Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Vandalia, IL

This campground has a dog park and beautiful views, but the sites are very crowded.  There are full hook up sites and electric only.  If you like the party atmosphere, this place is for you.  If you like a more spread out and quiet park, look at Lithia Springs or Opossum.  Your park pass from any COE campground will get you in.

Photos view from dog park.

We stayed at Boo Wood Campground for about five days and enjoyed much of their amenities.

The campground featured a dog park which provided room for our dogs to run around. There was also multiple playgrounds and even a small amphitheater. There was a large boat ramp with ample parking. We put in our kayaks on the boat ramp and enjoyed a nice paddle on a portion of the Shelbyville Lake.

We paid less than$25 a night for full hooks up and we had an almost lake view.

Our biggest issue with this campsite was the extensive bugs, once the sun goes down the bugs get horribly bad. We let our dogs out past 8 p.m. and our camper was covered with swarms of psychodidae(sewer) flies. Once we quickly got in our camper, we spent the next hour killing the swarms of sewer flies that entered our camper. We learned our lesson and once the sun went down, we did not leave our camper.

Giving this 4 stars for the awesomeness of the sites themselves. We were in 121. All of the sites we saw in our “loop” were super wide, all gravel and quite level. So well kept.....fire pit with grate, large picnic table....really, the site couldn’t have been better. Beautiful views of the lake! Just all-in-all a well maintained park. So, why not 5 stars? I really wanted good shore fishing and not only was it a long walk, but really not very good/easy to get to, or comfortable standing once you get there. Beautiful dog parks....one for large dogs and one for small, but again, a long walk from the campground. Not feasible for our older dog. One other thing, absolutely no lighting at night along the campground roadways. After dark, we watched a truck go into the ditch looking for the turn out (granted, the occupants sounded like they were well into partying), but the pitch darkness at night made it feel a little unsafe, especially walking the dog after dark. Still, the sites themselves are awesome.

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.

Family and pet friendly, nice bath houses, most sites are spacious.

Minutes away from beach access.

Great place to stay and feel part of the community.  Pretty scenery to walk around.  Plenty of lakes/ponds to fish.  We couldn't boat while there due to COVID but look forward to going back and taking our kayaks.  Attentive and Friendly camp hosts. Pet friendly. Close to town if you've forgotten anything or want to have a restaurant dinner. Close to the highway for easy access.  Full hookup available. Monthly or Season also available.

There are only about 6 tent sites at this campground, which makes it not entirely friendly for tent campers. However, the bathrooms were lovely and clean. For those who are allergic, there is a colony of feral cats living outside of the office. OUTDOOR DOMESTICATED CATS ARE TERRIBLE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, please do not encourage this behavior.

We stayed for 1 night, had a spot in the back with a perfect view of the lake. Lots of room for dogs.

One of the nicest on the lake. Clean, well maintained, nice spacious spots, boat ramp and parking, dog run, playground. Reservation made on Recreation.gov. Sometimes available spots for one night. Can stay for two weeks in thirty day period.

Nice campground with most spots directly at the waterfront. Easy self check in this time if the year and not busy at all. It was a perfect overnight stop on the way south. One star less due to some strange long term campers and a bad experience with a unleashed dog at night on the way to the restroom.

Great campground for a chill entertaining weekend with kids. Beautiful new pool was perfectly maintained with plenty of tables and chairs to make a day of the time at the pool. Pavilion and picnic area near pool and playground perfect for family gatherings or kids birthdays. Even a small game room. Dog friendly too! Small pond to fish (catch/release). We will be back.

Just finished our second trip/vacation here. We stayed in the rental cabins, but are in the waiting list for a seasonal site. Right next to the lake. Plenty of room for everyone, from tents to the massive RVs. The pool very clean and never gets over crowded. Staff are knowledgeable and polite. Friendly/quiet dogs allowed. Wonderful pirate ship playground. Weekend activities for the kids. Electric golf carts allowed. Very inexpensive compared to campgrounds closer to me.

We we’’re here 1st week of April. Still rather cool weather but had a great time. There are 3 loops only one of which is reservable & we were at the rear of that loop. Had the whole place to ourselves until the last night. Lots of squirrels for the dogs to chase and lots of wood in & around the campground. Hosts told us they were making more space for specific species of trees so “take all you want” from the area. No need to bring firewood.

Main trail was nice but could be better marked. Lost our way a few times but still a good hike. Definitely want to go back when the restaurant is open (mid-May I believe).

Fishing could’ve been better but again it was early April

Cell service was only 1-2 bars LTE with AT&T but able to stream with hotspot to the SmartTV with only 1 bar so not bad

Not very well maintained by the State of Illinois. Restrooms are horrible! So many better places to camp in the Carlyle Lake area.

Has electric sites only. Water and dump at the entrance. Shower houses. Very nice pool and camp store. Hosts scattered and occasionally hard to find to pay for your spot. Wildlife galore. Next to largest lake in Illinois. Fishing good with a boat. Worth the trip.

This State Park is located outside Carlyle,Illinois. This park offers playground areas and more. Cabins, campsites with power or no power the choice is yours. This is one State Park i enjoy visiting. However there are times this park cannot be accessed because of flooding.