Best Campgrounds near South Elgin, IL

Recent Reviews near South Elgin, IL

614 Reviews of 82 South Elgin Campgrounds

• L

  Layla P.

  Guide

  Aug. 29, 2025

  Camp Bullfrog Lake

  Great camping spot

  This is my second time staying at Bullfrog lake. The first time I was in spot 2 which had more privacy but felt more cramped. This time I was in spot 18 which felt like it had more space but had almost no shade.

  The camp hosts are really hit or miss. One guy was so nice and took a bunch to photos for me of me kayaking. The other guy seemed mad to be alive lol.

  The kayaks are $15 and hour and include life vests. The lake is pretty small but it was fun to putter around.

  Unfortunately the wood I bought from the camp store took forever to catch flames—my other two neighbors had the same issue.

  Bathroom/shower facilities were clean and well stocked.

  Overall I’d definitely stay here again.

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• K

  Katrina D.

  Scout

  Aug. 28, 2025

  Fish Lake Beach Camping Resort

  Not communicable, fraud administration

  I reserved 5 nights, paid in full. After just one night, management cancelled my stay because my service dogs(Maltese) supposedly barked. I was fully cooperative, kept them quiet, and even documented this in emails. There was a stray cat near my RV that caused the issue, but instead of solving it, they forced me to leave. No refund for 4 nights. This is unfair, discriminatory, and against ADA law.

• 

  Kevin B.

  Scout

  Aug. 26, 2025

  Camp Sullivan

  Enjoyed the camping experience

  Nice and clean areas, staff was very professional and helpful while I was there

• 

  Tim L.

  Scout

  Aug. 17, 2025

  Chicago Northwest KOA

  Chill Vibes, quick get away from the city

  Far enough from the city lights, close enough to civilization. Cozy, small park with friendly staff and plenty of amenities. You can walk from one side to other no problem. Plenty of large and small RV's and Trailers with tent camping. Our home away from home, so relaxing!

• 

  Ron D.

  Scout

  Aug. 17, 2025

  Pearl Lake

  Low Class Trailer Trashy Park

  Horrible customer service from the start. We registered online with a 35" 5th wheel for 2 nights. On checking in, we wouldn't fit in the site so the girl at the desk put us in a different site saying she couldn't escort us to our site. This was our first time being there and her excuse was they were short staffed. The street signage was very small and hard to read. Site numbers were said to be on every pedestal but they were not visible from any drive. After only a few minutes of driving around, we were astonished by all the trash and junky trailers on site. Note that if your camper is more than 10 years old, they want to first see a picture of it so as to keep their place classy. Not the case here once you have paid and are here. We call back to the office for assistance finding our site and the girl said she would have to lock the office and was hesitant about doing so but she would come out to hep us find our place. We simply asked for a refund saying we were very disappointed with the situation so far. When she told us they don't give refunds, we asked for a manager to call us back. At this point we left to find another place which we did and were at in about 30 minutes. The manager called us back offering us drinks at the bar, a premium site, tickets for kids in the bounce house, and free water craft but I and the wife were only there for 2 nights. We were not going back to that dump. She said she would have to speak with the owners about a refund but never called us back. Five days later I called several times to speak with the manager again but no call back. She did however text us saying they will not issue a refund saying the girl in the office could not leave the desk because her coworker was using the restroom. Then why did she say she couldn't leave because they were short handed? Long story short, think long and hard before you visit this trashy place. Showers were dark and dingy and smelled. The beach looked more like gravel and not pleasing. Just walking around, I couldn't get away from the awful smell of people smoking and vaping and a strong smell of pot smokers everywhere. Not at all the place we would take our grand kids ever.

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• 

  Tim H.

  Guide

  Aug. 15, 2025

  Sunset Campground — Richard Bong State Recreation Area

  Private sites, lots of wildlife ... and mosquitoes

  It's a wetland, mosquitoes are happening, but the trade off is just about worth it. If you enjoy bird watching or rabbit spotting, this is a great place to go. 

  We're from the south, so we are used to mosquitoes, but I have seldom been around so many all at once. Thankfully we had a pop-up screened gazebo that made sitting outside our tent much more enjoyable. I will say this though, even with there being more mosquitoes constantly attacking, I did not have the reactions to them like I do the mosquitoes back in Alabama and Mississippi. I wasn't itching much at all.

  But back to the fun part. It was pretty hot a couple days while we were there and to take a break from the heat, we enjoyed the ac in the car and drove around the recreation area and the campgrounds. I have seldom seen as many rabbits as we saw. There were relatively few campers during the week and just about every other campsite had at least a bunny or two. 

  What drew me to this campground was how private the individual sites were. Each campsite is cut back into the trees so that most are at least semi-private. This was a nice feature given that many other campgrounds you are stacked in like cord wood.

  Our first night there, we left the rain fly off of the tent and just enjoyed the stars and the satellites streaking across the sky.

  Overall, it was a rather enjoyable week. The shower/bathrooms were nice and clean, though I will admit the shower got too hot even for my wife. It is an easy drive from the recreation area to Kenosha or other points of interest and Lake Michigan is worth a visit if you aren't from the area.

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• D

  David W.

  Traveler

  Aug. 11, 2025

  Big Rock Campground

  Needs some shade

  This is a pretty new camp site, so the trees need some time to get big enough to provide some shade.

  The flush toilet building was very clean, but there was no TP in the ladies' room. And I have to wonder why you would build a new campground without showers?

  It is very close to the cities so we will stay here again.

• J

  Jeffrey L.

  Guide

  Aug. 10, 2025

  Camp Shabbona Woods

  Not the best but acceptable

  Stayed the weekend. Definitely felt the urban community close by with ambulances and firetrucks noises in the background. They close the gates after 10pm was weird but overall ok. No electric or water hook ups can’t keep your vehicle close to your campsite. The good the bathroom are in good shape and the staff was friendly.

• D

  David W.

  Traveler

  Aug. 3, 2025

  Paul Wolff Campground

  No showers

  We would gladly stay here again!

  Great campsite with the best staff ever! The sites are clean and very well maintained. We loved the staff patrolling the grounds. The trail system is great for walking the dogs. And I even grew to like the no alcohol in the preserve rule.

  The vault toilets are clean but smell like vault toilets at 95 degrees. There is one very clean flush toilet building but no showers. They don't advertise showers, but this is the newest and nicest campsite I have seen without showers. There is some shade, but you have to search for it.