Best Campgrounds near Sycamore, IL

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.

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.

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.

No laundry… Closest laundromat 10 mins away, office gives address on check in paper

No outside comfort….spaces are small, muddy, and un level. Highway is next to campground, but we could not hear it inside. Doesn’t make it conducive to be outside, not exactly relaxing when grilling. Sewer connection at our site was technically on neighbors…we had to use extension.

Bathhouse…super clean and modern, but no hot water…lukewarm at best. Shower is not comfortable….nozzle is from ceiling and temperature not warm enough to stay warm while not directly under water. Hooks are useless as everything gets wet inside shower.

Staff…super nice and maintains property…clean, mowed.

Great for Chicago visit, just don’t plan on hanging out at campsite. Looks like a lot of permanent campers who work, so camp is very quiet at night.