For those who want to experience Oakland, but still want the creature comforts of home, consider glamping for your trip. Glamping is not only a fun alternative to traditional tent camping, but also allows you to pack more or less gear as you see fit. You're sure to find glamping for your Illinois camping excursion.
As Indiana’s second state park, Turkey Run Campground was established in 1916. The story behind its name suggests that local hunters would find herds of wild turkeys gathering in the area’s narrow canyon bottoms—called “runs”—and funnel them out for easy harvesting. The area’s natural history goes back a little father—upwards of 600 million years. It was around this time that the sandstone and coal deposits seen in the park were being formed and compacted in a vast, swampy plain. Fast-forward several million years, and Ice Age meltwaters cut and scoured the creeks, canyons, and potholes seen today. Some of the glacial erratics (boulders) seen in the park are actually pieces of bedrock that were transported from as far north as Canada. Visitors to Turkey Run can explore these unique canyons, enjoy the park’s natural scenery, fish and paddle in Sugar Creek, and see several historic sites.
Located 10 miles north of Rockville, and 70 miles west of Indianapolis, Turkey Run State Park is year-round nature and recreation area covering nearly 2,400 acres along Sugar Creek. The campground at Turkey Run features more than 200 tent and RV sites with electrical hookups, picnic tables and fire pits with cooking grills; some sites are ADA accessible. Most sites are back-in and can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 45 feet; a few pull-throughs can accommodate larger. All sites have access to drinking water, flush and vault restrooms, and showers; two dump stations are available onsite. There are also two primitive tent camping areas for youth groups, several cabins for rent, and the historic Turkey Run Inn, which offers 61 lodge rooms, a dining room, and meeting spaces. Dogs are permitted in the park, but must remain leashed. Campsites raters are $23–$33/night; other accommodations range from $67–$110/night; reservations accepted.
Besides exploring Turkey Run’s canyon runs, the park offers a variety of hiking trails, picnic areas, and sports courts. The park’s nature center showcases a variety of exhibits and interactive activities to educate visitors about the park’s geology, flora and fauna. Park naturalists offer guided hikes and nature walks, animal talks and campfire programs. Swimming is not permitted in Sugar Creek, but anglers can fish for bass and bluegill, and paddlers can head out in canoes and kayaks. Swimmers are invited to enjoy the park’s Olympic-sized swimming pool for cooling off during the warmer months. The park also offers hayrides and guided horseback rides. For a blast from the past, visitors can also tour the historic Lusk Home. Built in 1841, this restored European home displays a lifestyle from a bygone era. Watch out for the resident raccoons.
$20 / night
Forrest W. ''Bo'' Wood Recreation Area has a large campground on the northern shore of Lake Shelbyville in the heart of central Illinois. The lake and surrounding land offer outdoor activities for people of all ages, including fishing, swimming, picnicking and simply relaxing. Click here for a virtual tour of the Lake Shelbyville area.
Lake Shelbyville offers a multitude of fishing opportunities for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskie, walleye, white bass and bluegill. The campground has a boat ramp for easy access to the water, and for those without a boat, several ponds with farmed fish are available around the lake. Hunting areas located within a short drive offer numerous game species, including quail, rabbit, pheasant, deer, dove, turkey, waterfowl and woodcock.
This facility lies on the shoreline with a steep descent down to the water. Oak and hickory forests offer plenty of shade. Foliage turns a variety of red, orange, purple and yellow each fall, while prairie flowers dot the landscape in spring and summer. Numerous species of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors inhabit the lake area, as do mammals such as cottontail rabbit, white-tail deer, gray and fox squirrel, muskrat and mink.
Wolf Creek State Park, Woods Lake Waterfowl Refuge and Okaw Bluff Wetlands Complex are popular locations for wildlife watching, birding and hunting near Lake Shelbyville.
$24 / night
This recreation area is part of Lake Shelbyville
This recreation area is part of Lake Shelbyville
Lithia Springs Campground sits on the eastern shore of Lake Shelbyville in the heart of central Illinois. This facility has a variety of amenities and offers outdoor activities for people of all ages, including fishing, swimming, picnicking and simply relaxing.
Lake Shelbyville offers a multitude of fishing opportunities for catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskie, walleye, white bass and bluegill. Lithia Springs provides a boat ramp, and for those without a boat, several ponds with farmed fish are available around the lake. Hunting areas within a short drive offer numerous game species, including quail, rabbit, pheasant, deer, dove, turkey, waterfowl and woodcock.
The campground lies in an oak and hickory forest. Foliage turns a variety of red, orange, purple and yellow each fall, while prairie flowers dot the landscape in spring and summer. Numerous species of songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and raptors inhabit the lake area, as do mammals such as cottontail rabbit, white-tail deer, gray and fox squirrel, muskrat and mink.
Wolf Creek State Park, Woods Lake Waterfowl Refuge and Okaw Bluff Wetlands Complex are popular locations for wildlife watching, birding and hunting near Lake Shelbyville.
$18 / night
$25 / night
Scout
Lovely little campground with its own little lake. Well maintained. Clean laundry. Friendly and helpful owner. Visible presence throughout campground checking that all is well.
Traveler
Friends Creek is a small campground with nice spacious sites and super clean bathhouses and pit toilets. The fire pits are well kept and the camp host was very kind! He came around with suckers for the kids and just to check in. We hiked a bit on the trails and played in the creek. Highly recommend.
Guide
Turkey Run is a fabulous state park with a nice campground. My only complaint about the campground is that many sites are in an open, level area without a lot of trees or bushes between them. You don’t have a lot of privacy. Two sections of the campground, with the higher numbered sites, are much more wooded. If I go again, I will try to be there!
But the campground has two large modern bathrooms that are cleaned regularly. It also has clean well maintained vault toilets throughout the campground. Best of all, from the back of the campground you can access Trail 7, a moderate level trail that leads unexpectedly to a small stream running past a recessed cave. It’s a peaceful spot.
Be advised that a “moderate” hike at Turkey Run can be challenging, with plenty of steps up and down the hillsides. Many of the trails go along stream beds, so you often need to make your way across the rocks to avoid wet feet. Be prepared with hiking boots and sticks.
There are two covered bridges on the edges of the park. Be sure to check them out!
GuideTurkey Run is arguably the most popular campground (and state park) in Indiana and has its pros and cons.
It is definitely designed to accommodate RVs, as the majority of the sites are situated in an open field. There are a few dozen sites that are in “loops” that are situated in shaded areas. Some camp sites have zero privacy while others have a little. Either way, if you’re here on a weekend, you’ll definitely have neighbors close by. You can see the entire campground via google maps street view, just FYI
This is a very family friendly campground and you will see lots of kids on bicycles flying around. I’ve stayed here a few times, and no matter the day of the week or the time of year, there are always lots of kids.
This campground has a raccoon “problem” due to campers having poor camp etiquette and feeding them. They come out of the woods towards dusk looking for food. They will come right up to you without hesitation, so don’t be alarmed if there’s one next to you while you cook s’mores over your fire (ask me how I know, hah). They will take any food that is left out. Do not turn your back to your dinner table at any time if there’s food out.
On my last visit to turkey run (I’ve camped here 3 or 4 times) I arrived to my campsite and someone had left dog food out for the raccoons in little piles all over the place which was super disappointing. Additionally, my neighbors didn’t put their campfire out when they packed up and left.
Perhaps I’m just used to camping in other areas where you have to worry about bears and burning the forests down…But campers here just aren’t as mindful or respectful of the campground.
The restrooms and showers (at least the one I use at this campground) is modernized and cleaned daily but there’s no dish pit/wash room available if you cook. Just be prepared to clean up accordingly and put trash in trash receptacles. There are a few vault toilets in the campground as well.
You can hike from the CG into the state park (highly recommend. It’s gorgeous!) just wear shoes that youre willing to get wet.
Overall, it’s a beautiful state park with a conveniently located campground. It’s not the best campground ever but for Indiana standards, it’s great. Even with my complaints, I always return because I enjoy visiting and hiking through the state park.
Traveler
I stayed by the lake, the spaces there are parallel to the road. Which gives you a beautiful view of the lake. I was there early in April when all the flowering trees were in bloom! Full hook up made it even the nicer!
Scout
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Scout
Stopped here for lunch and stayed about an hour. Easy to find, multiple shelters with grills. Some light paths and a playground.
Scout
The views were incredible and it wasn’t too busy.
ScoutWhen asked why I couldn't put up a small fence for my dogs he went to great details to tell me why dogs had a bad rep in his park. When I said it wasn't on the website he got extremely angry, came close to attacking me and thru me out of his park and called the police. Don't stay there if you have pets.
ScoutWhile this is always listed among the top Indiana state parks because of its amazing beauty and historic sites, the campgrounds are not up to the same level. The shower houses are old. No sinks, no flush toilets, no solid doors for privacy. Just curtains. So yes, that means put/vault toilets only, and there is no light for a middle of the night visit except the flashlight you will hopefully remember. Other state parks in the area do have modern shower houses. If you are disabled or just prefer better hygiene amenities, camp at Raccoon Lake SRA and take day trips to Turkey Run. I’m not sure of the status of nearby Shades Stare Park comfort facilities since we haven’t camped there yet.
Guide
This was a quick overnight in a tent on a road trip for me. Site 75 was what was available when I booked last minute. It's level with grass to pitch a tent but definitely in a loop of the park better suited to travel trailers/RVs etc. Not much privacy between sites but backs up to woods. The bathrooms were clean with good hot showers. Would return again if I could snag a tent loop site.
Scout
Our family loves this park. There is plenty to do or not do. Lake is great for fishing, also the beach is very nice. Pioneer village is so neat to walk around. Camper spots are a little small but nothing you can't work around. Park is very clean, personnel is very nice. Can't say enough nice things.
Traveler
This is one of our favorites. It’s close to home for us but also, very clean with nice staff and a fun environment. The pool is a huge plus, it’s so incredibly nice. There’s a small game room and little camp store with firewood and ice. The sites are kind of close together but they’re clean and have nice fire pits and tables. The campground is well cared for. We went 4th of July weekend and they even had a golf cart parade and through candy which was so fun for our son. We’ll always visit here.
TravelerPlace was huge and packed. Really nice and it was quiet to sleep with nice facilities.
GuideIt’s crowded near the road but spreads out well at the back of the site. Lots of people here today
GuideWe stayed in the modern section of the campground. This is the electric and water only section. The sites range from very uneven to moderately uneven in this section. The full hookup site section is flat but with less tree cover. The sites in modern electric water only can be awkward to back into with no room to pull forward due to a ditch in some areas. We stayed in site 10 which was uneven, no room for a tent, and small. Next time we would try 9. The campground offers a beach and fairly busy fishing lake, some trails. Over all it was less busy on opening weekend than Turkey run or raccoon lake.
ScoutGreat place for an overnight stay. The new owners couldn't be any nicer. They're working hard to maintain and improve the campground. I had back issues while there and they kept on rearranging their reservations to accommodate us. Even offered to take me to a doctor. Fantastic people.
TravelerThe Casey KOA has a full range of offerings typical of camping/RV resorts. Friendly service, Clean restroom/showers and even a pond for fishing.
ScoutCheck in was easy
GuideLarge campground with spacious sites. The pictures for each site and details they give while booking are pretty good. However, it said 202 was level and for a tent there's def a bit of a slope (manageable but definitely present). The women at the gate was friendly and buying firewood from her was easy. Only checked out the pit toilets near our site, but they were incredibly clean!
GuideThis is a KOA Journey, it is right off the interstate in a nice little town in East Central Illinois. It has full hookup, and electric and water sites.
The ground seems pretty level throughout the entire place so getting your rig setup should be fairly easy. The sites are pretty close together but I expect that at a commercial type campground. The staff was nice and responsive when needed. The playground is old and could use an upgrade along with the recreation room. The pool was nice and well maintained and so are the showers and restrooms. But the shower house does not have AC so keep that in mind.
Overall it’s a nice get away we did stay on Labor Day weekend so there a lot of people coming and going but it worked for us and the kids enjoyed themselves.
TravelerWe stayed in Site 20 for 5 days and had a great experience. The hosts at the time of stay were Alice and Jim. Very sweet old couple.
It was very quiet, even during the day. Nobody was too loud or disrespectful. Sites vary in size and some are FCFS (20-32) while the rest are reserved. Site 20 is the largest FCFS available. Site 14 seems to be the nicest and largest site on the grounds and is where we’ll be staying during our next visit.
Women’s bathroom was in good shape. Kept clean but stained due to age. Women’s vault toilet is fine, but spend the extra 5 minutes and walk to the actual bathhouse if you can.
Cell coverage for Verizon was 1 bar consistently, 2 bars occasionally. Fine for basic tasks but don’t expect to game or stream HD video.
ScoutPleasant experience. Only crowded on Friday and Saturday. Shady spot.
Scout
I was looking to stay at a state park with swimming and had never been to this one. I stayed here from Wednesday to Saturday. I was surprised when I arrived that there wasn’t a ranger, host, or campground office to check in with. There was a self registration kiosk on the site that was supposed to be the host. I never saw a ranger the entire time I was there and the host didn’t show up until Friday. The bathrooms were dirty and weren’t cleaned until Friday. The beach was small and also not well kept. I only saw one hiking trail. Many of the other campers had boats, so I guess it might be a good place to stay if you’re a boater, but not so much if you’re looking to do much hiking. The campsites weren’t bad, but most were kind of small and close together.
Guide
The primitive camping spots are very spacious and there’s plenty of trees for hammocks and a little privacy. The lady working there was super nice and it was pretty cheap. A road was next to our spot though so it was kinda loud.
TravelerThis park is a gem! Friendly & helpful staff and very clean restrooms/showers. Some shady spots and a nice walking trail around the lake. Just off Hwy 57 & 74 - very convenient!
TravelerThe Turkey Run State Park Campground is great because of its location to the various creek tour spots.
The camp store is small, but has enough stuff to get you out of a basic bind: food items, household stuff, some clothing, souvenirs.
Campground had decent signal for Verizon and AT&T.
Camp spots were tight, uneven, and many had strong-to-severe grades.
The campsite has a wonky layout and for a lot of the bigger rigs, this is a tight camp ground to navigate.
We had a pull-through site so no complaints.
Septic dumps were almost a complete 90* angle turn from the main camp road into the lane for waste dumping. For a longer rig, the angle of the turn will give you some anxiety.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Oakland, IL is Turkey Run State Park Campground — Turkey Run State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 66 reviews.
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