Best Equestrian Camping near Rochester, IL

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Rochester, IL

91 Reviews of 12 Rochester Campgrounds

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  Michael M.

  Ranger

  Oct. 9, 2017

  Wolf Creek State Park Campground

  Great camping all year round

  We have camped here many times and this time was awesome as well. The park is huge and is one of the only state park's in Illinois with horse camping and horse trails. There are 13 horse camp sites and additional trailer parking for about 6 more rigs with tie out posts for riders that will not be camping. There are several miles of horse trails and the area is set apart from hiking trails and the other camping areas. There are hundreds of campsites in this park in addition to the horse campgrounds and the entire area is maintained by the US Corps of Engineers. There are full hookup RV sites everywhere with tons of flush toilet bathrooms and shower houses in each large section. There is also a tent camp area without electricity, these sites are cheaper and there are lake front sites available here too. There is a beach that closes after Labor Day, but there are lots of sites available all year round. There are lots of hiking trails and deer run through the park in herds in the winter months. The hiking is OK in this park and good if you like short 1 to 1 1/2 mile hikes. I recommend visiting in the fall after Labor Day, October when leaves are changing is my favorite time for this campground. Clean restrooms, showers and a small store at the entrance for bait, firewood or forgotten items make this a great place to spend a few days.

  Website: https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Parks/Pages/WolfCreek.aspx

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• 

  David F.

  Guide

  Sep. 2, 2024

  Jim Edgar Panther Creek - Family Campground

  JIM Edgar Panther Creek S.P.

  Praire Lake Campground has 3 facilities on the lake. FAMILY camp for Rv, Tentand cabins. 1. 84 sites with Electric or 19 have FHU. 2. Primitive Camp has seven three-sided shelters to camp near or in for a fee of $6 per night 3. Group camp area. A separate location has the equestrian campground, Questing Hills, with 51 electric sites.

• A

  Alicia B.

  Guide

  Aug. 12, 2018

  Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area

  Shad cap sites

  Biggest draw back is no electricity in equestrian sites. There’s is water and toilets trails aren’t marked real well but very wide nicely maintained to.

• A

  Alicia B.

  Guide

  Aug. 12, 2018

  Wolf Creek State Park Campground

  Clean park

  Lots of equestrian parking and camping flush toilets neat trails very swell nice better if s en during the fall. Fishing and boatibg here as well.

• M

  MeriLee B.

  Traveler

  Aug. 2, 2019

  Wolf Creek State Park Campground

  Wonderful State Campground

  This is a wonderful campground with drive in availability, equestrian camp and reservable sites!  The have great camp hosts Dave and Sharon on the reservable side that will help out in anyway and are so friendly!  This campground also has boat access and a beach and hiking trails.   It is built into the woods so most lots are very shady and all are very level.

• 

  Art S.

  Legend

  Aug. 31, 2019

  Horseman's Park — Sand Ridge State Forest

  Sandy forested equestrian camping

  This is the campground for horses and their riders. Tie up posts are in each campsite along with picnic tables. The campground is one loop so the inner ring of sites are almost like a group site setup. The outer ring sites are more private and up against the woods. A set of vault toilets is commonly located. Along with garbage cans there are multiple spots to pile manure. There were a couple sites occupied the first night but it emptied out on Saturday. 

  Most trails in this natural area are accessible to horses. Trails head out from camp. The longest being almost 15 miles. Hiking and hunting also happen here so keep an eye open on the trails. If you have an energetic horse that you want to work hard, head into the yellow loop. The ranger said it tires everyone because it’s steep hills of sand. 

  Across the road is a spot for day use riders to park their trailers. There were a bunch parked when we passed it. 

  This is a hidden gem and worth giving a chance.

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• 

  Joy H.

  Guide

  Jun. 10, 2018

  Horseman's Park — Sand Ridge State Forest

  Illinois’ desert

  A friend and I were looking for somewhere to spend a weekend backpacking that wasn’t a 4+ hour drive away from central IL. This fits the bill but does leave some to be desired. The terrain is an interesting change from most IL hiking since the trails are incredibly sandy while the forest itself is mostly pine. Watch out for cacti along the trail! My only real complaints are the lack of water sources, and the inconsistencies between the trail map and the actual trail. Each trail is marked very clearly with directional sign posts as often as necessary, however, the first night we were hiking in to find BC1 and according to the map we should have passed it in our hike but never saw any sort of campsite at all. We ended up setting up camp off the trail in an unmarked clearing that worked quite well. The next day we moved on to look for site BC7. After hiking much farther than the map indicated, we finally stumbled on BC7. It turned out to be a pretty picturesque little clearing among the pines with an actual fire slab and a signpost marking the entrance trail. Overall it was a good trip, just don’t be fooled by how close things look on the map! Also, the bugs (of all kinds including ticks and mosquitoes) are pretty terrible and I would recommend going either in the early spring or late fall. Not June.

  The forest grounds also have an equestrian campgrounds and the trails would be perfect for riding.

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• B

  Brandt B.

  Scout

  Jul. 8, 2025

  Wolf Creek State Park Campground

  Bad Management Ready To Ruin Your Holiday

  This park is beautiful, clean and the people were friendly. My issue is with the site supervisor and superintendent. On July 4th 2025 we were given the option of moving our entire campsite or being kicked out of the park. JULY 4TH! We booked our campsite in the last week of April, paid in full. We were the second party to book any spot in the entire campground! We chose our spot specifically for the access to the water and seclusion from the rest of the sites. Come to find out(a day after we set up camp) we booked in "horse camp" which apparently requires you to have horses. It never stated this on the website or rental confirmation we received. Nobody reached out to us in the three months we held the booking to confirm if we had horses. There was no on-site check in that could have saved us the trouble. No, instead we had to take 4 hours out of our holiday to pack all of our stuff and move into overflow camping or be forced to leave. Because of their mistake. Absolutely ruined our holiday with zero remorse or understanding. The icing on the cake was as we were leaving horse camp we noticed multiple other camp sites where people had not brought horses. They stated this happens all the time. If site management had two braincells to rub together they would fix their website instead of consistently ruining peoples trips and holidays. And then these people had the audacity to say they weren't going to charge us for the campsite they moved us to?!?! In reality, we should be receiving a full refund for the campsite we did pay for and free passes for the rest of the year. There is a second state campground on the other side of the lake I would suggest before coming to this place.

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• A

  Alicia B.

  Guide

  Aug. 12, 2018

  Questing Hills Equestrian Campground — Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area

  Well maintained

  We camp at the equestrian loop, unlike some campgrounds we have our own shower house with three showers and three bathroom stalls. Their is also a vault toilet in the middle of camp and the opposite end of the main bathrooms. Most sites have at least partial shade. The sites are always maintained with hitching rails and electricity water is not at every site but through out the park. Trails are well marked and maintained over 26 miles of trails.