Best Glamping near Vandalia, IL

We LOVE Hazlet! We have a popup camper and camp here often. It's a huge campground with a smaller reservable section and an extensive first come, first serve section. There are usually always spaces available. Sites are pretty level, are gravel, wooded, and spacious. There are several 'loops'' of sites that extend out and have water views. The shower houses are clean and air conditioned, there's a nice camp store that serves breakfast and basic lunches, and there is a nice large zero entry pool for a $5 fee on weekends. The campground hosts are sprinkled througout the grounds and are always friendly and accommodating. They have a huge Halloween event every year where people decorate their sites (pretty extensively) and there's a haunted house, then kids trick or treat from site to site. The campground also provides pumpkin painting contests and other fun activities. Better get there at least a week in advance for the halloweeen festivities- it fills up!

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.

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.

Big things happening at Country Bend Campgrounds in Montrgromy Co, IL. This beautiful campground has many things to offer and is only a few minutes from the local drive in movie theater in Litchfield Illinois. It has a pool, swing sets, playground, cabins, ponds with stocked fish, beautiful walking trails, camping, welcome center, baseball field, volleyball, games, horseshoes, paddle boats, miniature golf, and so much more. This family run business is under new management and is welcoming new seasonal campers and day campers with competitive pricing. This beautiful campground is nestled in a scenic area in the country and is pet friendly. It has clean shower houses with warm water. We just purchased our seasonal campsite earlier in the season. Come check out this amazing campground and all it has to offer! Our rough collies will be joining us at this dog friendly campground! There is always something to do here and the owners strive to make it a family place by providing many activities on the weekends. The owners have done an amazing job on this campground and have made it one of the best campgrounds around to create that lasting experience with our children before they grow up!!!

We had reservations nearly one month ahead, and the campground was full, yet quiet and restful. Our site only had electric hookup, and there were two pit toilets in the cul de sac, and we never found the showers that were supposedly on site. The acorns were falling, and we nearly jumped out of bed when they struck our roof! No fault of the campground, but a mild annoyance nevertheless. There is a camp store but we didn't visit it. The nearby town of Carlyle has a Walmart and several fast food eateries, but only one independent restaurant, Mexican , which came highly recommended. We met campers that return here often, but it was our first time. We would stay again if in the area.

East Dam ACE, IL: Not an interesting view from here, but well maintained campground . Quiet.
(Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 4 for cleanliness and location for travels on nearby highway. Spillway is not particularly pretty. Price 2024: $9 w interagency pass Security: No gate Usage during visit: 60% during the week Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: No Site Spacing: Good Pad surface: Blacktop Reservations: Required. Can be made upon arrival through rec.gov Campground Noise: Quiet Outside Road Noise: No Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: At nearby ACE campground Potable Water Available: At site Bathroom: In adjacent day use area Showers: No. Nearby - check w host. Pull Throughs: Some Cell Service (AT&T): 2 bars Setting: along Kaskasia River/ spillway Recent Weather: 80s Insects: no Host: yes Rig Size: large Sites: Some sites are along the spillway.