Best Tent Camping near Rochester, IL

I have camped here in a motorhome with full hookups and tent camped as well.

The camp sites are divided into many loops and have side pullin sites and backin sites. The RV and tent sites are grouped in the same loops and there are many that have trails from the site right to the lake and people leave the boat near the campsite but still on the water. The restrooms and shower houses are clean as all the Lake Shelbyville campgrounds are maintained by the Corps of Engineers. This campground is very busy in the prime camping season, but if you are camping with a group and have a boat this is the place to go. There are several buddy sites here that are set up very well for groups of RV's and tents camping together. There are a few isolated sites on corners of loops, but most are fairly close together. There is a swimming beach here and lots of boat traffic, but quiet hours are observed, so you can get a good night's sleep before an action packed day on the lake. The fishing is good if you have a boat, but there is very little bank fishing areas available. Part of the campground is open after Labor Day, but the main season is Memorial day to Labor day.

Review of Drive In Tent Camping Site 2. Showed up on a Thursday night and had our pick of all the drive in and walk in sites. We decided on site 2 in the drive in area. Previous reviews and a book by John Schirle on Tent Camping in Illinois helped us with this decision as well. Decent maintained sites with some older picnic tables and fire rings, but let's be honest this stuff sits outside 24/7. Site 2 seemed to sit back the farthest with site 1 a close second. Both wooded sites that made for great shade and helped some when it was raining. Any two families looking for two sites could certainly set up and share the experience. Nice little cove behind them to try fishing. Just watch the hike down the path or ravine. Dog friendly, fresh water supply (hint put the handle all the way up and wait a few seconds), ability to store stuff in the car close by, outhouse toilets visible at the walk in parking lot, and helpful host for easy check in who even sells fire wood made for a great few days ($5 a bundle). Rated B/S site at a cost of $10 a night.

Good campsites for tent camping, can't speak to RV's.   Wooded and shady, clean facilities, electric and water for tent camping.  Good Price, nice location for fishing and kayaking. also.

I camped here in a tent before we had an rv. The primitive sites were perfectly quiet and away from others. Toilet was close and so was parking. I kind of miss tent camping!!!

Quiet midweek in tent camping area except for heavy equipment in field nearby. Large campground with open space and playground for kids. Short walk to beautiful lake.

Stopped here overnight in late August. Only a few other campers on a Sunday so nice and quiet. Typical midwest tent camping on dirt, lots of mosquitoes, pit toilets.

I have been coming here for years with my family when I was younger. I took a trip alone with my tent for 4 days in May. The place is as pristine as it was when I was a kid- perfect bathhouse, beautiful lakeshore, and cozy tent camping. Plenty of wildlife to observe and wonderful fishing to be had. Great to ride a bike around, too!

We came on Memorial Day weekend so the campground was very full. It didn't feel too crowded though except when playing on the playground there were lots of kids and its not a very big play area. But it was fun for the kids to play with other kids. 

While I wish the tent are and comfort station were closer to one another, the walk really wasn't all that bad from our campsite. I loved that the tent sites (especially as you go further back (like to sites 6-10 probably) just had a secluded woodsy feeling to them. I loved how convenient our site was though being right by our car and the road to the restrooms. 

Some of the tent sites are close together with some having a little more seclusion. There are a  lot of trees and plants with it being in the woods so this does help. But with the trail running right down the middle that cuts out a little of your privacy. But the seclusion is definitely better than the RV sites that we saw in the main big loop of the campground. 

We walked a couple trails and they were lots of fun for us and the kids/dogs. 

There is a STRICT no alcohol rule in the tent sites. A sign said coolers are subject to inspection, but from our experience and the vibe of the place, I don't see this really being an issue unless your group gets kind of rowdy ;) 

All in all a great experience.

Very nice campground on Lake Shelbyville. Camped here with young boys in tent every year for years on site 27- views of lake the best! Electric even for tent sites (have come in handy for fans for the hot hot nights in a tent!). Newer bath house is nice. Some RV sites have water hookup also.

I have camped here in the past and enjoy primitive tent camping so I stayed Friday September 29th and Saturday September 30th in the tent camping drive up site #2. There is also a tent camping walk in area with 2 lake front sites that are about 150 yards from the parking area and about eight other sites in between. There is a building with men's and women's flush toilets here for both primitive campgrounds. These are cheaper campsites than in the RV area where you have the shower house, nicer bathrooms and electric hookups. There are lots of nice shaded sites in these campgrounds and all have fire ring grates, lantern posts, picnic tables and some have pole mounted campstove tables as well. The camp hosts do a great job keeping this place clean, maintaining a quiet campground and supplying firewood for the campers. The park has a boat ramp, playground areas, the Chief Illini trail plus a couple short trails. There is a golf course and a run down lodge / hotel that has been closed for several years. There is tons of deer and other animals to watch and watch out that they don't steal your food while you are sleeping. The wild life is great for photography and makes for some good fireside stories.

This is my second favorite place to camp on the lake, although not as peaceful as Lone Point it does have the Chief Illini trailhead here and makes for nice round trip hiking camping adventures.

This park is open year round so the fantastic camping in spring and fall are available. You should watch out for hunters in the area when bow season starts October 1st.

I stayed at the tent sites. They are first come, first served, and a short walk from the parking spots. There are times of RV sites also, although the host said most all are reservable and only a handful are firstcome, first served. There are restrooms and a shower house that are clean.

Primitive tent camping area is very spacious but bathrooms were dirty and gross.  The women’s bathroom near T3 didn’t have toilet paper the entire three days we stayed there.  I drove to other restrooms while we stayed there.   Shower house was nice, with one small shower stall and large ADA shower stall.  Camp host was friendly and helpful. The campground is just a few minutes from Carlinville Walmart and restaurants.

It was March, it was cold at night, but this ADA cabin had heat & electric, 5 beds with mattresses, beds with mattresses (2 pr bunks beds in the second room). Cement sidewalks from parking area to toilets & cabins, each with a waterfront view, fire pit & picnic table. From our cabin we walked grassy paths to a lovely bridge. Around the pond's perimeter are dispersed sites for tent-camping or possibly day-use. It was a challenge to find the park entrance, at night, and the closest small town is about 10-miles away. The very reasonable cost was transacted online.

Stayed one night in July. We tent camped in site 1 of the primitive campground. There are 7 sites well spaced with a picnic table, fire ring, trash can and three sided shelter in each site. Pit toilets are in the middle. Each site is along the tree line with plenty of shade. These are walk in sites ranging from 0.10 miles to 0.50 miles from the parking lot. Just $6 a night. Hiking trails, kayaking and fishing are available but we didn’t get a chance to take advantage of those things. Very friendly and helpful campground host drove over from the RV campground to register us and even offered to take our stuff to our site. Great experience. Only 3 sites in use on a Friday night.

Drive by, choose a spot, let the host know. We tent camped. The ground was relatively flat minus some tree stumps. Every site has a fire pit with adjustable grill, picnic tables, ours had a concrete slab for gatherings, 2 vehicle parking bumper to bumper. Outhouse was a short walk from us and was decent (no sink). Water spicket just beyond that. They’re sporadically placed. Our site was in the shade and not far from the road though there were others that were further back. We did some of the trails which were okay. Something to do, a bit of exercise, and it had some cute little bridges and stops to sit or step out onto the water (must be able bodied). It is a pond not a lake, I could see all points of it from one standing position. Also, no beavers, they left a long time ago. The showers were clean. Walmart is about ten minutes away if you need groceries. It’s a good stop if you’re passing through and need to rest, get a little walk in, shower. Definitely wouldn’t recommend for some one out of town or state who wants to plan a vacation here.

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

These walk in sites check all the boxes.  At the western part of the RV loop, is a peninsula of primitive tent camping spots to choose from.  About half the sites were filled by the second day we were there.  We settled on 62, which is spacious and provides access to the path from the front and behind where you can walk into site 64 as well.  A parking area with a single spot for each camp site is well marked and by two vault toilets.  Park staff and host were great.  A decent fishing spot is just in front of site 64.  $8 for IL residents is hard to beat, if you don't need an RV spot with electric.  A water source is also by the parking spots.  The weekend we were there the weather had cooled some and a great breeze was coming off the lake.  Springfield being so close is a bonus.

The only negative is like any spot and how previous people leave the camp looking before you are there.  Some garbage in the fire pit and random spots are par for the course in any state park.  Pick up the trash and dump it in the dumpster by the parking lot.  Leave the site better than you found it is our motto.

The Lithia Springs recreation area near Shelbyville, IL. On Lake Shelbyville has so many things to offer. This is one of my favorite places on the lake for boating, swimming and group camping. There are 105 campsites and they fill up with reservations in the spring and summer months, I would recommend reserving a site on line at: https://www.recreation.gov .

The campground is run by the Corps of engineers, it is well cared for with clean shower houses and restrooms. There is a boat ramp, picnic areas, a small swimming beach and very nice lakeside campsites. Half the campsites have electric hookups and water near the sites, the other half now have full hookups and 50 amp service. It is recommended to fill your tanks as you enter so you won’t need to get water during your stay for the sites on the point, those do not have full hookups. I tent camp when I stay here now, but have camped here with a motorhome and filled up when I entered and dumped when I left for a long weekend.

All sites have picnic tables, fire rings with grates and most also have a lantern stand. Most sites have a decent amount of room between them and there are some buddy sites where you share a large table cooking area and park facing each other. There are flat areas for tents and you can have two tents as well as an RV on each site.

The marina here is great with boat gas, fishing equipment, bait, snacks and other items you might need in a pinch. They also rent fishing boats and pontoon boats so you can go on a boating excursion while camping here for a price.

There are also cabins and motel rooms with a kitchen near the park entrance if you have a desire for that kind of lodging. See the links below for that.

http://gregorysresortmotel.com/

http://www.lithiaresort.com/

Great sites. Plenty to do. Favorite place to camp in Illinois.

This is our go-to campground when visiting the U of I. It is a large campground with well spaced campsites for tents and rvs. Almost every site has plenty of shade with lots of tree cover. This also means in the dog days of summer the breeze is blocked by the trees so get an electric site even with a tent and bring a fan. They have a beach and a boat launch. The loops that allow alcohol can get a bit rowdy with weekend partiers, but the alcohol restricted loops can get loud from all the families. However, with full hook-up options there is no generator noise. The showers/bathrooms are kept up well given the massive amount of people served. If you own a boat and camp, this place is ideal for central Illinois.

I had a friend stay in the tent area and she had to leave in the middle of the night because the raccoons were so bad. The couple a few sites down had their tent destroyed. She had all of her food and smelly things locked in her car.