservations. I'm glad we did. The location is amazing, it didn't seem as crowded as other campgrounds in Shawnee National Forest, it was well maintained, and had lots of features that range from hiking trails to a swimming pool (and pretty confident a basketball court as well). Even though we did not take advantage of these features, the campsite itself was wonderful. It was exactly what we wanted - a little pine forest to sleep in and get away from the city and take it easy for the weekend. There were lots of kids and other people as expected for the holiday weekend, but that did not interfere with our stay. The campsites are very compacted, but it still feels very personal and private due to all the tree cover and bushes. Additionally, there are bathrooms onsite that are pretty clean, but expect lots of mosquitos on them. Finally, Golconda is only 10 miles away and has a grocery store that was stocked with essentials we forgot and a gas station to fill up. 

Here are some of the negatives: LOTS of poison ivy and ticks. Luckily, we expected this and came prepared with tweezers, tick remover, insect repellant, and poison ivy wipes. I gave my dog tick medicine two days prior to our departure, and the tweezers and tick remover came in handy since I was bit despite the ample amounts of insect repellant. The poison ivy is EVERYWHERE. Anywhere you see trees and bushes, there will be poison ivy. It was definitely nerve wracking putting up the hammock and unfortunately did not get to cuddle our dog at all since we were nervous of the possible oils on his fur. Also, their system for reservation is flawed - when we arrived the campsite we booked had a family already all settled in, and luckily we were able to find another available campsite otherwise we'd need to talk to the superintendent and kick that family out in order to get settled in. I would have been incredibly disgruntled if this ended up happening, but luckily the campsite we ended up having was better than the one we originally booked. Could have gone either way though. Finally, cars aren't allowed next to the campsite. We initially parked next to it and the superintendent asked us to move it to the parking lot. Makes it a hassle and is a bit of a bummer, but it was fine.

Wayne Fitzgerald State Park is on Rend Lake, just off I-57 in Southern Illinois. It’s a great place for camping, fishing and bikes. It’s convenient for a short stop if you are traveling through, or as a destination. Although it’s right off the interstate there is no traffic noise. The campground has 40 tent sites and over 240 modern campsites, which offer electrical hookups, water and sewer facilities. Modern sites are $20/night, with 30/50 amp service. Primitive sites are $6. There is no internet. There are a few pull through sites.. there is lots of room and the sites appear to be level. There are 3 shower buildings. Many sites can be reserved online. There is a playground, and boat ramp. The park has hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, horseback riding, hiking and boating. there is a golf course nearby and a lodge. Rend Lake is well-known for crappie, particularly in the early spring, as well as largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill.

General: I was a bit apprehensive about this state park because it did not take reservations, so we made sure to arrive by 11 am but we had no reason to worry – compared to other Illinois campgrounds we visited on this trip, this one was almost empty on a Wednesday in mid-October. Steve, the host, was very friendly and checked us in. The rate of $20 for an electric site was reasonable; we put a tag on our site and set off to explore nearby Garden of the Gods for the rest of the day, secure that we had a place to rest our heads for the night! 

Sites/Facilities: The sites are set a decent amount of space apart and have an additional parking space for a second vehicle. A large picnic table and fire ring (although the windy conditions were not favorable for a fire) completed the site. Some are not completely level, so it was good to be able to select the best site. 

Bathhouse: The bath/shower house was clean, and the shower had nice hot water and good water pressure. The drainage wasn’t optimal, however, and much of the water ended up in the rest of the bathroom. The only other thing to note is that the generator for the bathhouse is VERY loud so if you are in a site close by (we were across the street and one up), you WILL hear it but thankfully, when not in use, it was quiet through most of the night. 

Activities/Amenities: There is a playground and picnic shelter, and the (not very deep) cave is cool to explore (a short walk from the campground). There are a dump station and dumpster. I had good cell service (Verizon/three bars) in this campground. 

Conclusion: Although this state park is right on the Ohio River, the campground is set apart from the river so you will not see the river from the campground but it is close enough to walk to the banks of the river when exploring the cave. Nice place to spend a night.

Harmonie State Park looks like a great place for a family vacation. In addition to the campground with at least 2 playgrounds, there are trails, picnic areas and a boat ramp. We only stayed 1 night. Site 166 is big and on the end of a road. There's a restroom and water spigot within walking distance. They have showers but we didn't use them. Our only problem was 1 or more raccoons kept coming into our site. We shooed them away but they kept coming back. I'm sure they were just looking for food.

They have a great swimming pool. They do fun things for families to join in. They have bike trails all throughout for you to bike on. Very kid friendly!!

We stayed the weekend before Halloween. We missed reserving the weekend they have the campground trick or treating, which was the weekend before, but this was just as fun. Apparently that weekend has to be reserved the day reservations open for it. They had a trunk or treat in the pool parking lot and although there weren't a ton of vehicles, it was definitely enough for the kids to have fun trick or treating. Next time we'll be sure to park and hand out candy as well. There was also a hayride in the evening for a small fee and that included making smore's at the bonfire.

We camped with 3 other families and had adjacent sites that worked perfectly for us, plenty of space for the kids to play, although a little far from the playground.

Their hiking trails are nice, at least they were years ago when I camped here as a kid. The Wabash River has a great view, so be sure to check that out too. The little town of New Harmony is so quaint, you definitely have to stroll around town and visit the sites there! It's one of our favorites that is close to home