Best Campgrounds near Union, IL

Campgrounds near Union, Illinois include several established sites catering to a range of camping styles within a short drive of the city. Chicago Northwest KOA, located on South Union Road, offers tent camping, RV sites with full hookups, and cabin rentals, while just a few miles away, Thomas Woods Campground in Marengo provides more natural surroundings with electric hookups and tent sites. The area features a mix of state parks, county forest preserves, and private campgrounds, most within a 30-minute drive of Union, creating a hub for outdoor recreation in northern Illinois with proximity to lakes and prairie landscapes.

Seasonal operations affect campground availability throughout the region, with most facilities operating from April or May through October or November. Rock Cut State Park, about 30 miles northwest, remains open year-round, providing camping opportunities during winter months when other campgrounds close. Reservations are strongly recommended during summer weekends, especially for electric sites or cabins, which typically book well in advance. Most campgrounds in the area offer at least basic amenities including toilets, fire rings, and picnic tables, though shower facilities vary by location. As one camper noted about nearby Chain O'Lakes State Park, "This is a BIG park, the campgrounds are two miles from the front gate, and it's a drive to the main boat launch at Maple Grove."

Campers frequently mention the wooded settings and lake access as highlights when staying near Union. The region's proximity to both Chicago and Wisconsin makes it popular for weekend trips, with several reviewers noting its convenience as a quick getaway. Family-friendly amenities appear in many reviews, with attractions like the Illinois Railway Museum near Chicago Northwest KOA adding appeal for those traveling with children. Privacy between sites varies significantly across campgrounds, with some providing more secluded, tree-lined spots while others offer more open layouts. According to feedback, Shabbona Lake State Park provides "one of the most amazing outdoor camping experiences Illinois has to offer" with its mix of natural surroundings and lake activities, while other visitors appreciate the region's prairie landscapes and forest preserves that create contrast to the agricultural fields dominating much of the area.

Best Camping Sites Near Union, Illinois (91)

    1. Chicago Northwest KOA

    16 Reviews
    Union, IL
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 923-4206

    "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!"

    "We stayed here for a weekend and there were plenty of activities for the kids...the staff was friendly and the bathrooms were clean...our camp site was near the bathrooms, pool, and store so we were nice"

    2. Thomas Woods Campground

    17 Reviews
    Marengo, IL
    5 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 338-6223

    $20 - $35 / night

    "The trails are both wooded and hilly, but there's also a large prairie nature walk
    The campground has many secluded walk-in tent sites and a variety of sites for other types of campers."

    "While the highway riding was occasionally a bit harrowing, it was absolutely worth it for the beautiful views and camping here."

    3. Rock Cut State Park - Staghorn Campground

    81 Reviews
    Machesney Park, IL
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 885-3311

    $12 - $50 / night

    "Normal Illinois state park. Not a lot of services but good size sites and peaceful. Lake with canoe rentals and fishing. Nice walking trails."

    ", with Highway 173 to the west and Harlem Road to the east."

    4. Paul Wolff Campground

    20 Reviews
    Elgin, IL
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (630) 444-1200

    $12 - $35 / night

    "Half of them were in the Prairie and the other half was tucked into wonderfully private spots with burn pits and picnic tables. We hiked the trail and saw a mother deer feeding her 2 babies."

    "The staff are super nice and the campground has great social distancing rules in place for the check-in shack and bathrooms."

    5. Lehmans Lakeside RV Resort

    7 Reviews
    Union, IL
    5 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 923-4533

    $45 - $70 / night

    "Propane, full hookups, fairly sized fenced in dog run area, a lake with a beach front.  Play ground for the kids and a strict 5MPH speed limit. "

    "We couldn’t reach the WiFi from our site but it was good closer to the lake. They also have free TV but we didn’t hook up to that."

    6. Northwoods RV Resort

    4 Reviews
    Marengo, IL
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 317-3775

    $65 - $85 / night

    "Things started to slowly open up around the 4th of July. Now, it’s our favorite place to go! The most impressive aspect in our opinion are the people."

    7. Thousand Trails Pine Country

    4 Reviews
    Belvidere, IL
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (888) 707-1477

    "It is close to home and we start and finish the camping season here."

    "We did not end up signing up as we prefer to visit many more locations than they had listed."

    8. Holiday Acres Camping Resort

    5 Reviews
    Belvidere, IL
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 547-7846

    $49 - $99 / night

    "Lots of people leaving bad reviews for silly little things. let me say first off this place is HUGE. plenty of room for the kids and the dogs and just a short walk from the kish. good fishing and friendly"

    9. Big Foot Beach State Park Campground

    24 Reviews
    Lake Geneva, WI
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (262) 248-2528

    "Conveniently located next to Lake Geneva with a tiny roadside beach area. I recommend camping sites on the west side of the camping loop to cut down on sun. Not enough electric sites for campers."

    "We stayed at site 98- just barely big enough to fit our travel trailer in and right next to the showers and bathrooms. Not a great location, but fine."

    10. Sycamore RV Resort

    9 Reviews
    Sycamore, IL
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (815) 895-5590

    "Postage stamp space on gravel but we had things to do outside the resort. Nice walking path around the two ponds. The ponds are very low due to drought this summer."

    "Stayed here for a week, nice clean campground, quiet and beautiful lake for fishing, close to town, but yet just far enough out."

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Recent Reviews near Union, IL

739 Reviews of 91 Union Campgrounds


  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 3, 2025

    Ottawa Lake Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit

    Close to "home" beautiful sites

    We've been full time RVers for 4 years and this is a beautiful campground close to "home". We stay here a couple of times each year for doctor and dentist appointments, visiting family and friends, and general relaxation.

  • LThe Dyrt PRO User
    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.

  • K
    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.

  • J
    Aug. 28, 2025

    Circle K Campground

    Horrid management, bad experience

    Management (owners Ed and Coleen) are two of the rudest people I have ever met, with Ed fabricating outrageous, completely inaccurate stories highlighting either his "heroics" (like when his personal fire truck he has was working people would call him before 911) but more often how he has been slighted because of other's inadequacies (local grocery store doesn't like him because "his campers buy all their food leaving none for the locals), and also falsities behind his rules (the U.S. Postmaster does not allow anyone else's packages/mail to be delivered to the campground).  They are completely intolerant of kids/teenagers (and, heresay from conversations with seasonal residents, special needs kids) - rules for use of the pool is that it is open after a certain time and if the air temp is above a certain level - we personally witnessed 3 young teens ask to get into the pool an hour after the pool should've been open and it was 5 degrees over Ed's stated temp, but no one else was using the pool and Ed turned them away - told them to swim in the cesspool... I mean, pond.

    Ed constantly creates new rules on a whim and is exceedingly selective (read: biased) for whom those rules are enforced. If you have a problem with the campsite (water, electricity, dead trees, ground hornets, you name it) - it is because YOU did something wrong, and if you disagree he will harass you to no end and may even kick you out. Some of the seasonal campers are nice, others (those "in" with the owners) are not. I would not recommend this campground to anyone unless/until it is under new ownership.

  • Tim L.
    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.
    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.

  • Tim H.The Dyrt PRO User
    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.

  • D
    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.


Guide to Union

Camping near Union, Illinois, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. From scenic trails to family-friendly activities, there’s something for everyone in this beautiful region.

What to do

  • Hiking: Explore the many trails available at Rock Cut State Park Campground. One reviewer mentioned, “Tons of trails, fishing, and even a swimming pond,” making it a great spot for nature lovers.
  • Fishing: Enjoy fishing at Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area. A visitor shared, “We kayaked around the lake and enjoyed the natural setting,” highlighting the lake's beauty and recreational opportunities.
  • Wildlife Watching: Keep an eye out for local wildlife at Blackwell Family Campground. One camper noted, “You could easily hear cars passing by throughout the night,” indicating that while it’s close to civilization, nature is still very present.

What campers like

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A review for Adeline Jay-Geo Karis Illinois Beach State Park mentioned, “Staff were very friendly and helpful. Would stay again!”
  • Spacious Campsites: Many enjoy the roomy sites at Ottawa Lake Campground. One visitor said, “Site was spacious but very close to your neighbors,” indicating a good balance of space and community.
  • Family-Friendly Atmosphere: Campgrounds like Big Foot Beach State Park Campground are popular for families. A reviewer stated, “Clean, family-friendly and basic amenities available,” making it a great choice for those with kids.

What you should know

  • No Alcohol Policies: Some campgrounds, like Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, enforce strict no alcohol rules. One camper mentioned, “This SP strictly enforces its ‘no alcohol’ policy, which is a massive bummer.”
  • Crowded Weekends: Expect busy weekends at popular spots like Camp Bullfrog Lake. A visitor noted, “Good if you want to be close to the city but otherwise it’s not very worth it. The spots are small and it’s very crowded.”
  • Limited Water Access: Some sites may not have water nearby. A review for Camp Bullfrog Lake stated, “There is no water near any of the sites,” so plan accordingly.

Tips for camping with families

  • Choose Campgrounds with Activities: Look for places like Rock Cut State Park Campground that offer trails and a swimming pond. One family shared, “We camp here at least 5 times a year. It’s only 8 miles from our home.”
  • Check for Clean Facilities: Make sure to pick campgrounds with good restroom facilities. A review for Adeline Jay-Geo Karis Illinois Beach State Park mentioned, “The bathrooms were old and wet,” so it’s worth checking recent reviews.
  • Plan for Quiet Hours: Some campgrounds have strict quiet hours. A camper at Blackwell Family Campground noted, “The ranger did cruise through the sites to make a formal announcement,” which can help keep the peace.

Tips from RVers

  • Look for Big Rig-Friendly Sites: Campgrounds like Ottawa Lake Campground are big rig-friendly. A review mentioned, “Campsites are kept up and quite clean,” which is a plus for RV travelers.
  • Check Electrical Hookups: Ensure your site has the necessary hookups. A visitor at Camp Bullfrog Lake noted, “The campsite overall is beautiful and the land is well kept,” but mentioned issues with the bathrooms.
  • Be Prepared for Crowds: Popular spots can fill up quickly. A camper at Big Foot Beach State Park Campground said, “Always full on weekends,” so make reservations in advance.

Camping near Union, Illinois, has its perks and challenges. With the right preparation, you can enjoy a memorable outdoor experience!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular campground near Union, IL?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Union, IL is Chicago Northwest KOA with a 4.1-star rating from 16 reviews.