Best Equestrian Camping near North Utica, IL

This small campground has separate space for equestrian campers and those without horses. There are picnic tables, vault toilets and water. The campsites are all on grassy areas with trees at the edges. This gives you some shade depending on the time of day. The grassy sites were a bit unexpected. We saw tire marks showing that people drove into the grass to set up camp. Some of the sites were completely separate from anyone else by the camp road. You were entirely visible to anyone else in the park but it was empty during our stay. 

The Hennepin Canal Trail goes right through camp. On a previous visit I rode my bike along the crushed gravel trail. With a few connecting roads, I traveled from a Chicago suburb to the Mississippi River. While I didn’t see any horses then we did see a couple riding on the trail today. 

This is a good spot for an overnight rest but there isn’t much more to the amenities than the campsites.

I will give the staff credit, the park is well maintained and looks very clean. Having said that, this park is right next to the Hennepin Canal, which is full of stagnant water, a breeding ground for millions of mosquitos.

Honestly, it was difficult to even understand how camping worked at this park. If you are not a local you wouldn't know where the campground is... well, the camps are set on the trails that run parallel to the canal. That is the only thing I could figure out from the message board and some hiking. The entire time I did not see one tent or person camping.

On the positive side, if you want to ride your horse the trails running along the canal are equestrian trails and allow horses to camp with you. The other positive is there is a cool walking bridge over the canal. These positives are not enough to overcome the fact that you are a juicy meal for the un-numbered mosquitos that live and breed in the canal.

Located just northwest of the little hamlet called Franklin Grove, which is just due north of Ronald Reagan’s birthplace in Dixon, Franklin Creek State Natural Area Equestrian Campground is ideal if you are one of those primitive campers who want to take their noble steed(s) with them for the night in order to gallup along some pretty amazing horse-friendly trails. While there’s not a lot in the way of amenities here, if you need a post to tie up your horse, a round-about where they can go for countless circle walks along with plenty of hay to keep them fed, then this location might just be ideal for you.

What I enjoyed most about Franklin Creek State Natural Area is the 882 acres of fresh prairieland that feels fairly untouched and ready for some eager exploration. There’s several small natural springs completely shadowed by endless forests of hardwoods along with all of the natural fauna that you would expect in these parts like gray and fox squirrels, white-tailed deer, racoons, chipmunks, beavers and opossums. If you’re a bird watcher, you’ll enjoy the flycatchers, warblers, and woodpeckers, vireos as well as barn and horned-rim owls. And according to the information I found on-site, there’s more than 19 species of fish that you can find in the fresh water streams, creeks and rivers here.

From an amenities standpoints, while you will find 4 picnic shelters (Bartlett, Sunday, Banker and Hausen-Knox, all of which can be reserved), restrooms, potable drinking water, stand-up grills and fire pits, there is very little in the way of amenities in the actual equestrian campground apart from water spigots with a picnic shelter, restrooms, running water, show area and the occasional picnic table. The equestrian trails offer more than 12 miles of horse hoofing fun and the terrain is heavily forested with just slight variable grades increasing and decreasing around fairly easy-to-maneuver turns. You’ll also discover that there is a very nice stream here that the kids will love jumping across and / or wading in searching for crawdads or small fish.

What you’ll enjoy most about being here, apart from the peace & quiet as well as the abundance of serenity is that this place has a really nice connection with history as it features a fully functioning grist mill that goes all the way back to early Americana where corn meal and wheat flour were made from the stream currents of water passing by that would fuel the grist mill. On weekends, you can actually take the kids to this site, located just 70 yards west of the Equestrian Campground for a super-cool interactive exhibition. Other activities here that you can access include an archery range, cross-country skiing, fishing, hiking, biking, hunting and even snowmobiling.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Should you get tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the depths of your Cordova roto-molded cooler or on-board RV mini-fridge, then you are in luck as with in the nearby town of Franklin Grove, given its very small population of just slightly more than 1,000 souls shouldn’t have many restaurants (let alone stop lights), but thankfully for your sake, it does. Apart from the Casey’s gas station, which actually serves up some pretty awesome pizza believe it or not, there’s 3 proper restaurants all serving ‘down home Midwestern comfort food’ that are each pretty delectable: Lincoln Way Café, Rooney’s and Rev on 38; (2) If you are looking to explore a slice of history in these parts and the grist mill just isn’t your thing, head due west to Dixon where you can go explore the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. There’s also nearby Chaplin Creek Historic Village featuring an old salt box farmhouse as well as a one room school, which will take you back to the late 1800s before the world knew modernization and technology; (3) Although the trail hiking at Franklin Creek State Natural Area are very good, should you be on the hunt for much more challenging trail hiking or biking, then head on over to either White Pines Forest State Park or Castle Rock State Park, both of which are only about a 20 minute drive from here and offer very large areas to explore; (4) Should you come with kayak or canoe and are looking for some good challenging currents to get some excellent oar-rowing in, you will struggle to find that here at Franklin Creek State Natural Area, so I highly recommend towing your watercraft over to the banks of the Rock River where you will be richly rewarded; and (5) When you are ready to book this particular equestrian campground, just go to the IL SP site to book it: https://camp.exploremoreil.com/location/221.

Happy Camping!

Got kicked out cause I didn't have a horse. Even though it was completely empty. Gave me my $8 back though.

Grass camping. The spaces are pretty level. The trees will be terrific in about 20 years. There is nothing much to do here, or nearby. It’s clean and the comfort stations are new. There is electric at the sites and water spigots throughout, although not really at each space. I saw where some campers hooked about 150’ of hose to spigots behind the loops to run to their campers. The dump station is good. It’s expensive, for what is there, if you are not a Kane County resident. There appears to be some equestrian space and trails. Quiet.

This is a working ranch where you’re able to board your horse while camping yourself. They have a game room, snack bar, swimming pond, playground, water and electric hook-ups, shower building with flush toilets, and firewood. Rates start around $20 for a tent site. They’re open from April 15th to October.

Ever dreamt of working / living / camping on an actual working horse ranch?  Then you've arrived at the perfect spot.  As my post from a bit more than a year ago provided quite a bit of detail on this campground, I’m following up on that review by sharing more fotos as well as providing a topline update:

Highlights: (1) Great hiking and kayaking in nearby Rock Cut State Park & George Fell Nature Preserve; (2) Supreme amount of peace & quiet; (3) Authentic feeling like you are actually on a working horse farm; (4) Sites are spacious and nicely shaded; (5) Excellent, well-maintained amenities like a game room, arcade, playground, small swimming pond, clean restroom & showers; (6) Very friendly and welcoming CG staff; and (7) Ample space to wander around and get lost in nature

Lowlights: (1) This CG is very remote; (2) There is nothing nearby to either stock up on supplies or grab a bite to eat, so when you come here, bring everything with you that you’ll need

Happy Camping!

For those that bring their noble steed to this campground, you’ll have it basically all to yourself. I have to admit, I was incredibly bummed to arrive here only to discover that this campground was reserved exclusively for those packing their four-legged, mane-baring, buggy-pulling horse friends, but hey, there were some pretty outstanding trails to hike during the day and the friendly on-site ranger made a call over to nearby Starved Rock SP to secure me a camping spot over there, so not all was lost. 

If you do plan on camping here alongside your horses, you will want to note that there is no reservation system and that all sites are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s a registration envelope that you’ll pick up when you arrive at Matthiessen SP, where you’ll simply need to fill this out with your name, # of days that you are planning to stay and then deposit the envelope in the drop-off kiosk along with the nightly fee and you’re all good. 

With nearly 2,000 acres, there’s a lot to explore here at Matthiessen SP, located just south of Utica by a few miles and due east of Oglesby by 3 miles. Whether you are camping or not, from the many valleys you will surprisingly encounter (Illinois is an incredibly flat state, for those that may not know) and the small trickling waterfalls you will stumble across to the non-stop trails, canyons, bridges, stairways, dams and dells that you will come across in this place, there is a really good cross-section of prairie land that meets densely-packed forests. What makes this area particularly unique is the unusual rock formations that you will discover all over the place, and nearby Starved Rock SP is no exception, where you’ll encounter exposed lime and sandstone. With water seepage and rain occurring naturally and in overabundance here, the residual impact of the water that dries on the sandstone adds to the verdant colors that you will find decorating the canyon walls. 

Occasionally, if you are especially quiet, you’ll come across no shortage of white-tailed deer or wild turkeys foraging through the crabapple and plum trees that are scattered throughout the forest here. Cottontail rabbits are scurrying around trying to stay hidden from the several bald eagles that conquer the skies and who beat out the vastly over-populated flocks of red-tailed hawks that usually beat them to their lunch. You’ll be able to catch a glimpse of most of these unadulterated natural experiences along most of the 5 miles of trails that can be found here at Matthiessen SP, where believe it or not, the easier of the hiking trails are located in the upper bluffs and the more difficult trails to manage are those on the interior. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If like me, you stumbled across this campground and forgot to bring your horse (er, or don't have one to begin with), no worries, there’s a ton of outdoor camping outposts near here, top of which I would highly recommend Starved Rock SP, actually located just kitty-cornered from Matthiessen SP, or Kishauwau County Cabins, which is but a 10 minute drive from here; (2) In all of my camping, I have never really worried too much about poison ivy or ticks, until I came here – you definitely want to not only look out for the 3-leafed poison ivy that thrives here (note: if the 3-leafed descriptor wasn’t enough, be sure to look for the greenish-white berries), but be sure to bring some suave to apply to any skin that comes into contact with this nefarious plant, and if you find that you have a vampire-like tick that has fallen in love with you, a simple match applied close to the bugger will usually do the trick; (3) When you get tired of foraging for your next meal from the depths of your Cordova cooler, then head on over to The Lodge at Starved Rock SP where they serve up some pretty traditional continental American food of which I highly recommend the fried Walleye, smoked duck or the pan-fried pork chop; (4) When you’re looking for a great place to drop your kayak or canoe into, then head no further than the lower portion of Starved Rock SP where there is a boat and kayak launch into the turbulent currents of the Illinois River; and (5) After a good several days of camping, hiking and kayaking, you’ll definitely be looking for a place to ‘whet your whistle’ of which I would recommend heading over to Utica where you can try out one of the many taps they have on hand at Skoog’s Pub& Grill. 

Happy Camping!

Located literally just a few stone’s throw due west of the tiny town of Wyanet, which is just a few miles west of better-known Princeton, you will access this little spec of undisturbed primitive camping bliss first via the major Highway 80, running east-west, and then, eventually via Route 6, which is more like a well-paved country backroad than anything else. While you will be hard pressed to find Hennepin Canal Lock 21 on your GPS, trust me, if you simply head west out of Wyanet, you will eventually find this jewel in the middle of nature.

If you didn’t already know, the Hennepin Canal, and its series of locks & dams will eventually connect you with two of the most amazing rivers in the entirety of the US: the mighty Mississippi as well as the murky depths of the Illinois River – both of which are great for kayaking BTW. Should you choose to follow the canal in its entirety, you will be ushered through the minuscule townships of Mineral, Sheffield, Wyanet, Tiskilwa and Bureau – all of which are fairly emblematic of small Midwestern blue-collared towns that still to this day possess an equal amount of charm and hospitality, which the area is very well known for.

Given that you can’t actually make a reservation here (or at any of the campgrounds along the Hennepin Canal for that matter) as this spot and the 5 others that make up the Hennepin Canal Lock camping options are only offered on a first-come, first-served basis, one thing is for certain: if you planned to truly ‘get away from it all’ you really can ‘have your cake and eat here too’ at Hennepin Canal Lock 21. While there is no actual check-in or check-out time, occasionally there is a park ranger that will come by to check on the location and collect those $8 nightly fares, although we never came across a ranger during our entire canal-navigating weeklong journey. You should also note that all of the campgrounds up and down the canal are class C camping, meaning that these primitive camping sites do not have showers or electricity, so either bring your own or, better yet, learn to live without these conveniences for a few days and actually embrace the opportunity to connect with nature.

As you arrive, ultimately via Route 6 & Route 34, you will need to hang a left (coming westbound from Wyanet), where after just a short jig heading due south, you will find the first of 5 camping areas on either side of the main road you are driving down. On the right, in addition to the camping area, you will discover the first of 3 restrooms and just slightly beyond that, the boat launch. If instead of turning right to follow this first encampment, you head left, following the Hennepin Canal, you will see a small camping area on your immediate left, followed by a water spigot, after which you will come across another much larger camping area that has the second restroom facility. Opposite of these 2 camping areas on the other side of the road, there are 2 small camping areas that run right along the canal. If you go back to to the main road, from which you just came, and continued south across the little land bridge and hang another left, you will go around a small pond that will eventually present the third and final restroom facility as you go up a slight incline, where on your immediate right will be the sixth and final camping area that has been reserved for equestrian campers, of which there’s about 4-5 individual sites complete with a wooden hitching post to tie your horses down.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Of all the camping options up and down the Hennepin Canal, while Canal Lock 21 is likely the largest and has more campsite offerings, it is still very basic and primitive, apart from the restroom, boat launch, picnic tables and fire rings that you will find. If that bothers you or you are simply looking for a spot with more space to explore, then likely the Hennepin Canal camping options aren’t for you, and instead, you may want to look just a bit further afield to another amazing place called Johnson-Sauk SP; (2) Should you grow weary of fixing ‘franks & beans’ again for dinner over your roaring fire, while there isn’t much out in these parts, if you are looking for some local fare, over in nearby Wyanet, you’ll find an abundance of just 3 options: Casey’s for well-made, fresh pizza; Harley-K’s Filipino Restaurant, which might actually just shock you!; or Ecky’s Tap, which is fairly darn amazing actually, but only serves up booze. For anything else, head on into Princeton, where there’s tons of options; (3) There is no potable drinking water anywhere at any of these locks up and down the Hennepin Canal apart from at the Visitors Center, so ensure you bring your own water or a filtration system; (4) Should you have your own kayak or canoe, the Hennepin Canal is very nice to explore, although at times difficult to navigate, especially when you come to each of the sets of locks and dams. If that is bothersome and you simply want to get some oaring in without having to take your watercraft in and out of the water every 30 minutes or so, then head on over to Goose Lake just southwest of Hennepin, which is a fantastic lake to explore and has some decent fishing as well; and (5) If you are on the look-out for simply amazingly fresh meats to ‘slap on the Barby’ then head on over to Wyanet Meat Locker, which has fresh venison, pheasant and of course, all of the typical Midwestern carnivore fare like brats, Ribeyes, burgers and pork chops, which all would be DELISH on that flip-open BBQ grill you have back at Canal Lock 21.

Happy Camping!

If you fancy pitching a tent or parking your RV for the night in an actual horse / farming working ranch environment, which puts you quite close to some pretty amazing river kayaking, somewhat challenging, yet scenic hiking all in a fairly historic area of north central Illinois, then Hansen’s Hideaway may just be the spot for you. Located a good 15 to 20 minutes southwest from downtown Oregon, in 1962 Bill & Evelyn founded Hansen’s Hideaway, which is comprised of 100 or so acres of rich farmland and pastures where you’ll see a good swath of horse roaming freely. Out here, there’s nothing to obstruct your pretty amazing view of the Midwest moonlit sky, apart from the handful of red barns and scattered Oaks that will provide you plenty of shade during a hot, sunny summer afternoon. 

As for the campground, you’ll first look for a sign pointing you to Hansen’s Hideaway while you are driving west on S Harmony Road – and when you see the sign, you’ll want to head due south, passing a few houses, until you will have no other choice but to follow the bend in the road, which immediately reveals the main office at Hansen’s Hideaway. You’ll pass underneath one of those oversized wooden ‘OK Corral’ ranch gates that welcomes visitors to Hansen’s Hideaway, which is a nice touch. The office itself is quite homey with a wood-burning furnace, a number of comfy sofa chairs to sit in along with the check-in desk. The front office also serves as a bit of a market store, although there is not a whole lot here for sale. 

Additional amenities here at Hansen’s Hideaway include: game room / video game arcade, horseshoe pits, covered pavilions with picnic tables, firewood & ice available for sale, designated dumping station, snack bar, fairly decent restroom and shower facilities, kid’s playground, water and electric hook-ups (no sewage lines to speak of) as well as scattered picnic tables, fire rings and BBQ grills. The ‘crown jewel’ amenity at this camping ranch is the man-made swimming pond with a small little beachhead encircling it, which the kids will love. And while you could pitch a tent here, to be fair, this is definitely more of an RV countryside outpost. There are two primary ‘neighborhoods’ or loops here, with the first being just past the main building where you would have checked in at, while the second is further afield and requires you to veer to your left just before reaching the pond and driving about 100 years before reaching 2 oval loops that have RV slots around the perimeter. In all, there’s about 40 slots for RVs in both of these two designated outposts. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) I think the name ‘Hideaway’ is fairly accurate here, as you will find that you are very far away from just about everything, which is great if your goal is to commune with nature, but this also means that you should come prepared with everything you may need during your stay; (2) While there are 2 different neighborhoods to consider parking your RV, the area closest to the main office is definitely the one that is more congested, with sites being quite close to one another and given that the main office as well as the swimming pond are in the vicinity, of the areas to choose from, this is definitely the busier of the two, although it does provide you quicker and closer access to the amenities; (3) If hiking is on the agenda then you should definitely check out nearby George B. Fell Nature Preserve and Lowden-Miller Forest, both of which have some easy-to-medium trails to hike; (4) Should you coming towing watercraft, I would hightail it over to Castle Rock State Park, where on the bend of the Rock River (just look for the overlook signs) there’s a very decent kayak launch that you can depart from and which will take you down river; (5) If you’d like to take to the water in style (and have a good meal at the same time), then check out Maxson Restaurant & Riverboat, which will provide you with an AMAZING view of the Oregon area, but on the river, all while you are throwing some strong martinis back to wash down all that Saturday night prime rib special!; and (6) If you don’t have your sea legs about you and would rather stay on land while trying out the local fare and don’t mind a short 20 or so minute drive back to civilization, I would recommend the deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich with natural cut French fries all while slurping down the chocolate cake shake at Jay’s Drive-In, the Fettucine Rose pasta with shrimp and the most amazing Sauvignon Blanc in the world at La Vigna or fried anything (chicken, catfish, cod, wings, oreos) at Messie’s Bar & Grill in Oregon. 

Happy Camping!

As my post from a bit more than a year ago provided quite a bit of detail on this campground, I’m following up on that review by sharing more fotos as well as providing a topline update:

Highlights: (1) Great hiking abounds in this particular Illinois SP where there exists a combination of EZ, intermediate and difficult hiking and riding paths; (2) There’s great kayaking in nearby Illinois River, which you can access at multiple points, but my favorite is to shove off either at Starved Rock SP boat launch or head south of that SP by about 3 miles to one of the several launches that exist on the southern shore; (3) Supreme amount of peace & quiet here at this CG for you and your steed with simply amazing great galloping trails as well as numerous places to tie up your four-hoofed friend; (4) Sites are spacious and nicely shaded; (5) The facilities are basic-to-bad, so lower your expectations and bring your own sanitary wipes; (6) Ample space to wander around and get lost in nature

Lowlights:(1) This CG is EZ to miss if you don’t look for it – DON’T drive all the way into Matthiessen SP either on its west or east sides – this CG has its own discreet entry with parking near the road on the east side; (2) The grounds themselves could benefit from some TLC as there’s a lot of downed branches and even trash scattered around the place (that we cleaned up before leaving); (3) Depending upon how you look at it, this CG had no one there on the 3 occasions we visited – which was fine for us, but some might find the solitude here a bit daunting

Happy Camping!

Located just northwest of Bloomington, which is located absolutely smack-dab in the middle of the state of Illinois, you’ll discover a nature wonderland over here nearly hidden from plain site. One moment you’ll be driving down the well-paved country road with golden tassles of corn popping up on either side of you and the very next, you’ll turn into a wooded sanctuary that is punctuated by the marvelous Evergreen Lake, which was built in 1970 and is some 925 acres in size with an average depth of nearly 20 feet and 50 feet at its deepest.

It is this fresh body of water that really makes Comlara County Park stand-out from just about anything else in the surrounding area. It has not one but two outstanding boat launches as well as a separate launch for canoes and kayaks. There are simply tons of little nooks and crannies all around the lake to get some decent fishing in – which you will predominantly find largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, saugeye, muskellunge and crappie – as well as a small individual isle called Deer Island, although when we explored the small land mass, no deer were to be found. There’s boat rentals and a bait shop that is available on the weekends only as well as a proper beach head with swimming available 7 days a week during the summertime (Memorial Day – Labor Day).

As far as the campground(s) are concerned – if you look closely, there's actually not 1, not 2, not even 3, but actually 4 to choose from – but if you add up all of the 144 campsites (apart from the primitive camping options) collectively, they are spaced a little too close to comfort for my taste, which when you add on top of that there isn’t much brush or anything separating you from your neighbors camping alongside of you. This is likely my biggest complaint: privacy. If that doesn’t matter to you and you enjoying being in a large wide open space chock full with other tents, RVs and 5th wheelers, then Comlara County Park is a great choice for you.

I would first begin by pointing out that the entire Comlara Park is very well organized, kept impeccably clean and very easy to navigate with relatively good roads and decent signage. It feels as though whether you are looking for a trail to hike, a spot to launch your kayak, biking trails to navigate or finding a fishing hole to cast a line, everything seems as though it is in very close reach and just a short walk away. All of the 144 campsites are made available on a first-come, first served basis, with 94 including 30 / 50 amp electric while 23 are non-electric sites, with the 11 remaining devoid of any hook-ups.

For my tent-pitching primitive bredren, there’s 16 walk-in sites in the main recreation area (I guess that is situated amongst or in-between the other 3 campgrounds that exist here), but there is a completely separate whole other area (oh, and located completely in a different county altogether), which is technically a completely different campground in a completely separate physical location with these 16 primitive campsites.

With amenities in mind, aside from the greatest asset being Evergreen Lake itself and beyond the associated amenities that have already been highlighted (e.g. boat launch, beach, canoe / boat rental, bait shop) there’s 3 kid’s playground, at least 5 large shelters by my count, at least 3 his / her bathroom and shower facilities as well as scattered in-ground fire rings, water spigots (basically planted every 3rd or 4th site) stand-up BBQ grills as well as the prerequisite picnic tables, all of which were in very condition during our stay. There’s only one dump station, which seemed odd considering that there’s at least 3 campgrounds if not 4 here and 144 sites collecting garbage at a single time. There is firewood, ice and fishing worms available at the visitors center and campground station in the main area.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If like me you are a primitive tent camper and on the look out for some pretty amazing, not-so-EZ places on earth to really feel like you are out enjoying pristine, undisturbed nature, then you’ll want to have a very close look at the primitive camping areas west of Evergreen Lake over near White Oak. There’s 16 or so simply excellent lakefront sites over here along with your own boat dock; (2) Should you be ‘herd camping’ with a much larger group, there’s actually a simply fantastic hidden group camping oasis over here in White Oaks as well that you can get away from it all; (3) In the event that you grow weary of cooking up franks & beans again for dinner, you’ll have a decent drive to either El Paso, where there’s a Monical’s Pizza, Dairy Queen, Casey’s, El Paso Mexican or, upgrade yourself to The Local Tap, which is a craft kitchen and alehouse serving up some excellent fare. Of course, you could head into Bloomington, of which you will find everything, but that’s a bit of a hike unless, like me, you would make that drive to either have some of the best deep dish pizza Chicago has to offer, Giordano’s, or one of the greatest sausage and Italian beef joints in the world, Portillo’s.

Happy Camping!

Plenty of room! Multiple campsites along the canal. Very clean & well maintained. Boat ramp. Clean, well kept restrooms with Handicapped access & parking. Yes, there is mosquitoes. But if you want to fish right from your campsite, you gotta expect that! Theres some stagnant seaweed along the shoreline but the water has a strong flow. Fishing is good! Bull-heads, sun fish, big mouth bass are abundant. Grills, picnic tables & garbage cans at every camp site. A few spots have plenty of room for multiple tents or a large RV. Shade trees, soft grass, a nice trail to walk & great views. The stars in the night sky are breathtaking! This isn't some posh camping for someone looking to get a resort-feel. But if you want to fish, have a clean bathroom & enjoy relaxing with lots of room, this is the place! Only $8 a night.

Not worth the drive here to tent camp if you live outside of Kane county. Even their 9 hike-in primitive sites hugging the treeline lack privacy. Yes, all the sites are very flat. It's a nice field if that's what you look for in a campground.