Best Tent Camping near Thornton, IL

For years, this was our go-to campground for weekend nearby adventures. Over the years, the price has increased and at $30 per site for non-residents, it's a bit steep for tent camping for me (so I left off a star rating). All sites are electric, so if you are tent camping and want your fan or slow-cooker, then it's as good as it gets in the burbs. It's located in a beautiful wooded Dupage County Forest preserve. While the sites are pretty close together, there are a few good ones that feel more secluded. Designated chip bark tent sites are level. The grounds are very well maintained. While I didn't camp here this year, I took these photos the last weekend in October to give everyone a sense of how nice this campground could be for them. My favorite sites over the years were the ones closest to Silver Lake along the South Loop road because those sites have the best views. For privacy, my favorite site is #27 on the north loop road which makes you feel like you are alone in the woods. Other than plenty of hiking options including a big hill, the fishing is outstanding. There are lots of places along the lake and ponds to get an easy catch and release. There is also archery, a dog park, picnic areas, boat rental/ramp, and a compass course. It is a great place for families. I've brought cub scouts here and my kids' friends. Heads-up that sites 21 & 22 may not be able to see traffic on the busy Winfield Rd in the summer, but you will still hear it at those sites.

I prefer this campground a lot more compared to the state park one, especially if tent camping. They have a section of walk in sites that are nicely spread apart, while still only being a few minutes walk to parking and the shower house.

Not worth the drive here to tent camp if you live outside of Kane county. Even their 9 hike-in primitive sites hugging the treeline lack privacy. Yes, all the sites are very flat. It's a nice field if that's what you look for in a campground.

We spent the weekend exploring America’s 61st National Park- Indiana Dunes National Park. The National Park campsite was full and recommended this place about 10 minutes away. It was our first time tent camping and the sites were very clean and nice. The bathrooms were also well maintained and camping staff very friendly and helpful.

Great site, not far from Chicago, but feels well away from city life.

Tent sites around rim of a lake. RV sites and cabins as well.

Beautiful forest surrounds the lake, lots of hiking in the surrounding enormous forest preserve. Lake has fishing and boats as well.

You gotta love Indiana dunes national lakeshore! A quick drive from chicago this campsite is a real good place to get away from the city and enjoy the outdoors. It’s one of my favorite places to go within an hour’s drive. The campsite has everything you need. Modern bathrooms and showers, running water. Good for tent camping. It’s clean and a quick drive to a quiet beach at Beverly Shores. I highly recommend!

I had a peaceful stay in a tent site here. I tried an RV resort park first and my site was right next to train tracks and packed in next to the other sites. This spot was more spacious and fairly quiet with good showers. A great place for a stop when visiting the dunes if the park campgrounds are full.

Stayed here 2 nights in the group tent camping area. Plenty of space to spread out and good firepits. Love the secure entrance and key card access. Pool and bathrooms were clean, although the bathroom could use a slight update. The only complaint of the weekend of the garbage pickup at 11pm, very loud, and the fireworks being set off until after midnight (outside of the campground so out of campgrounds control). Will definitely be back if we are in the area!

We arrived on a busy July evening without reservations to find a single-nigth cancellation already paid for by a camper who left early. Our luck! We spent the afternoon on the lakeside and drove back to the site to set up for the evening. Our site had a picnic area/firepit a short walk away from the parking area, which is great for tent camping, but less suitable for our camper van. Nonetheless, friendly staff, clean bathrooms, and lots of privacy make this gem worth booking.

First time to Indiana with a quick trip to the Dunes. We were disappointed the state park was full but found this campground close by. The tent sites were very private as we were the only ones there for the night. Plenty of space tucked among the trees. Bathrooms seemed newer and were very clean. The only thing that disappointed us was the lack of COVID precautions. No mask worn by the office worker or wiping down of desk or credit card machine. Would still recommend for the future.

The campground was full, but not overcrowded. Very friendly neighbors and camp staff. There is a nice nature trail to the beach. If you are able, do the 3 dune challenge. It wasn’t easy for this old body, but I was glad to have marked it off my list. The nature center is right next to the campground. The pavilion is being renovated, the ice cream shop was open, but they were still doing construction on the rest. I hear that it will be grand when finished. I will definitely go back to this campground. I just won’t pick the tent site again. The sand is very dirty there.

We brought a large group of friends to tent camp in this camp ground and it was great! We loved the safety of the park, the community around us, and the facilities offered were exactly what we needed. The bath and shower house was a little dirty most of the weekend but given that the campground was full the whole weekend, I am sure the bathrooms got a lot of traffic. There isn’t many trees on the sites so if you are hammock camping, I would suggest not camping here for risk that there aren’t two trees a good distance together. The staff was very friendly and the camp store had just enough supplies. Not too many things, just the necessary stuff.

We had four sites on Osage loop for tent camping.  Two were very small (14&15), and little grass for tent setup, fine for RV or trailer campers.  They were private with brush between sites.  16&17 were amazing for tents!!  Open, tall trees for our tight rope and hammocks and shade. Grass for tents  16&17 Osage loop also open to 9&10 on Hickory loop.  With a lot of space between so no site setup is on top of each other.  Wish we knew more about individual site layout.  Grills were new.  Bathrooms inclu vault were cleanest I’ve seen.  Bike path/hike path is long and wide and very nice.  We had kids under age 8.  River is fast, tried to fish.  Stars were out.  Had rain Saturday but we all just hang out and manage just fine.  Overall, where the loops get close on the map, the sites back up with good space without ground brush - if you’re trying to string together a few sites for a group where you can pass through - also fine for strangers.  Biggest spaces.  Can add that 13, 6, 5, ,4  Osage are good RV but not good tent.

I visited Palos early this week (mid-April) for a very very chilly three days. The tent sites are right next to the water which is beautiful but can get very windy. There is no privacy between the sites (no trees, etc). There are small and medium cabins, some heated with their own bathrooms, that feature bunk beds and are great for getting out of the cold. The central bathrooms are clean, heated and offer showers. The water is not yet potable so bring your own or check with the park team to ensure it's drinkable when you go. The hiking here is AWESOME with a bajillion different routes right from the campground. We hiked 10 miles and saw tons of animals and birds including a snake, loads of herons and songbirds, deer, a raccoon and a Cooper's Hawk. I will definitely be back!

We came in on Sunday at check in time and it was wicked busy as 5 pm check in on Sunday’s is also 5 pm checkout. The spots are pretty level and paved however they are are fairly close to each other and there is no privacy between the spots around you. We don’t mind that however! The facilities are well taken care of and the people in the front office to answer questions and help with check in were really nice.

The only 2 issues I had with our spot (97) we were almost directly in-front of a large dumpster so all day people walk by and throw their trash in. And Monday morning at around 750 the dumpster service came around and that was very loud. Another issue with the campsite is there is a train near the state park. It runs all day it seems but especially in the morning you can hear it from 6 am onward. I don’t particularly mind it but it did wake me up a few times especially if you are tent camping or have pop outs.

The state park has a lot of trails through the swampy woods and out to the dunes which are really cool. Some are 5 miles long while others are .75. There is also a short walk to the actual lake which is nice as well.

All in all this state park is a 4/5! Great hiking trails, predominantly quiet besides the trash and train, friendly neighbors!

Reservations can be made online as of 2019 so expect fewer FCFS sites. This is an always full, very popular campground. Being close to the Indiana Dunes is the draw. The campground does offer shuttles on some days from the campground to the parking lot near the National Lakeshore making it accessible to campers when the beach parking lots are full (every weekend). This is a noisy campground. Surrounded by train tracks they roll through late and early and you will hear them. The property itself needs some serious maintenance and the descriptions for spots are WAY off, with sites being listed as RV that are way too small and the pictures and occasional sizes listed to individual sites are not correct. Our friends have a large pop up and were unable to fit in the spot. Bathrooms closed for cleaning at 8:00am on Sunday morning!!?! Also the Mather loop bathroom showers are DISGUSTING. I think the Mather loop is older and the sites and facilities are more worn out. They desperately need to be power washed. There is mold everywhere. Finally, while I know there has been a ton of rain and there isn’t anything that can be done, the entire area behind our campsite was a cesspool of mosquitos with no maintenance to improve low ground areas. Site 32 described as 35 foot pad, too short and too narrow for large popup camper with pickup. Someone needs to go through and do a better designation as most sites look to be park and tent sites.