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Best Tent Camping near Orangeville, IL

596 Reviews

Several tent campgrounds surround Orangeville, Illinois, offering options for primitive and established tent camping. New Glarus State Park Campground provides both drive-in and walk-in tent sites with picnic tables and fire rings, while Blackhawk Memorial Park offers a more rustic experience along the water. Castle Rock State Park Campground, accessible by boat, provides waterfront tent sites with basic amenities for those seeking a more remote experience.

Tent sites at most campgrounds feature unpaved surfaces ranging from dirt to forest floor with varying degrees of levelness. New Glarus Woods provides shaded walk-in tent sites with picnic tables and fire rings, though campers should note the proximity to highway noise. Water availability varies significantly between locations, with some parks offering drinking water spigots while others require campers to bring their own supply. Most tent areas have vault toilets or pit toilets that are maintained regularly but may lack modern facilities like showers, particularly at the more primitive sites.

The tent camping experience near Orangeville offers considerable woodland seclusion, particularly at walk-in sites. Areas further from highways provide quieter camping environments with better star visibility. New Glarus Woods features heavily wooded walk-in sites that offer more privacy than drive-in locations, though road noise remains noticeable at most sites. Castle Rock State Park's canoe-in tent sites provide waterfront camping with greater isolation. A camper described the Castle Rock experience as "a couple hour paddle before we got to the canoe-in site" where "site selection is first come, first serve." Blackhawk Memorial Park provides tent campers with a more rustic, off-grid experience that one reviewer called "quiet and off the grid," though another noted it's best for "people that aren't afraid of bugs."

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Best Tent Sites Near Orangeville, Illinois (12)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Orangeville, IL

12 Photos of 12 Orangeville Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Orangeville, IL

596 Reviews of 12 Orangeville Campgrounds

  • Marisa A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 16, 2020

    MacQueen Forest Preserve

    Secluded Hike-in Tent Campsites on the Kish

    This is where to go if you don't like pitching a tent in a field of RVs. There is one wheelchair accessible tent site on a blacktop path in the forest canopy. This is a very primative campground with 1 set of Vault toilets. The other campsites require a walk/hike along a gravel path for completely wooded sites or cross a football sized meadow for open air sites. There are several well-water pumps "not for drinking." Each campsite has a fire pit and a picnic table. Pack out your garbage for the dumpster in the parking lot. There are only 9 sites total. VERY private and secluded. Tents only! Massive forest preserve area for excellent hiking. Some fellow campers were doing a diy tubing right to the campground. (About a 2 hr lazy river tube from Kingston or 5hrs from Genoa on the slow moving S. Branch of the Kishwaukee River which can be pretty deep in places.) Absolutely NO ALCOHOL. Cost for tent sites is only $4 per tent or tent-like structure. There are primitive cabins for rent and a large lodge if you rented the structure for an event here. By their facebook page, it looks like there have been beautiful weddings here. This is a former scout camp flanked by more forest preserves. The ranger is very nice and the entrance is locked from sunset to sunrise. I hesitated even posting this tent-camping primitive heaven, because I almost want to keep it for myself and the locals. Please practice leave no trace and follow the rules if you go so this place stays open. Dog friendly, but must be leashed all of time or a $50 fine. My dog loved the trails and river crossings! Gorgeous hidden gem about an hour into cornfield country from Chicago NW suburbs like Woodfield Mall. I had cell service at one spot in the parking lot, but it was fleeting with T-mobile. A fellow camper had the best private spot (#2) which other than the ada site was the best because it was closest to the parking lot, yet she still had a festival/yard cart to pull her gear up a gravel path. Make sure you bring yours or are outfitted with backpacking gear. Like anywhere, prevent insect deforestation and don't bring firewood, it's fine, they have plenty.

  • Stacie H.
    May. 29, 2022

    White Pines Forest State Park Campground

    Lovely natural scenery; campground leaves something to be desired

    Let's start with the good stuff:

    • The park is beautiful. Lovely trees, lots of shade, the hiking trails are nice, well marked, and they even have an accessible trail for those with disabilities!
    • There is a restaurant and gift shop on site. Gift shop sells wood if you run low or forget.
    • The bathrooms and shower house are relatively clean and well kept.

    Now for the not so great stuff:

    • Many of the campsites are sloped and some are sloped A LOT. This isn't obvious from the booking page.

    • The campground is absolutely jammed with camp sites- it's ridiculous. I've never been to a campground where the sites were so on top of one another.

    • We stayed in the Sunny Crest loop and the drinking water well was broken so we had to travel to other parts of the campground for water. When carrying a 10 gallon jug full of water back, that really sucked.

    • The sites that are marked as "hike in" aren't secluded and away from other sites at all, as one might expect. They are jammed in with all the others but there just isn't any parking nearby.

    • It had rained the day before was went and so the road to the campgrounds was blocked off (presumably because the creek was running too high), but there was NO SIGNAGE telling us how to get there another way. There was no one in the park office or in the camping registration station to ask. We finally figured out that we had to take an emergency road/auxiliary road to get to the campground, but that was after about 30 minutes of confusion.

    • The breakfast buffet at the restaurant is mid but very pricey- $50 for 2 of us.

    • The quiet hours and no alcohol policy are not enforced at all. While we were there, there was a very loud group playing beer pong into the wee hours of the morning.

    • About half of the fire rings don't have grill grates so bring your own or bring a camp stove (See pic). Also, when you book your site, there is no way to know if your fire ring will have a grill grate or note.

  • Meg
    Jun. 12, 2022

    Rock Cut State Park - Staghorn Campground

    Beautiful View (site 20), serious slope

    We LOVE site 20 as does everyone else who books this one up quick. Literally the only downside is that you have no flat spots anywhere on the site, which killed our backs sleeping in tents.

    Pros - lake view, but a safe distance down the hill so no worries about the kids at the campsite.

    On the end with tons of privacy, full row of trees and a ton of space until the next site. It’s like your own mini oasis.

    Lake is also fabulous. We decided to rent instead of hauling our own kayak and they were clean, affordable and quick process.

    Cons - lol that hill is no joke. Pit toilets I wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole, but that’s pretty typical.

  • Alex H.
    Sep. 26, 2022

    Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

    No Flat Spots

    Very nice park. Well marked and maintained trails. A large lake with boat launch and beach area. Separate pet area.

    We spent the weekend at site 101, which is a tent site. I wouldn't recommend this site. based on a quick walkaround, it seemed a bit smaller than other sites. That's not really a deal-breaker, but it didn't really have any flat spots to pitch the tent. We ended up pitching it up on the parking area, but it was still a bit slanted and we could feel the tire divot a little through the air mattresses. Aside from that, it was great. The site had a picnic table and fire ring that we used a lot. It was secluded from the surrounding sites.

    We hiked the Windy Ridge trail and the Prairie Loop trail. both were well maintained and enjoyable trails. We also spent some time on the beach.

  • Sarah B.
    Jul. 19, 2024

    Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

    Def do not recommend for summer 2024!

    I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

    Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

    Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

    The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

  • Cristina S.
    Aug. 31, 2018

    Blue Mound State Park Campground

    Clean and Modern

    Campsites, trails and facilities were immaculate. Staff was friendly. drive in and hike in sites available. great for families; trails have info markers to educate hikers on geology and flora of area. Drive in campsites had fire rings and picnic tables, vault toilets available.

  • Amy W.
    Apr. 2, 2022

    Morrison-Rockwood State Park

    Family friendly; great first timers

    first timers/ young kids- yes. Primitive campers- no. My husband had never been camping. I grew up with very primitive camping- no electricity, only pit toilets, sometimes fresh water, and no showers (milk jug showers!) Little by little, I’m warming him up to camping. This is a great place for new campers, families of young kids, or just looking for an easier trip. There’s a shower house with flush toilets, warm showers, and surprisingly CLEAN! The site was medium size. Enough room to spread out. Ground was flat so finding a tent site was no problem. Electric hookup worked. Picnic table was good. Check your site before booking! One section of sites is like an open field? No trees and full view of others. But these surround a playground- also very nice. Glamping with young kids? These sites would be a perfect. AT&T and Verizon cell service worked fine

  • Josh F.
    Sep. 21, 2020

    Blue Mound State Park Campground

    Close to Madison, near Military Ridge Trail, Some sites are Far, Far Away

    I spent two nights in the campground at Blue Mound State Park. Overall, the park has well-maintained hiking and MTB biking trails, extraordinarily clean and well-kept vault toilets, and ample access to drinking water. Both tent and RV/camper sites are on a typical one-way road pattern with a couple of loops there are plenty of sites with and without electricity. At the time I was there, the camp host sold high-quality hard wood for $5/bundle from a trailer on the honor system, so if you run out in the middle of the night, wood was easy to replenish. One of the park's highlights are lookout towers with views above the treetops, Unfortunately in 2020 both were closed, presumably because it would be difficult to keep a safe distance from others when on the stairs or while at the top. Pity, it'll be a reason to return. Still, there are several observation areas that are maintained well enough to keep the undergrowth from blocking the view of the Wisconsin River Valley nearly 15 miles to the north. This is where the "Blue Mound" name must come from, the hills at that distance did have a bluish cast to them.

    If you've read any of my other reviews you know what's next, my list of the best campsites. While I've visited several parks now that have "walk in" sites, with cars parked a minute or two from the campsite, about a dozen sites in Blue Mound State Park take "walk in" to a new level. Cars can drive to a barrier across the road, and the sites are a 10-15 minute walk downhill, The park provides ONE medium-sized cart (250 lb weight limit, 20-minute use limit) that I guess would be in high demand during load in and load out. (NOTE TO SELF, camp Thursday through Monday if going here, or arrive EARLY to get a cart). Most of these sites are quite sunny; 105 is nice and shady and private, 106 slightly shaded 109 and 110 are shaded, very close to one another and would be good for a group camp setup 111 is quite shady. There's water and toilets in the walk-in camp ground. You'd want to sip wood for campfires and cooking, the nearest source is a 15-minute walk uphill and back, and then if using the cart, you have to return it for another round trip.

    Back in the family campground where mortals and RVs park, I think the following are the nicest in terms of shade, level, size and privacy.

    42, 45, 47, 51, 64, 66, 69, 71, 73

  • Becca Z.
    Aug. 30, 2020

    Lowden State Park Campground

    Great camping spot!

    We were so happy with the size of the tent camping sites. They were mostly all flat, plenty of space and gave privacy from the neighbors. We were at site 28 which had both sun and shade. Right across from the pit toilets which I wouldn’t pick next time. There was no shower house or running water in the loop we were at. Across the street were the electric rv sites and a few tent sites. Only compliant is even from the middle of the campground we could hear the road noise. Otherwise great!

Guide to Orangeville

Tent camping options near Orangeville, Illinois extend beyond standard campgrounds to include boat-in, canoe-in, and walk-in primitive sites. The region sits within a transition zone between forest and prairie ecosystems, with elevations ranging from 750-950 feet above sea level. Summer temperatures typically reach 80-85°F during day and drop to 55-65°F at night, creating favorable conditions for outdoor recreation throughout the camping season.

What to do

Paddling opportunities: At Castle Rock State Park Campground, campers can enjoy waterfront access and scenic river exploration. "It was a couple hour paddle, plus we made a pit stop at the castle rock overlook, before we got to the canoe in site," notes one camper who appreciated the combination of paddling and camping.

Fishing spots: The Rock River provides excellent fishing opportunities near several campgrounds. A visitor to Lock and Dam 13 shared their experience: "Great fishing, especially along the spillway. There is a little beach next to the dam."

Hiking trails: The area features diverse hiking terrain from forest paths to prairie walks. At Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center, campers can explore "over 640 acres of meadow, forest, and stocked pond" with trails suitable for day hikes.

What campers like

Natural seclusion: Many campers appreciate the privacy offered by walk-in sites. A visitor to MacQueen Forest Preserve described it as "one of those places that's so awesome, you really don't want to tell people about it... There are eight primitive campsites here, and they're spread out at least 50 yards apart."

Budget-friendly options: Several campgrounds in the area offer affordable camping. MacQueen Forest Preserve impressed a camper who noted, "The very best part? You're in the middle of the country, with gorgeous sunsets, and the primitive camping is only $4."

Star viewing: Open meadow sites provide excellent night sky observation opportunities. A camper at Governor Dodge State Park Backpack Campsites enjoyed "Great views, plenty of privacy and an easy hike" at their backcountry site.

What you should know

Site accessibility: Many primitive sites require walking, paddling, or hiking to access. At New Glarus State Park Campground, a camper advised, "Note - this review is for the walk-up sites only... carts are available for transporting your gear which means you can bring more gear than you would bring backpacking."

Water sources: Not all campgrounds provide drinking water. At MacQueen Forest Preserve, a camper warned, "There is water, but it is not, I repeat is not, potable."

Noise considerations: Highway and train noise affects some campgrounds. A reviewer at MacQueen Forest Preserve mentioned: "If you cannot sleep to the sound of trains at night, this is not the campground for you. I don't mind them at all, and rather enjoy the sound, but there were probably three of them that went by in the middle of the night rather close to the campground."

Tips for camping with families

Playground access: Some campgrounds include play areas for children. A visitor to New Glarus State Park Campground mentioned, "The playground was great. We spent the day exploring our Swiss heritage in New Glarus."

Educational opportunities: Several parks offer nature learning experiences. At Lutheran Outdoor Ministries Center, which started as "a Lutheran kids camp that offers a place for families to come and camp," visitors can experience outdoor education programs in a family-friendly environment.

Swimming options: Lakes and rivers provide swimming opportunities during summer months. One visitor to Hickory Ridge Group Camp noted "Spacious sites, lots of availability to swim and hike."

Tips from RVers

Limited hookups: Most primitive campgrounds near Orangeville lack full RV amenities. Blackhawk Memorial Park received a mixed review from one RVer who called it "Great little off grid camping for people that aren't afraid of bugs! No trailers with yapping ankle biters."

Group accommodations: RVers traveling with multiple families should consider group sites. Hickory Ridge Group Camp is described as a "Nice family campground. Has a lot of amenities including shower."

Parking limitations: Many sites restrict vehicle access directly to camping areas. At MacQueen Forest Preserve, one visitor explained the setup: "You do have to walk into all of them, but they do have one wagon and a dolly you can use to tote things in. It's an easy walk, on a crushed gravel road and mowed trail."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Orangeville, IL?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Orangeville, IL is New Glarus State Park Campground with a 3.7-star rating from 18 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Orangeville, IL?

TheDyrt.com has all 12 tent camping locations near Orangeville, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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