Best Cabin Camping near St. Joseph, IL

Much enjoyed hiking some of the trails at Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, Indiana. This is Indiana's 2nd oldest state park, now 100 years old (1916-2016). Visitors can camp in RV's or in tents in campground area that has water/electrical hook-ups, modern bathrooms w/ showers. There is also cabins to rent, or you can stay at Turkey Run Inn. Canoeing down Sugar Creek was great, and it passes through the state park at a fairly scenic section. Some hiking trails are easy to walk along, others trails are more rugged and difficult. Cross over Sugar Creek on a suspension bridge to get to more hiking trails in a more remote section of woods. We ate a very nice lunch in the restaurant in the Inn, and even played pinball in the gameroom. Great state park. Would be happy to go again some day.

Close to great hiking trails, swimming, canoeing & rafting rental. Quiet and family friendly on every visit. Rv, tent w/electric available.

I have been here hiking many times but camped only 1 time in July of 2017. There are good campsite for both RVs and tent camping with clean restrooms and shower house. The park and trails are usually busy since the park is near the Eastern Illinois University. The no-drinking campground prevents many noisy student campouts. The hiking trails are some of the best in the state because the glaciers dropped of mountains of soil in the area where this park is located. The surrounding farm land is flat as can be, but the forested hills and creek beds in the park are almost mountainous. Bring everything you need for the weekend with you, there are no businesses close to the park. This is a great place for day hiking and a weekend getaway.

Enjoyed our stay. Site 198 had lots of room to roam. No neighbors too close. But close to a good size hill. Not a grass spot. No water hookup. But would recommend. Little store has lots to offer. Gas station and good near by. Fantastic walking trails within a mile or 2 also. And canoe rental directly across street.

This was a favorite getaway spot when I was a student at Purdue University. This area is such a drastic difference from the surrounding areas with canyon-like structures and cooler temperatures on the trails. It definitely doesn't feel like you are in Indiana. There are ample campsites (all electric) and a camp store. It is separate from the rest of the rest of the park, just down the road but easily accessible. Personally, the best part for me is the awesome hiking trails, rivaling my favorites in Tennessee!

We were able to reserve our spot online weeks in advance. Check-in & check-out times are 2pm every day. Each camp spot has a nice metal ringed firepit with a grill grate for cooking on the fire. Camp store is filled with stuff you'd need on case you forgot it, and they have plenty of firewood for sale too! My wife and I will definitely be going back every summer now that we know how gorgeous Turkey Run State Park is!! There have over 10 miles of hiking trails ranging from novice to expert. There is also a kayak rental company right down the road called Sugar Creek Valley where you can rent kayaks, canoes, and even tubes to float down the river on.

We love this state park.  The hiking trails are beautiful especially down in the caverns.  

Sugar Creek runs through the park and is great for kayaking or canoeing in the spring.  There is a rental place across the street from the park.  There is also a lodge and restaurant in the park.  

Many of the campsites are in the woods and well-shaded.  We stayed on 162 which is in a small circle of campsites.  It was quiet and well shaded.  There are others that are in full sun in some parts of the campground.  The state park website provides good description of the sites and photos.  The campground is very popular and weekends need to be booked very early.

This was the perfect spot for a family get away. We went swimming, and fishing every day off the boat. There is also a beach available to swim at if you don't have a boat. It was $2 a person to go to the beach. The facilities are well maintain, and we had no issues with bugs the entire trip. (We stayed 4 nights). There is a small store and a concession stand that acts as an indoor/outdoor restaurant. The shower house is serviced several times a day, and always had plenty of hot water for our showers. My family goes every Memorial and Labor Day weekend to this campground as we have found it to be one of the best around. There are 3 families that come with us every time in their own RV's that agree.

We just left after a 2 night stay and we’re really pleased with this camp ground. The staff were very friendly and wanted to make sure our stay was the best it could be.

Our primitive tent site was in the very back isolated from the rest of the grounds. A port-a-potty was near by, but the shower house was a short drive away. Also, the site, 27C, was alone with timber separating it from the nearest site. The downside to this site is the morning/afternoon sun, but we adapted with a pop-up canopy and positioning our tent to utilize the little shady available.

The shower house was one of the cleanest we’ve seen and the staff makes a concerted effort to keep it that way.

The camp store was a nice convenience and wood delivery was a plus.

Lastly, features include a pond to fish (and rental of paddle boats/canoes) where my son and I caught two decent sized fish from the dock. Playground, volleyball court, and a half court basketball were right off the backside fishing dock.

General: We rarely return to the same campground as there are so many new ones and areas to explore but when we were here 3.5 years ago on a cool April day, we thought the only thing that would make it better would be to return in the fall. However, many others must have had the same idea! When we were here in April, this almost 300-site campground was maybe 10% occupied but in mid-October on a Monday the day AFTER the nearby 10-day covered bridge festival, it was about 98% full! Additionally, the yellow jackets came out in full force with the sun; we ended up eating lunch inside our camper van (fortunately, once the sun went down, we could be outside). 

Site Quality: When I made our reservation, we decided to stay at the same site we were in last time! If I recall correctly, the website was good at letting you know if the sites were not level (not all were) and if they were in full or partial sun. This was a very helpful bit of information to have! Our site (18) was very long and many could accommodate large RVs. The picnic table was very skimpy and could seat only four people comfortably.

Bathhouse: Clean with hot water and showers. Did not use the showers so cannot comment on them. 

Activities: Hiking! There is a large network of trails, many of which criss-cross each other so you can shorten or lengthen your hike depending on how you are feeling. We were able to explore different trails than the last time we were here. I thought the description of the difficulty scale was a bit over-exaggerated but if you take the trail with the three ladders, I do recommend traveling in a clockwise direction so that you climb up instead of down. For the most part, the trails are well-marked. There is a nearby canoe rental outfitter for in-season. There is also a decent playground and many families biked along the camp loops. 

Conclusion: Five stars last time but four this time. Camp at this beautiful park in the spring if you want peace and quiet but it is nice in the fall too!

A great little park close to Eastern Illinois university. A great place to camp with family and friends.

Great little campground close to Charleston and Eastern Illinois University. Not really anywhere to fish close, but nice quite park.

This is a real nice small park. Each site has great privacy and has very spacious sites. Close to Eastern Illinois University and lake Charleston which has trails.

I visited Fox Ridge frequently as a student of nearby Eastern Illinois University, but never camped there. We came back to visit campus and stayed in site #12 at Fox Ridge.

All sites were spacious and shaded. We did not use any of the facilities but were impressed with how secluded our campsite felt. Each site is Isolated by trees and growth and the entire camoground is shaded.

There are plenty of trails in the park and things to do in the area. Be sure to check out the Worlds Fastest Soda Machine in Lerna, IL!

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.

We had a fantastic time here. We came during Fourth of July and never felt like it was overly crowded. Sites were spacious but wasn’t much privacy, which didn’t bother us because it allowed for our kids to play with the other kids easily. Our site was adjacent to numerous paths that easily led to the beach, playground, the rocky path for fishing, and a secluded swimming hole. We couldn’t have asked for a better location for our family and our interests. We did not use the toilets or showers, although it looked like they were in working order as others were using then. We had a cloudless night and the stars were spectacular.

Really nice campground on Clinton Lake. Has a really nice beach for swimming and picnics. Have about 20 nice full hook up spots and a bunch of electric sites. Our family spent a week there and loved it.

Large campground that gets booked up most weekends. Clinton Lake is a boating destination as the waters are unusually warm due to the discharge from the nearby nuclear plant. There are several different loops within the campground, some are alcohol free and others have direct access to the lake. The bathrooms are basic vault toilets but kept very clean. We have camped here several times, and found depending on the crowds, it can feel a little like a party spot or can be quiet and calm. The different loops have very different feels...some are very shaded in the trees, some more wide open with a prairie type view. There is a beach and concession stand, group camping areas and lots of roads to bike around. We enjoy the boating/camping combo.

Walk-in at night pay in morning 2 dollar beach entry 10-7 pm 8 dollar for camping and 20 with electricity after check in Restrooms are decent Lady at store has everything needed for fire and bbq.

Not much to do around

Had practically the whole campground to ourselves.

Water was turned off for winter which wasn't entirely clear. The RV fill was shutdown too. Water option we're the lake or a 30 min drive into town for bottled. Not a big deal but something to be prepared for.

We spent 24 hours and plan to return. Great trails and views!

We have camped here previous years and had a good time. However we it here for the first time this year and man has it gone down hill. The host is crazy and can be rude, he didn't even ask who we were. Just tried to be funny. Our campsite was dirty. We had to pick up a bunch of trash. On the way to the bathrooms we had to step over dog poo. The bathroom in c loop should just be torn down. The brick is falling appart. Hubby said someone pooped on the floor in the stall on the men's side. We went swimming and there were people drinking and smoking weed on the beach and not even trying to hide it. Funny they closed the bathrooms at the beach at 6:30 to clean. That man did not clean them. He just locked the doors and left. Went to shower after swimming at the shower house by the host and hubby says it smells like sewage and there was poop on the floor in the shower house as well. Probably will find somewhere also to go the rest of the season. We camped at Clinton Lake State Recreation Area in a Travel Trailer

Camped for a weekend trip. We had 3 sites and made one a home base. Grounds were full due to unseasonably warm weather but everyone was pleasant and respectful

Have stayed here numerous times. Always very clean. We have only stayed in the electric only sites as the full hookup sites are hard to come by. Very quiet at night and depending on your site, there are nice views of the summer sky. Some camping areas are more wooded than others and those also seem to fill up fast. We’ll be making a couple of trips here this summer.

Stayed on a Tuesday night in April. Only a few rvs, no tent campers besides us. Stayed at A19, the loop was quiet all day/night. Most loops look exactly the same, just the quality of the sites. Some are all dirt, some are all grass. Bathrooms are ok. Didn't use the showers. Good first time visit to the campground.