Best RV Parks & Resorts near Rend Lake

Spacious and level sites with full hook-ups. The campground is convenient to all of the attractions in the area. There is easy access to the tunnel state trail in Vienna. It’s about a 9 mile ride to the tunnel. Be sure to visit Garden of the Gods. Really remarkable.

We very much enjoyed our stay and will return!

Rend Lake is a large COE recreation area with 4 campgrounds, some with full hook ups for $28 a night, two dams, 2 beaches, several boat launches, a marina, golf course and a restaurant.  Not all facilities were open when we visited in March.  Hiking and biking trails and close to town for gas and bait.  Each site has a stone picnic table and fire ring.  Showers, bathrooms and  playgrounds in multiple places and convenient locations.  Some sites do have steep grade, originally booked Bluejay 48 and moved.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233504?tab=seasons

Around $30/night In 2019 for lake front with RV hookups. Cute little on site store for nick nacks, boat rentals, and fishing bait.

Nice chill vibe.

Relatively new. Has great potential. Located in Vienna, IL near Shawnee National Forest. It has 3 fish & release ponds. Sites were a bit hilly which stands to reason since it was converted from a golf course in 2016. Some sites are pretty long. It accommodated our 35ft. MH with attached car. Some sites are close together with very little shade. The campground had lots of open sites during our stay (3rd week in Aug), but during our stay 2 other short stay campers came in & they parked them right next to us. -Full hook ups available -Hosts were very friendly & provided insight to area. -Bath house - provided air conditioning. Although new & spacious there were only 4 in the entire campground & the toilet & shower were in same space. Upon arrival only 1 was open near us. Subsequently the 2nd was closed due to a water valve malfunction & wasn’t re-opened during our stay. My husband likes level sites & facilities he could use. He said he wouldn’t come back any time soon.

Pretty nice new campground! Hosts are very friendly and outgoing! Sites are clean and shower house is cleanest I’ve ever seen. All sites are full hook up.

Coles Creek is a nice, large campground located on Carlyle Lake in Illinois. It has full hook up, 50 amp sites with many located right on the water! Although not the most conveniently located campground to stores and restaurants, they are just a short 15 minute drive away.

The Starks are very generous to open up a beautiful property and letting others take in it's beauty. The area is clean and quiet. Full hook up, 50 and 30 amp. 6 minutes from town (Perryville). The trail back to the site is truly one of a kind. Highly recommend you will not be disappointed.

This campground was essentially an RV park. Only big rigs, some sites well spaced physically but no privacy in between so feels like everyone staring at each other. Some of the waterfront sites okay privacy-wise, but not most. Hookups work well, but bathrooms in terrible condition - especially showers.

The whole place also smells like dead fish. We saw a raccoon go right through our campsite so be careful what you leave out, also tons of geese and saw two baby copperheads.

The lake is at least really pretty and there’s a small beach area.

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.

We live an hour away in St Louis and park our RV near Boulder because we visit so often. It is very clean, and most of the sites are waterfront or at least have a good view of the lake. The campground is only about 20 minutes from town where there is an IGA and Walmart. All the roads in the campground are paved. This is an Army Corp of Engineers park. Bathrooms and showers are available. Sites are either full hookup, or electric. Many can be reserved online some are FCFS. Boat ramp on site and plenty of parking. We like these parks better than most KOA’s we have visited.

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.

We booked a full service site and arrived prior to the stipulated 7 pm checking in time. However, the manager stated that they overbooked that day so we were only offered to stay in an electric only site. Manager offered no apology or discount. Finally, and in the presence of the manager, Will gave us the site at a heavily discounted price and even gave us a couple bottles of water and $.50 to buy additional hugs of water at the water/ice machine on the property. Huge kudos to Will for that. I suggest management to follow Will’s lead and make this Good Sam club a place to stay. Otherwise, the place was nice, convenient, clean, etc.

This campground has it all - spacious sites with many right on the water. Gravel lots were level and plenty big for our 38' Class A motorhome + Jeep. We stayed at site B8, which had a massive yard right and on the lake. The interior sites had full hookups (but were still just a short walk to the water), while the exterior (lake-side) sites had water and 50A electric. It is a FCFS place. We were there the first week of April and arrived by 10am and had no problems securing a spot. There is a swimming beach (though it was closed till Memorial Day - and too cold anyway!), some older but functional and clean shower houses. There was a pile of firewood waiting for us and they allow for picking up downed branches for fires. It was a quiet, lovely place with great sunsets over the water, as well as herons, geese, turtles, and deer. The hosts were extremely helpful and accommodating. We have AT&T and had full bars (we also have a booster, which may have contributed to a strong signal). Also, we were amazed by the inexpensive pricing - I believe the prices are going up a little later this season, but at the time we were there (Apr 2023) prices were $25/FHU and $20 W/E. And of course even less for tent camping.

Camped here for a weekend and was not disappointed! There are multiple easy to get to "primitive" campsites for tent camping but all are within an easy walk of the outhouse, water hydrant, and parking lot. There are several easy hikes within a short drive to other areas of the park. The park also has a 6 mile hike-in campsite for backpacking and a lot of electrical hookups for RV camping. The trails are over cliffs and through gorgeous boulders.