Best Glamping near River Forest, IL

We pulled in around 4:30 in the evening. The sight was spacious with plenty of room in between sites. Since the weather was cooler , it was pretty sparse with other campers. We stayed 2 nights over the weekend. You are within walking distance to the beach within the park. The buildings have great architecture. The sight had 50 amp electric hook ups but no water or sewer connections, and we knew that going in. We had a back in sight #69. There was plenty of space on all sides. We have a 37’ motorhome and pulled a Jeep behind it. There was plenty of room to maneuver around. The sight also had a wood picnic table and fire ring for a wood fire pit. We will definitely be back! I wish I had taken more photos from the beach and beach pavilion.

We stayed in the Turner lake south loop, which has nice and private sites. This is in contrast to Honeysuckle hollow which is open and row after row of RV sites. Fox den and Prairie view loops are nice as well with mostly primitive sites. Be aware that the map on www.ExloreMoreIL,com(where you make your reservations) doesn't show where the restrooms are. In the Turner loop, the pit toilets are next to the path to the fishing pier, while the showers and full restrooms are between Turner and Fox den, there is a short path between sites 60& 61. Facilities are clean and well lit. Fire pits are slightly raised steel troughs with a heavy adjustable grill. This is a BIG park, the campgrounds are two miles from the front gate, and it's a drive to the main boat launch at Maple Grove, where you have access to the Fox River and Grass lake. This location has a huge parking lot for boat trailers, a very well stocked general store with fishing supplies, a cafe, boat rentals and good firewood. To get away from the crowd if you're a canoeist or kayaker it's nicer to leave the park and go back in at Oak Point picnic area and boat launch at the northern border. This will put you on the Fox river with developments to the north(including a bar& grill) or to the south which is all nature. I think the distance by boat between the two launches is 4-5 miles, but I'm not sure, Halfway there you'll meet up with the Goldfinch trail which is the shortest loop and the most diverse in term of flora. There are horse/ snowmobile trails, but no equestrian campground. Chain o' Lakes is one of the busiest waterways in Illinois, with motorboats everywhere in the height of the summer season. We canoe, and both times we stayed there it was October, so I can't tell you how crowded, but the vast number of picnic areas must be there for a reason. An odd thing is that you can hear a Steam Train whistle quite often, this is from Richardson's Adventure Farm in Spring Grove. We don't have kids so we went to Stade's Farm& Orchard(which is also large and kid friendly) because they have an orchard and vegetable market. One last thing, the gates close at 10:PM and there are tire shredders, you can leave but you can't get back in… unless you want to walk 2+ miles in the dark:)

*** reviewing as a baby/toddler camp family on the go :-) we chose the loop 11 was on because it was close to the path to the playgrounds and lakes plus bathrooms… avoid the first 2 sites from either end as the ones closest to the main loop aren’t very deep. Closer to the center of this row is best.

Pros- easy pull in sites and lots of walk-in availability. Sites are almost all flat thankfully, so no weird slopes to sleep on and easy for babies/toddlers to stay safe. Also seemed pretty respectful in the evenings with people toning down the noise.

Lots of electric sites, deep enough for 2 tents, 2 cars (although close to neighbors and no trees between sites), picnic table and fire pit.

Bathroom shower houses were decent (we usually just have toddler use her travel potty, but this one was fine).

Multiple playgrounds, access to launch sites for kayaks, little store to buy ice cream or snacks.

Cons - SO many ticks. With a baby crawling that needed to be set free, we were constantly doing checks. Luckily our screen house pop up on a tarp that was sprayed ahead for tick repellent plus a blanket on top of that did the trick, but they literally fall out of the trees into people! Plan for toddlers and babies to have a contained covered screen house and have them wear hats or a wagon shade on walks so nothing lands in their hair.

Also - the raccoons at night here are no joke. The second it’s dusky, they come scavenging for absolutely anything food has touched. So basically, eat dinner and do s’mores early, then everything must be packed into cars for the night and all surfaces wiped down.

Biggest drawback was the road noise. You can hear whatever highway is nearby pretty clearly and constantly.

But if you’re not looking for something super remote then it’s fine! My site had room for 2 tents and was close to the road but still felt tucked away.

The fire pit is actually more like a grill which was cool and great for cooking. You can move the grill to have just a fire. Plus the grocery store is only a quick 15 minute drive away if you forget anything!

People were playing music loudly at night which was annoying.

Would have been super peaceful if it weren’t for the roadnoise (which the campground can’t do anything about of course!) and the camper noise.

Best suited for folks just looking to just play outdoors and not for anyone looking for a peaceful escape to nature.

We stayed for two nights and had a great experience.  Campsites had decent privacy and  even on a Friday night, quiet hours were respected.  We were on a wheelchair accessible site which was the only one available, so there was more pavement than the other sites.

There was a dishwashing sink which is always handy.  The bathrooms and showers were very clean, and the free showers were the best we've experienced in a campground with plenty of hot water, good water pressure, plenty of hooks and a bench. 

Some noise from the highway and the trains, but I like trains so it was fine.  We wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.

This is seriously my favorite campground. My family and I have been camping here for more than ten years. We have camped in the walk-ins and the drive-up spots.

The sites are private and the bathrooms are super duper clean. Showers are great.

You can take the train from downtown Chicago and get off at the Beverly Shores stop on the south shore line. The campsite is seriously a quarter mile walk from the stop.

There is an awesome gas station at the corner where you can get coffee and donuts in the morning. Ice and beverages during the day and soft serve ice serve ice cream at night. There are also two wood stove pizza trucks next to the gas station.

There is a nice sandy beach one mile walking distance through an amazing prairie. Great walk at night back from the beach after watching the sunset. Very romantic.

Plenty if things to do in the area. Lots of pick your own berry patches and kayaking spots.