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Best Tent Camping near Sullivan, IL

305 Reviews

Tent campgrounds near Sullivan, Illinois offer several options along the shores of Lake Shelbyville and surrounding natural areas. Spillway Campground provides accessible tent sites with riverside access, while Sullivan Marina and Campgrounds Resort offers basic amenities for tent campers. Spitler Woods State Natural Area and Hidden Springs State Forest also provide tent camping opportunities within a short drive of Sullivan.

Most tent camping areas near Sullivan feature basic amenities suited for primitive camping experiences. Spillway Campground provides drive-in and walk-in tent sites with drinking water, fire rings, picnic tables, and access to showers and toilets. Sullivan Marina maintains stricter hours with gate access restrictions after 10 PM. Shady Grove Campground in Hidden Springs State Forest offers more primitive tent sites with toilets and trash service but lacks shower facilities. Many tent areas remain accessible year-round, though spring months may bring muddy conditions after rainfall.

The tent camping experience near Sullivan centers around water recreation and forest exploration. Spillway Campground's location on the Kaskaskia River provides excellent fishing opportunities and water access with canoe rentals available. Despite proximity to town, the riverfront location offers peaceful camping, particularly during weekdays and off-season months. Tent campers at Spitler Woods enjoy more secluded forest settings with nature observation opportunities. One camper noted, "Great sites. Plenty to do. Favorite place to camp in Illinois." For tent campers seeking water recreation, the Spillway area provides unique access to the river as it exits Lake Shelbyville, with another reviewer sharing, "The fishing here and at the Spillway across the road are very good."

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Best Tent Sites Near Sullivan, Illinois (5)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Sullivan, IL

305 Reviews of 5 Sullivan Campgrounds

  • Aaron B.
    Jun. 16, 2019

    Eagle Creek State Park Campground

    Wooded Solitude / Family Friendly

    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.

  • Michael M.
    Oct. 2, 2017

    Eagle Creek State Park Campground

    Great Lakeside Camping

    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.

  • Susan L.
    Sep. 5, 2020

    Sangchris Lake State Park Campground

    5 stars with a caveat

    This is a beautiful state park, but hopefully you won’t have the same experience I did with the electric hookup. I stayed here right after the fourth of July and because of the heat over this holiday weekend and a completely full campground, the electricity couldn’t meet the demand and a transformer blew. By the time I arrived the transformer was repaired, however the pedestals in the section I was supposed to stay in had a problem. I was supposed to stay in site 27, but after 3 attempts to get power at 3 different sites, number 24 was the winner and this was a great site! The campground hosts were fantastic in resolving the situation as well.

    Site 24 is huge and level with a picnic table and fire ring. Electric but no water at site. The site is totally private on one side because of a lake inlet and there’s a large back area right on the lake. The gravel pad is located right near a large, old bald cypress. 

    This park has multiple public use areas, 2 campgrounds, boat launches, fishing piers and a beach. I didn’t use the public restrooms because they were closed due to Covid-19. I was able to get internet with Verizon. 

    This state park felt like it was dropped into the middle of cornfields and made for a fun drive. The sunset views and stars were awesome!

  • Marisa A.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 17, 2020

    Clinton Lake State Recreation Area

    Busy Central Illinois Campground on a lake

    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.

  • Michael M.
    Oct. 16, 2017

    Bo Wood

    Campground with all the comforts

    The Forest Bo Wood Recreation area has grown each year since I first camped there in 1979.

    In 2017 it has 150 camping sites, a boat ramp, fish cleaning station, several picnic areas and a bait shop at the entrance on Illinois Route 32 4 miles South of Sullivan. The camp sites all have parking space for a big rig and one vehicle. There are some tent only sites but most have been converted to at least 30 amp electric sites with water hookups near the site. Many lake side sites are available, some years back there was a problem with the bank, but that has been dealt with.

    Bath rooms and shower houses are very clean and there is good bank fishing near the pavilion at the turn around at the west end of the area. There is a marina just 1 mile South and across the bridge another ½ mile is the Sullivan beach. Just 1 more mile South is a Rosatti's pizza located in a gas station with a liquor store. Rossati's delivers pizza's to the 2 campgrounds that are this close to the business. People that love the comforts of home while camping love this campground, so it fills up in the spring and summer months.

    All sites are spacious and include a picnic table, lantern stand, fire pit with grill grate and some have added camp stove stands. I find that October camping at Bo Woods most agreeable with less people tent camping and less boat traffic on the lake. The fishing this time of year is also very good.

  • Priscilla J.
    Jun. 1, 2021

    Weldon Springs State Park Campground

    Loved the Hike-in Sites

    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.

  • Michael M.
    Oct. 20, 2017

    Coon Creek (IL)

    Big Campground with great lake access

    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.

  • Aaron B.
    Sep. 6, 2024

    Sangchris Lake State Park Campground

    Lakeside Relaxation

    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.

  • S
    Oct. 2, 2020

    Wolf Creek State Park Campground

    Beautiful/Quiet during week!

    We stopped in to Wolf Creek State Park later in the day on a Wednesday after trying to stop at a different campground that was closed. We were worried about finding a spot as the sun was going down so we called even though no one usually answers phones at state parks (esp during COVID). The woman that answered was SO nice and I was so happy to hear a voice on the other end. So that’s a huge plus. You can reserve spots online in advance but clearly we did not because we didn’t know we’d be headed there. Same day is first come first serve. We are tent people and love primitive camping in spots where we can really be away from everyone and at least pretend like we’re alone. Rolling in in the dark, we weren’t motivated to checkout the walk-in campsites. And it wasn’t necessary because the area - which if full would’ve been pretty cramped for our taste- was absolutely empty. So we were happy. Many many spots for RVs all next to one another but there was tree cover for some and the possibility of a little bit of privacy but not much in that area.

    We had an almost full moon, but otherwise I think the stars would’ve been pretty awesome. The next morning we woke up and took a little hike down to Shelby Resevoir to see what was around. We were at campsite 18 and it was about 10 min hike down over there. Beautiful and big! Maybe good swimming I would assume? Too late in the year for us.

    We will definitely be back to checkout more of the primitive/walk-in/hike in sites! Hiking trails look interesting and fun and Eagle Creek State Park is just across the water (that’s the bigger one). The 4 stars was because the sites are pretty close together which- even with RVs- I think people mind- but maybe not? We love to be back in the woods ans I do think there is an option for that. We just didn’t have time to check it out. Will update!

Guide to Sullivan

Tent camping near Sullivan, Illinois offers multiple lakeside and forested options within central Illinois's humid continental climate zone. The area experiences hot summers with temperatures averaging 85°F in July and August, while spring camping brings moderate temperatures with occasional rainfall averaging 4.5 inches in May. Campgrounds in the region sit at approximately 600-700 feet elevation with predominantly hardwood forest coverage.

What to do

Fishing opportunities: Spillway Campground provides direct access to the Kaskaskia River after it exits Lake Shelbyville, creating prime fishing conditions. One camper reports, "The campground is the only one with full access to the river after it leaves Lake Shelbyville. The fishing here and at the Spillway across the road are very good." Spillway (IL)

Water recreation: Sullivan Marina and Campgrounds Resort offers lakeside access for swimming and boating with rental equipment available during summer months. A visitor notes, "This was a great campground with clean facilities. But they have very strict hours, and after 10 PM you have to call to get in the gates." Sullivan Marina and Campgrounds Resort

Hiking trails: Multiple interconnected trail systems surround the campgrounds with varying difficulty levels. Spitler Woods State Natural Area provides several miles of marked hiking paths through mature hardwood forests. According to one regular visitor, "Great sites. Plenty to do. Favorite place to camp in Illinois."

What campers like

Year-round accessibility: Several campgrounds in the area remain open throughout all seasons. Regarding Spillway Campground, a camper mentioned, "Great all year," making it suitable for winter camping enthusiasts seeking off-season solitude. Kaskaskia River Camp

Riverside sites: The proximity to water enhances the camping experience at multiple locations. One camper describes Spillway Campground as "a small campground next to water to fish and bike trails," highlighting the convenience of waterfront access.

Quieter weekday camping: Sullivan area campgrounds experience lower usage during weekdays, especially in spring and fall. At Spillway, a visitor observed, "I camped here in October and it was pretty empty, so even though you are close to town it is peaceful."

What you should know

Gate restrictions: Sullivan Marina enforces strict access hours with security gates. After 10 PM, campers must call for entry, which could impact late arrivals. Plan accordingly if scheduling evening activities off-site.

Primitive facilities: Shady Grove Campground in Hidden Springs State Forest offers basic amenities for tent campers, including drinking water and toilet facilities, but no showers. Sites are drive-in accessible with fire rings provided at each location. Shady Grove Campground — Hidden Springs State Forest

Seasonal closures: Some camping areas near Sullivan close sections during winter months or after heavy rainfall. Always check current status before traveling, especially during March through May when spring precipitation can cause temporary closures.

Tips for camping with families

Water safety precautions: When tent camping with children near Kaskaskia River at Spillway Campground, bring personal flotation devices. Current can be strong below the dam even when appearing calm on the surface.

Bug protection: The lakeside location means significant mosquito activity from May through September. Pack insect repellent containing at least 25% DEET for evening protection at all Sullivan area campgrounds.

Accessibility options: Spitler Woods State Natural Area offers several accessible tent sites with paved pathways suitable for strollers or mobility aids. Reserve these sites early as they typically book 2-3 months in advance during summer. Spitler Woods State Natural Area

Tips from RVers

Tent-only areas: Most tent campers at Sullivan area campgrounds prefer the designated tent-only sections for better site spacing and ground conditions. These areas typically provide 20-25 feet between sites.

Water access: While many tent sites have potable water sources within 100 feet, bring additional containers during peak summer weekends when water pressure sometimes decreases with high usage.

Weather considerations: The Sullivan area experiences periodic strong storms during spring and summer months. Tent campers should set up with storm readiness in mind, positioning away from dead trees and securing all tie-downs even during clear weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Sullivan, IL?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Sullivan, IL is Sullivan Marina and Campgrounds Resort with a 4-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Sullivan, IL?

TheDyrt.com has all 5 tent camping locations near Sullivan, IL, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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