Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Shawnee National Forest

Overall great place! Would recommend. Beautiful scenery in the Shawnee National Forest. Quiet and comfortable.

First night being in the shawnee national forest and this was one of the first places I stayed this is an excellent campsite..very nice and clean it's also by the garden of the God which if u haven't seen you should definitely take a trip to see

This is a very clean, quiet, shady campground. It is off interstate 57 if you are passing through or a great place to park and see the sites of Shawnee National Forest. The people of Goreville are nice and friendly and Ron, who oversees the campground is a great guy!

I’m a novice car camper, sleeping in my Tesla Model 3. This campground is quiet and clean. The host is very friendly and knowledgeable. Each site has 50 amp electric service (so you can charge your EV with a NEMA 14-50 plug), fresh water, fire pits, and picnic tables. A nice stop to visit the Shawnee National Forest.

Our favorite in all of Illinois!! Tucked into the tall pines of the Shawnee national forest, this park offers a handful of gorgeous sites for campers to enjoy, many that back right up to Lake Glendale. The sites are mostly private and have water hookups as well as electric. A nearby beach is available to enjoy during the summer as well as hiking trails. While this campground is certainly off the beaten path it is perfect for those that want to get away and enjoy some quiet time. No reservations though so you’ll want to get there ahead of time to ensure yourself a spot If you enjoy a very

single, double, and triple camping spots set up on three loops in this small campground nestled in the corner of shawnee national forest. there's a central bath house located near check in. only amenities there are a pit toilet, so come prepared. drinking water available right outside the camp and most sites have a non-potable water spigot, horse hitch, and fire ring. close to lake kinkaid and johnson creek. there are a few trails that connect to this spot.

if you have a golden pass then you can receive a discounted stay.

This is dispersed camping within the Shawnee National Forest. The area can be tricky to find if you are unfamiliar with the area. It can also get very crowded on nice days due to its proximity to the college campus. It is also very popular with rock climbers and people on horseback. I found the trails to be somewhat confusing and not well marked. I was here Easter weekend and the weather was great, so there were a lot of tents set up right near the parking area. If you don’t mind hiking in a bit, peace and quiet can be found.

Yesssss! Tucked into the tall pines of the Shawnee national forest, this park offers a handful of gorgeous sites for campers to enjoy, many that back right up to Lake Glendale. The sites are mostly private and have water hookups as well as electric. A nearby beach is available to enjoy during the summer as well as hiking trails. While this campground is certainly off the beaten path it is perfect for those that want to get away and enjoy some quiet time. No reservations though so you’ll want to get there ahead of time to ensure yourself a spot If you enjoy a very

This campground is an absolute gem. Tucked into the tall pines of the Shawnee national forest, this park offers a handful of gorgeous sites for campers to enjoy, many that back right up to Lake Glendale. The sites are mostly private and have water hookups as well as electric. A nearby beach is available to enjoy during the summer as well as hiking trails. While this campground is certainly off the beaten path it is perfect for those that want to get away and enjoy some quiet time. No reservations though so you’ll want to get there ahead of time to ensure yourself a spot If you enjoy a very

This campground is an absolute gem and is by far our favorite in Illinois.Tucked into the tall pines of the Shawnee national forest, this park offers a handful of gorgeous sites for campers to enjoy, many that back right up to Lake Glendale. The sites are mostly private and have water hookups as well as electric. A nearby beach is available to enjoy during the summer as well as hiking trails. While this campground is certainly off the beaten path it is perfect for those that want to get away and enjoy some quiet time. No reservations though so you’ll want to get there ahead of time to ensure yourself a spot If you enjoy a very

Located on Kincaid Lake in the northwestern edge of the Shawnee National forest. The campground has three small loops. Two are more forested with smaller sites and one is more open on the edge of the forest, and geared up for equestrian camping. There are very basic pit toilets that were fairly new and clean. You can get potable water at the entrance. We camped here mid-April and the campground water spigots had not been turned on yet. Camping is $10 a night - self check in. No need to worry about finding firewood, as it is plentiful within the forest. Listened to owls at night before bed.

We took a short ride to nearby Ava and checked out Scratch Brewery. Delicious and unique little place that is off the beaten path. Only open on weekends, but highly recommend.

Location is everything and this is well in the middle of a great area in Shawnee National Forest. Garden of the gods, Bell Smith springs, Ferne State park, and on and on. You can spend a week here and not see everything.
There are primitive and electric (with water) sites. There are no sites with sewer hookup. There is a dump station at the entrance.

Sites are generally level and well kept. Very large rigs (35+) will be challenging, but I've seen them - more towards the front. There are some lake front spots that can be had. Sites are first come and there are no reservations taken. During the week, no problem. Weekends would be iffy.

Large lake with swimming, fishing, kayaking. Also has a bike trail around it - maybe 2 miles.

Shower houses are kept clean, but as of this posting, they need some maintenance work.

All in all, this is a must stop if you want to enjoy what the area has to offer.

This campground is beautiful with lots of gardens and potted plants at a lot of the campsites The host is very friendly, the pool is well maintained, they have a dog park The Host even led us to our spot..

Not a bad place for a stop between destinations or a couple days at the lake would be fine. Roads and sites were well maintained. The dog park gets muddy quick, it’s mostly moss and dirt. It’s close to the Interstate; we’d stay there again.

We only stayed one night but staff was very pleasant and sites are reasonable size. There is a nice dog park with disposable bags. Our site overlooks a nice little pond. There is a clean laundry facility and heated restroom and showers. We did not need to use the facilities so I cannot comment on those. Campground is easily accessible from I24. We would definitely stay here again.

 We've been wanting to explore southern Illinois for a long time, but it's a six hour (min)  drive from our home. Our first choice was Giant City state park, but this was recommended to us as a cozier, more manageable alternative. It's close to Giant City so you can take advantage of the trails there and eat at the magnificent old Lodge. The campground is on little Grassy lake, it has a marina with boat rentals of all types and a free launch. The lake is too small for speedboats, and is great for fishing (there's a hatchery with tours close by), canoeing & kayaking. there's also a beach, separate form the marina that's quite nice and secluded. Sites are big and shady. but open to each other. Our host, a fun lady named Turtle, let us take a double site to give us room to spread out.
Our site had a nice firepit slightly downhill with western view of the lake. We were able to tie up our canoe there too. Water & electric are available most sites, with more 50amp sites to be added soon.
Bathrooms and showers are spacious and clean with good hot water.
There's a general store with the usual camp things and fishing supplies at the marina, though there's a great one 9 miles east at Grassy Rd. & Rt 148 with an amazing selection of local snacks, sodas, beer & liquor.
While we enjoyed staying here, we used it as our base camp for the ten days we were there to visit places as far east as Cave In Rock state park, and south to Paducah KY & Metropolis, and all the places in Shawnee national Forest, like Garden of the Gods and the Cache River Bayou (very different canoeing from anywhere else north of Louisiana).
The nearest town is Makanda, voted "Hippiest town in Illinois" cool shops and funky vibe, but very limited hours & services. like, no gas station.

For an activity that's on the unusual side, we recommend Shawnee Canopy zip-line tours.