Rend Lake, IL is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Rend Lake campgrounds just for you. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Rend Lake camping trip.
"This is an beautiful little beach on Rend lake. The lake is an important bird habitat making it a great place for my fellow bord watchers to go!"
$18 / night
"There are a lot of hiking trails and we really enjoyed them all! The tent camping accommodations were less than stellar, simply because of the “outhouses “."
"It was easy to find firewood with out having to go very far, becareful there is a good amount of poison ivy. The only trail I hiked was Happy Hollow."
"Great fishing, 15hp motors allowed on the lake. Lake side camping spots available. Cabins are nice, FYI No mattress, bring your own."
"Beautiful lake."
"Not a lot of tent sites, but enough. Nice wooded primitive sites with easy access to water and toilets. Had my pups with, and no problems at all. Nice trails for different hiking skill sets."
"Ferne Clyffe State Park is in the Shawnee National Forrest near Goreville, IL., south of Carbondale."
"Lake Egypt so peaceful and relaxing ."
"Beautiful spot with easy access and not far off the highway"
$8 / night
"There is a dump station and potable water at the entrance to the campground. There are also some water spigots sprinkled throughout the campground."
"This was a great campground with fantastic views of the lake.
We also hiked Garden of the Gods and Burden Falls in the Shawnee National Forest. The hikes were great."
GuideSo first of all- I think it’s fair to state before I leave a review that my husband and I prefer primitive and private camping. The fewer people we see while we’re out, the better. We live in a city so when we camp, we want the opposite. If you enjoy RV camping or don’t mind not so Private spots, this is a decent spot to spend the night. If you like primitive/private camping- il fill you in below!
We do tent camping and Saw there were walk-in sites and hike in sites at this campground. Usually walk-in sites are pretty private and dispersed well - atleast where we’ve been before. The 14 “primitive” camping sites were right next to eachothwr with little to no privacy at all. Good tree cover for shade but otherwise you’re basically setting up your tent and area in an open field. That was a little disappointing to us because it wasn’t what we thought we would find. The RV spots also seem super close together but again- we like things spread out so maybe it would be an OK place for some.
The vault toilets near the tent sites were...as clean as vault toilets get! And we did not use tje shower facilities so can’t speak on that.
If we had been just the 2 of us, we would’ve hiked in to do our camping along one of the hiking paths but we were meeting two other friends and were unsure if they would want to hike miles to a spot so we opted for the tent spots just after the RV campground. If you want more privacy for an evening of camping, you’ll need to come with your gear packed up decently enough to hike it out atleast a mile onto the trails. There is camping allowed along the trails as long as you are 100 ft from the trail so that was an option, but in certain spots along the trail it’s challenging to find a clearing (hammocks would be great along the trail). There is also an official primitive camping site halfway through the 12 mile loop of the Red Ceder Trail. We day hiked almost the whole loop but made a Weird little detour so we didn’t get to check these spots out.
We were hoping to find a campsite that- as get as difficulty of accessibility level- was in between a 6 mile hike and the tent spots in the field but there isn’t any official spot like that even tho there’s tons of space and potential for it. Rant over about the campground. Let’s talk about the hiking! The hiking was truly awesome and felt like it balanced out my disappointment with the campground. Doing the whole 12 mile loop of tje Red Cedar Trail was a challenge for us! We really enjoyed it. In some spots, the trail markers are a little confusing, but overall it’s decently marked and the map is somewhat helpful just to kindve know vaguely where you are. The 2nd day, we went back and did about half rhe loop and also checked out the more popular section of the trails back there that include Giant City Nature Trail, Devils Stand Table, and a few others. Very cool rock formations. Pretty busy in the weekend over there but the test of the trails away from that area with those big landmarks was completely deserted and there are some super cool rock formations not on the map at all.
Over all, this was a fun 4 days. We would return and plan on hiking out into the trails to camp for our evenings. If you like privacy around your campfire at night, I can’t recommend the campground.
LegendPrimative camping at its best. This is heavily used in the summer and early fall. Picnic tables and fire rings, vault toilets. Go in the off season and you will have plenty of privacy. Fairly level tent sites , some with nice trees for hammocks. Close to Little Grand Canyon, a really neat natural bridge, and Illinois wineries.
GuideThere’s not a bad campsite here. There are sites with electric, water, and sewer. Several sites are right on Rend Lake. Most sites have concrete picnic tables and fire rings. The bath houses are really nice, they are individual shower houses that are clean and well lit. The grounds are very well maintained. The park was full while we stayed there, but was really quiet. You can tent camp or use a camper.
ScoutFull hookups to tent camping and spacious sites. This is a Corps of Engineer Campground so bring your America the Beautiful pass! Well maintained on beautiful Rend Lake in southern Illinois. Reservations accepted on reservation.gov. Walk ins also welcome.
LegendMcNair ACE: Tate 4 for cleanliness and stopover location for travels on nearby highway. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)
Overall Rating: 4 Price 2024: $ 9w interagency pass Security: no Usage during visit: 1/3 Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: no Site Spacing: closer Pad surface: blacktop Reservations: Required Campground Noise: No Outside Road Noise: no Through Traffic in campground: no Electric Hookup: yes Sewer Hookup: no Dump Station: yes Potable Water Available: At site Bathroom: Nice flush Showers: small private Cell Service (AT&T): 2-3 bars Setting: near lake Recent Weather: 80s Insects: no Host: yes Rig Size: large Sites: Outside sites are by far the best. 16,17,18 are favorites .
Legend21 campsites with a fire ring/barrel, lantern post and picnic table. A couple of the campsites had damaged fire rings. Most sites should be able to fit medium size trailers, other sites have trees in the way. Vault toilets and a water station. Very quiet, clean and peaceful. Trail system is about 8 miles and has great views. Don’t forget to bring your swimming suit!
LegendEast Dam ACE, IL: Not an interesting view from here, but well maintained campground . Quiet.
(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good
(72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)
Overall Rating: 4 for cleanliness and location for travels on nearby highway. Spillway is not particularly pretty. Price 2024: $9 w interagency pass Security: No gate Usage during visit: 60% during the week Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: No Site Spacing: Good Pad surface: Blacktop Reservations: Required. Can be made upon arrival through rec.gov Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: No Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: At nearby ACE campground Potable Water Available: At site Bathroom: In adjacent day use area Showers: No. Nearby - check w host. Pull Throughs: Some Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: along Kaskasia River/ spillway Recent Weather: 80s Insects: no Host: yes Rig Size: large Sites: Some sites are along the spillway.
TravelerThis camping spot is just down the road from Southern IL’s Garden Of the Gods. There were 12 camping areas. Plenty of room and trees for tents and hammocks. Also, there is a good amount of shade so if you tent in the right spot you don’t wake up roasting from the sun. The campsites have a lot of room so your neighbors don’t seem like they are on top of your site. The spots include a picnic table, hanging poles for trash or lantern, and a fire pit with movable built-in grill. The area is very wooded so unless the ground is wet you can find lots of firewood. There is a drinking water pump at the entrance of the campsite but it’s pretty chlorinated. There is no shower or running water and the toilets are pit style; but there are toilets. I don’t know if other sites had this but ours had 2 trails leading right out of the woods. Great for close to home hiking.
P.S. Beware of tailless raccoon at site 12 that likes to steal Doritos.
LegendRend 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
Tent camping near Rend Lake in Illinois offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying various amenities and activities. With several well-reviewed campgrounds in the area, you'll find the perfect spot to set up your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Rend Lake is North Marcum Day Use Area with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 13 tent camping locations near Rend Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
