The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Urbana. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Illinois camping has to offer. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Urbana, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.
For campers, Kickapoo SRA has a variety of options for tent, trailer, and group camping, with 184 sites at the facility. Electrical hookups are available on sites 1-101, with both 30 and 50 amp service on selected sites. Centralized water spigots exist throughout the campground, but may be turned off due to freezing temperatures. Two shower buildings are available as well as a sanitary dump station at Kickapoo for camper use. One shower building will stay open to allow year-round camper access. Campers occupying electrical sites are required to pay for electricity even if the service is not used. Walk-in sites are available to campers throughout the year and can be obtained from the campground host at the check station.
The maximum length of stay is 14 days in a 30-day period and all campground guests must check in with the campground host before entering the campground.
Campers must have camping equipment with them the day they register to camp as well as occupy the site that day. All campers must obtain a camping permit from the campground host or through reservations before entering the campgrounds. Reservations for the main campground are available from May 1st to Oct 31st at ExploreMoreIL™ and any camping outside of this timeframe will be at a first come first serve basis.
$10 - $20 / night
$40 - $20 / night
Prairie Pines Campground is a great place to get away without going far away. The campground is a great place for family fun and relaxation. Prairie Pines Campground features 95 lots, each with hookups for water, sewage and electric. The campground is open year round with handicap accessible restroom, shower, and laundry facilities. The sites are spacious, mostly pull thru, and can accommodate big rigs. The pet limit is 2 dogs. Limited wifi is available. There's a pavilion for group gatherings.
There are 17 Class AA campsites, 277 Class A campsites, 9 Class B/S campsites and 5 Class C campsites at Clinton Lake, with most adaptable to either tents, trailers or motor homes. The campground is open year-round with the exception of the full week prior to first firearm deer season. No entry is allowed in the Mascoutin area during that time, for a special firearm deer hunt. Showers and potable water are available from mid-April to November (weather depending). Each site is equipped with a grill and picnic table. Reservations can be made online at the Reserve America website. Camping loops H, I, J and K are alcohol-free. Camp Quest Group Camp, located off Route 54 at Birkbeck, is an area for adults or youth groups and has room for 75. It provides a secluded wooded setting and has a large shelter with electricity, three RV pads with electrical hookups, toilets, tables, grills and water. No shower facilities are present at the group camp area. Portions of the Class AA, A and B/S and the group camp are handicapped accessible.
$10 - $30 / night
Take a break from it all without breaking your wallet by camping at Friends Creek Conservation Area. Pitch a tent and spend a night under the stars or hook up your camper to one of the electric sites. Friends Creek Campground is a quiet place to relax, explore nature, and spend time with family and friends. Open May 1 – November 1.
Campground includes electric and non-electric sites, showers, flush toilets, and a dump station.
Daily fees for electric sites are $17 for Macon County residents and $20 for non-residents. Non-electric sites are $10 for Macon County residents and $12 for non-residents. A large group campsite is also available for $25/night for up to 25 people, and $1/night for each additional person up to 60. There is a $5 non-refundable reservation fee for all campsites.
Complete campground information and rules.
Reserve your campsite by calling 217-423-7708 (Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm). There is a $5 non-refundable reservation fee.
Weekend reservations must be made by that Thursday at 3pm.
Minimum 2-night stay for holiday weekends (Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Forth of July).
$10 - $25 / night
Scout
Been going to this campground all my life. She's showing her age! This would be a great place for a mower! I use this campground as my initial trip out each year to shakedown the camper for the year. Lots of trails, fishing is bad, campground is overgrown.
Legend
General: 40-site campground with three non-electric and the rest are either 30 or 50-amp electric. Several water spigots are sprinkled throughout the campground.
Site quality: All sites are gravel and level. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart and with the many trees, it did not feel crowded, despite being almost full when we were there.
Bath/Shower: Very clean with soap, paper towels, and a shelf for toiletries. Did not use the shower but it looked clean as well.
Activities/Amenities: There are two well-marked and well-maintained trails plus a playground and basketball hoop. There is also a historic schoolhouse, and guided tours are available by calling. Before leaving the next morning, I enjoyed a walk on the two trails. There is a dump station and potable water.
The campground was almost completely full on a Friday at the end of October yet very quiet.
TravelerHow about doing a fact che k before giving bad info? It states in the very first section telling about the park that ALL CAMPERS MUST OBTAIN A PERMIT FROM THE CAMP HOST OR RESERVATIONS, but on the pro section you tell us that we don't need a permit. You know hmmmm I just got a warning g ticket from AC DNR for camping without A PERMIT FACT CHECK YO SHIT, DO YOUR JOB
Scout
Lovely little campground with its own little lake. Well maintained. Clean laundry. Friendly and helpful owner. Visible presence throughout campground checking that all is well.
Traveler
One of our favorite camping trips so far!
We stayed in the J loop, which was more family friendly and very close to the beach. There was a walking path from our site to the shore which was perfect for our young family to go back and forth on.
Sites were somewhat open but there were tons of trees and grass behind each spot so it didn’t feel so exposed. We loved the option for fishing and swimming in a nearby watering hole.
We heard the toilets and shower house were brought a portable toilet since we have small kids who might not make it to the outhouse so we never used the campground toilet/facilities.
Definitely our vibe of being more secluded and on the water.
Scout
People are very nice and the campgrounds are clean. Plenty of site room and clean and updated shower and washing machines. Rates have gone up to $40 per night
TravelerMy mistake for not researching this place further but it was listed on the dyrt’s free camping sites, but this is a paid/reservation based site. Unfortunately we arrived passed check in (which starts at 3pm) and couldn’t stay here for the night
LegendOur Garmin RV GPS’ conflicted with our new Ford RV navigation, wanting to take us a more direct route and Garmin through town to this city park. Either route would have worked but suggest you locate the campground(CG) on the map and verify the route with Google Maps or Waze. Check-in was at the camp host site near where you enter the campground near the shower house building in the center of the CG. After a quick check-in we were escorted to site 13 with FHUs. This site is technically a back-in but our host brought us around by the swing set to make it an easy pull-through. The utilities worked well and we got 3 bars on Verizon. There are a lot of mature trees. They have a nice shower house complete with laundry. This CG was well kept and a great choice for an overnight stay as we headed to our home base near St. Louis, MO.
TravelerFriends Creek is a small campground with nice spacious sites and super clean bathhouses and pit toilets. The fire pits are well kept and the camp host was very kind! He came around with suckers for the kids and just to check in. We hiked a bit on the trails and played in the creek. Highly recommend.
ScoutWe had a fantastic time here. We came during Fourth of July and never felt like it was overly crowded. Sites were spacious but wasn’t much privacy, which didn’t bother us because it allowed for our kids to play with the other kids easily. Our site was adjacent to numerous paths that easily led to the beach, playground, the rocky path for fishing, and a secluded swimming hole. We couldn’t have asked for a better location for our family and our interests. We did not use the toilets or showers, although it looked like they were in working order as others were using then. We had a cloudless night and the stars were spectacular.
GuideCamp sites in the middle are on the smaller end but side sites have plenty of room. Drive is paved and pretty level. They have tubes kayaks and cannons
Guide
This is a really lovely spot! There’s 2 bars of Verizon service, a shower house with warm water and flush toilets, as well as pit toilets. There are a few hiking trails that leave from the campground as well. My only problem was that it was extremely busy when I visited and some of my neighbors were quite loud (although they quieted down by quiet hours).
TravelerI wrote out a 4 paragraph review and somehow it was just completley erased. Will update later.
Guide
Nice campground with out of this world views!
Guide
This is a lovely campground with large dispersed camp sites. There is an on-site restaurant that has stayed busy, and we are here the second weekend of April. Cafe also sells firewood when in stock and rents out boats and kayaks. John, the host is very sweet! Electric only with a dump station. Bathrooms are clean and well maintained, I like that size of the showers. Fishing is good. A beautiful weekend for our first time here.
Scout
Stopped here for lunch and stayed about an hour. Easy to find, multiple shelters with grills. Some light paths and a playground.
Guide
This was a quick overnight in a tent on a road trip for me. Site 75 was what was available when I booked last minute. It's level with grass to pitch a tent but definitely in a loop of the park better suited to travel trailers/RVs etc. Not much privacy between sites but backs up to woods. The bathrooms were clean with good hot showers. Would return again if I could snag a tent loop site.
TravelerI can only speak about the non-electric sites. It was a weeknight so I only saw 2 other occupied campsites in the whole area (did not see the campers though). Being that it was empty it wasn’t bad. If it was full I think it wouldn’t be quite so nice. It’s very open.
GuideIt’s crowded near the road but spreads out well at the back of the site. Lots of people here today
GuideBeautiful campground located right off I-74! The sites are mostly wooded and relatively level. Clean, spacious shower houses. Only complaint I have are the weeds being quite tall between sites.
Traveler
This was our first visit here, we haven't typically stayed so close to home. It was Memorial Day weekend, and the campground was completely full. The sites are pretty small. But even being small and on top of each other, the campground was quiet and still at night. The bathhouse was only mildly gross but it wasn't unexpected. I didn't use the pit toilet houses. Overall, we were happy there and enjoyed ourselves. It was a fun trip.
Guide
First backpacking trip in the Midwest and this was a surprisingly scenic place with a great backpacking sites! We did forest glen river ridge trail; started from the staff parking lot and walked about 8 miles to the east camp. We had a big group and took sites 3 and 5 because they were on a flatter ground. All sites were well shaded and there was even an OUTHOUSE!!! The rangers told us the water from the Vermilion River was safe to drink with filtration but note that you do have to walk down to the river and up to the campsites. Both sites came with a picnic table and a fire ring. Had a lovely time even with the thunderstorm.
ScoutCamped for a weekend trip. We had 3 sites and made one a home base. Grounds were full due to unseasonably warm weather but everyone was pleasant and respectful
ScoutCheck in was easy
Traveler
First stop on a cross county trip. We were directed to Catfish Bay for tent camping. It was lightly drizzling and on an overcast day most of the tree-covered campsites were dark. There are some nice sites right on the water (be prepared to walk your gear in from parking lot). Site #21 was private, with more open sky and a shorter walk to parking/outhouse. The outhouse was in really rough shape--looked like it hadn't been swept out or hosed down for awhile. Won't be back.
ScoutBig, semiforested plots, which are far enough apart to feel very private. Extremely pretty sites, but the firepits are overflowing with ash and not well maintained. There aren't any showers, and the potties aren't just pit toilets, they're old school outhouses with no lights, and bug nests everywhere, including a wasp nest.
TravelerWe group camped with about 6 tents and 12 people, had a great time, very quite secluded area for group camping. Good fishing and kayaking, facilities could be a little cleaner but not bad, the water is TERRIBLE and looks like coffee or tea. But otherwise, if you bring your own water, not bad...
Camping near Urbana, IL, offers a variety of experiences for outdoor enthusiasts. From scenic lakes to family-friendly parks, there’s something for everyone looking to escape into nature.
Camping near Urbana, IL, has its perks and quirks. Whether you’re looking for a family getaway or a peaceful retreat, there’s a spot waiting for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular campground near Urbana, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Urbana, IL is Kickapoo State Recreation Area with a 4.2-star rating from 26 reviews.
What parks are near Urbana, IL?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 9 parks near Urbana, IL that allow camping, notably Lake Shelbyville and Cecil M. Harden Lake.
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