Equestrian Camping near Sterling, IL

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Sterling, IL

52 Reviews of 11 Sterling Campgrounds

• 

  Matt S.

  Legend

  Sep. 11, 2016

  Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park Campground

  I'm not a fan of Hennepin Canal, you might like it if you want to camp with your horse.

  I will give the staff credit, the park is well maintained and looks very clean. Having said that, this park is right next to the Hennepin Canal, which is full of stagnant water, a breeding ground for millions of mosquitos.

  Honestly, it was difficult to even understand how camping worked at this park. If you are not a local you wouldn't know where the campground is... well, the camps are set on the trails that run parallel to the canal. That is the only thing I could figure out from the message board and some hiking. The entire time I did not see one tent or person camping.

  On the positive side, if you want to ride your horse the trails running along the canal are equestrian trails and allow horses to camp with you. The other positive is there is a cool walking bridge over the canal. These positives are not enough to overcome the fact that you are a juicy meal for the un-numbered mosquitos that live and breed in the canal.

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• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  Nov. 8, 2025

  Scott County Park- South East Corner Campground

  Scott County Park’s Secret Saddle Spot

  Tucked away in the southeast corner of Scott County Park – yes, the same park that already has more campgrounds than a camping catalog – lurks a little-known equestrian primitive campground. It’s the sort of place that feels like you stumbled onto a secret level in a video game: no hookups, no frills, just you, your horse and the occasional squirrel judging your life choices. If SOC-Fox is the Brady Bunch middle child (see my review for this CG), this one is the mysterious cousin who shows up at family reunions in cowboy boots and doesn’t say much.

  The sites? Bare-bones, as expected. You’re not here for 'glamping.' You’re here for space to tie up your horse, throw up a tent and feel like you’ve traveled back to 1883 (minus the dysentery). Fire rings are your only luxury item here, and if you’re expecting bathhouses with spa vibes, forget it. You’ll find pit toilets that are … serviceable. Let’s call them ‘character-building.’ Roads in here are gravelly but manageable if you take it slow, but you don’t really want to be coming here if you’re toting a 5th wheel or driving an RV as this area is really more geared for mi tent pitchin’ bredren who want the opportunity to ‘rough it’ ... ideally with their noble steeds.

  What makes it shine, though, are the equestrian trails. Miles of riding paths crisscross through woods, open meadows and rolling hills. Even if you’re not on horseback, you can hike them and pretend you’re in a Western where the budget ran out before they gave you an actual horse. And because this campground is the least famous of the seven, you’re more likely to get actual peace & quiet. No cannonballing kids, no RV generators humming in the night, just plenty of crickets, the odd, stray coyote and your horse deciding 2 a.m. is the perfect time to shuffle around loudly.

  Insider Tips? Giddy-up, here’s a few: (1) Bring your own water as there’s no magic spigot here; (2) If you want solitude, this is the place. It’s basically the anti-aquatic center; (3) Hungry after a day on the trail? Eldridge’s Grille on the Green dishes out hearty comfort food, and you won’t even have to tie your horse out front; and (4) If you need supplies, hit the Tractor Supply in nearby Eldridge. They won’t blink when you walk in smelling like hay and campfire.

  Happy Camping!

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• 

  James M.

  Legend

  Jun. 11, 2025

  Scott County Park- South East Corner Campground

  Open primitive County park site

  The site offers a hard service to park on, picnic table, fire, pit, charcoal, grill, outhouse, horse tie up, and equestrian trailhead. There is a recycling dump station nearby, and open space with shaded tree area. The park itself offers trails for hiking and biking, a pool, golf course, campgrounds, historical Pioneer Village, amenities, including firewood, ice, concessions. Pride Lake offers paddling and fishing.

• 

  Art S.

  Legend

  Jul. 18, 2022

  Hennepin Canal Lock 21 Campground

  Camp along the Hennepin Canal

  This small campground has separate space for equestrian campers and those without horses. There are picnic tables, vault toilets and water. The campsites are all on grassy areas with trees at the edges. This gives you some shade depending on the time of day. The grassy sites were a bit unexpected. We saw tire marks showing that people drove into the grass to set up camp. Some of the sites were completely separate from anyone else by the camp road. You were entirely visible to anyone else in the park but it was empty during our stay. 

  The Hennepin Canal Trail goes right through camp. On a previous visit I rode my bike along the crushed gravel trail. With a few connecting roads, I traveled from a Chicago suburb to the Mississippi River. While I didn’t see any horses then we did see a couple riding on the trail today. 

  This is a good spot for an overnight rest but there isn’t much more to the amenities than the campsites.

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• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  Nov. 15, 2024

  Franklin Creek State Natural Area Equestrian Campground

  Primitive Equestrian Camping in the Prairies

  Located just northwest of the little hamlet called Franklin Grove, which is just due north of Ronald Reagan’s birthplace in Dixon, Franklin Creek State Natural Area Equestrian Campground is ideal if you are one of those primitive campers who want to take their noble steed(s) with them for the night in order to gallup along some pretty amazing horse-friendly trails. While there’s not a lot in the way of amenities here, if you need a post to tie up your horse, a round-about where they can go for countless circle walks along with plenty of hay to keep them fed, then this location might just be ideal for you.

  What I enjoyed most about Franklin Creek State Natural Area is the 882 acres of fresh prairieland that feels fairly untouched and ready for some eager exploration. There’s several small natural springs completely shadowed by endless forests of hardwoods along with all of the natural fauna that you would expect in these parts like gray and fox squirrels, white-tailed deer, racoons, chipmunks, beavers and opossums. If you’re a bird watcher, you’ll enjoy the flycatchers, warblers, and woodpeckers, vireos as well as barn and horned-rim owls. And according to the information I found on-site, there’s more than 19 species of fish that you can find in the fresh water streams, creeks and rivers here.

  From an amenities standpoints, while you will find 4 picnic shelters (Bartlett, Sunday, Banker and Hausen-Knox, all of which can be reserved), restrooms, potable drinking water, stand-up grills and fire pits, there is very little in the way of amenities in the actual equestrian campground apart from water spigots with a picnic shelter, restrooms, running water, show area and the occasional picnic table. The equestrian trails offer more than 12 miles of horse hoofing fun and the terrain is heavily forested with just slight variable grades increasing and decreasing around fairly easy-to-maneuver turns. You’ll also discover that there is a very nice stream here that the kids will love jumping across and / or wading in searching for crawdads or small fish.

  What you’ll enjoy most about being here, apart from the peace & quiet as well as the abundance of serenity is that this place has a really nice connection with history as it features a fully functioning grist mill that goes all the way back to early Americana where corn meal and wheat flour were made from the stream currents of water passing by that would fuel the grist mill. On weekends, you can actually take the kids to this site, located just 70 yards west of the Equestrian Campground for a super-cool interactive exhibition. Other activities here that you can access include an archery range, cross-country skiing, fishing, hiking, biking, hunting and even snowmobiling.

  Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Should you get tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the depths of your Cordova roto-molded cooler or on-board RV mini-fridge, then you are in luck as with in the nearby town of Franklin Grove, given its very small population of just slightly more than 1,000 souls shouldn’t have many restaurants (let alone stop lights), but thankfully for your sake, it does. Apart from the Casey’s gas station, which actually serves up some pretty awesome pizza believe it or not, there’s 3 proper restaurants all serving ‘down home Midwestern comfort food’ that are each pretty delectable: Lincoln Way Café, Rooney’s and Rev on 38; (2) If you are looking to explore a slice of history in these parts and the grist mill just isn’t your thing, head due west to Dixon where you can go explore the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. There’s also nearby Chaplin Creek Historic Village featuring an old salt box farmhouse as well as a one room school, which will take you back to the late 1800s before the world knew modernization and technology; (3) Although the trail hiking at Franklin Creek State Natural Area are very good, should you be on the hunt for much more challenging trail hiking or biking, then head on over to either White Pines Forest State Park or Castle Rock State Park, both of which are only about a 20 minute drive from here and offer very large areas to explore; (4) Should you come with kayak or canoe and are looking for some good challenging currents to get some excellent oar-rowing in, you will struggle to find that here at Franklin Creek State Natural Area, so I highly recommend towing your watercraft over to the banks of the Rock River where you will be richly rewarded; and (5) When you are ready to book this particular equestrian campground, just go to the IL SP site to book it: https://camp.exploremoreil.com/location/221.

  Happy Camping!

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• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  Mar. 17, 2026

  Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park Campground

  Camp Where 100-Year-Old Locks Gaze Over Your Tent

  Nestled along a 104.5-mile corridor across parts of northwestern Illinois, Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park offers a unique and unexpectedly charming, albeit primitive camping experience. Spread across multiple sites like Lock 6, Lock 11, Lock 21, Bridge 14, and Lock 22, this park stretches its campsites along a historic towpath beside century-old canal locks. First impressions? Think gentle grass clearings, basic picnic setups and a nostalgic vibe that combines outdoor adventure with engineering heritage all the while living up to bare-bones camping ethos.

  Facilities remain strictly primitive as this is ‘Class C’ camping, meaning no hookups, no showers, no modern frills … just a pit toilet and a fire ring at each site. Cost is only $8 per night per family. Youth groups pay a minimum daily fee starting at $20. Other perks: senior citizens and disabled campers may qualify for free stays, depending on day and status. You’ll need to stop by the Visitor Center near Sheffield to pay (no reservations and everything at each lock is considered first-come, first-served), and all the drinking water is only available at central locations at each lock, not at individual campsites, so plan accordingly. Quiet hours run from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and campfires must stay in designated pits.

  The setting is deeply outdoorsy and expansive. The canal’s towpath is a cyclist’s and hiker’s dream, with up to 155 miles to explore (miles of level surface, biking, hiking, horseback riding in some sections and even snowmobiling when it’s seasonally open). Anglers love the Hennepin Canal system as the waters are regularly stocked with bass, bluegill, walleye, catfish and even trout during special stocking events. Canoeing and kayaking are permitted with portage around non-operational locks and birding or historical sightseeing along the route is a delightful bonus.

  Insider Tips? Here’s a smattering: (1) Pick campsites closest to the canal but slightly back from parking that will deliver land that is flatter, vistas that are more scenic and spaces that are quieter; (2) Swing by the Visitor Center near Sheffield first for maps and essential info as you’ll need drinking water from there in case you didn’t bring your own;(3) If traveling with a dog or horse, check designations as only certain sites (e.g. Lock 21) allow equestrian camping; (4) Fishermen should bring rods early as anglers that I encountered say the catches here are worth the effort; (5) No pumps / dump stations so pack accordingly and use nearby towns for full services; and (6) Post-camping grub: head to Sheffield afterward for local eats like Belluccio’s for deep dish pizza, Italian beef & sausage sandwiches, Café 129 with its smoked prime rib and Red’s Bar & Grill for fantastic deep fried pork tenderloin sandwiches, which is a staple in these parts.

  Happy Camping!

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• 

  James M.

  Legend

  Feb. 18, 2026

  Scott County Park- South East Corner Campground

  Very basic camp area with equestrian Trail access.

  This campsite has a hard parking lot surface, picnic table, charcoal, grill, firing, and a pit toilet, horse tie up. Trail access starts here, recycling station is adjacent, and Scott County Park Road is just to the south.

• 

  Brian O.

  Legend

  May. 19, 2023

  Morrison-Rockwood State Park

  A nice state park that makes a nice base

  We saw an article about "Dutch Days" in nearby Fulton on www.OnlyInYourState.com, (first weekend in May) and thought it looked like fun. The nearest campground at Thomson causeway recreational area was closed both for repairs and for flooding so this was our best choice.
  It was not crowded this early in the season, though most of the sites are pretty private and that wasn't an issue. We stayed in the 60's loop which is more open than most since it has the playground. There's only one shower building, which is clean and well-kept, and it is on the 80's loop, though there are paths to it from the others.
  There are a few pull-through sites, but I'm not sure they're indicated. The ADA sites are large and well paved, though the tables do not have wheelchair overhangs.
  Fire rings are hit and miss, our site had a low square pit with a non-adjustable flip-over grill, other sites had taller, circular rings, check site photos.
  There are two trails downhill to the lake from the 60's loop, no lakeside campsites.
  The lake is small but pleasant and stocked with fish. There are boat rentals available and a small restaurant and general store.
  We went on day trips to Fulton and Clinton, IA. Eagle point park has a good view of the Mississippi, but  more spectacular views are at Mississippi Palisades State Park, a 50 min drive.
  If you don't feel like cooking, a great choice is the Candlelight Inn(s), half an hour to the east or west in Clinton, Sterling or Rock Falls. A great family restaurant/ steakhouse famous for it's "Chicken George" (they'll give you a free sample to get you hooked)

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• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  May. 29, 2023

  Matthiessen State Park Equestrian Campground — Matthiessen State Park

  Limestone-Stained Equestrian-Only Campground

  For those that bring their noble steed to this campground, you’ll have it basically all to yourself. I have to admit, I was incredibly bummed to arrive here only to discover that this campground was reserved exclusively for those packing their four-legged, mane-baring, buggy-pulling horse friends, but hey, there were some pretty outstanding trails to hike during the day and the friendly on-site ranger made a call over to nearby Starved Rock SP to secure me a camping spot over there, so not all was lost. 

  If you do plan on camping here alongside your horses, you will want to note that there is no reservation system and that all sites are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. There’s a registration envelope that you’ll pick up when you arrive at Matthiessen SP, where you’ll simply need to fill this out with your name, # of days that you are planning to stay and then deposit the envelope in the drop-off kiosk along with the nightly fee and you’re all good. 

  With nearly 2,000 acres, there’s a lot to explore here at Matthiessen SP, located just south of Utica by a few miles and due east of Oglesby by 3 miles. Whether you are camping or not, from the many valleys you will surprisingly encounter (Illinois is an incredibly flat state, for those that may not know) and the small trickling waterfalls you will stumble across to the non-stop trails, canyons, bridges, stairways, dams and dells that you will come across in this place, there is a really good cross-section of prairie land that meets densely-packed forests. What makes this area particularly unique is the unusual rock formations that you will discover all over the place, and nearby Starved Rock SP is no exception, where you’ll encounter exposed lime and sandstone. With water seepage and rain occurring naturally and in overabundance here, the residual impact of the water that dries on the sandstone adds to the verdant colors that you will find decorating the canyon walls. 

  Occasionally, if you are especially quiet, you’ll come across no shortage of white-tailed deer or wild turkeys foraging through the crabapple and plum trees that are scattered throughout the forest here. Cottontail rabbits are scurrying around trying to stay hidden from the several bald eagles that conquer the skies and who beat out the vastly over-populated flocks of red-tailed hawks that usually beat them to their lunch. You’ll be able to catch a glimpse of most of these unadulterated natural experiences along most of the 5 miles of trails that can be found here at Matthiessen SP, where believe it or not, the easier of the hiking trails are located in the upper bluffs and the more difficult trails to manage are those on the interior. 

  Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If like me, you stumbled across this campground and forgot to bring your horse (er, or don't have one to begin with), no worries, there’s a ton of outdoor camping outposts near here, top of which I would highly recommend Starved Rock SP, actually located just kitty-cornered from Matthiessen SP, or Kishauwau County Cabins, which is but a 10 minute drive from here; (2) In all of my camping, I have never really worried too much about poison ivy or ticks, until I came here – you definitely want to not only look out for the 3-leafed poison ivy that thrives here (note: if the 3-leafed descriptor wasn’t enough, be sure to look for the greenish-white berries), but be sure to bring some suave to apply to any skin that comes into contact with this nefarious plant, and if you find that you have a vampire-like tick that has fallen in love with you, a simple match applied close to the bugger will usually do the trick; (3) When you get tired of foraging for your next meal from the depths of your Cordova cooler, then head on over to The Lodge at Starved Rock SP where they serve up some pretty traditional continental American food of which I highly recommend the fried Walleye, smoked duck or the pan-fried pork chop; (4) When you’re looking for a great place to drop your kayak or canoe into, then head no further than the lower portion of Starved Rock SP where there is a boat and kayak launch into the turbulent currents of the Illinois River; and (5) After a good several days of camping, hiking and kayaking, you’ll definitely be looking for a place to ‘whet your whistle’ of which I would recommend heading over to Utica where you can try out one of the many taps they have on hand at Skoog’s Pub& Grill. 

  Happy Camping!

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