Best Equestrian Camping near Vienna, IL

Recent Equestrian Reviews in Vienna

172 Reviews of 23 Vienna Campgrounds

• 

  MickandKarla W.

  Legend

  

  Nov. 30, 2024

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Built on an Old Golf Course

  We’d seen signs for Shawnee Forest Campground (CG) many times as we headed out and back from our St. Louis home base and wanted to check this CG out. We followed our GPS to the clearly marked CG entrance but our GPS showed we still had about a half mile to go. We checked in at the little office and were given the choice of pull through sites with FHUs 12 or 21. We chose site 21. The gravel roads are slightly narrow with some trees but we did not have any issues getting to site 21. The water and electric(50/30/20 AMP) are at the back of the gravel pad. There are two sewer hookups, which was nice. The water pressure was good around 50 psi. Their WiFi was very good. There are mature trees here and there in the CG, so satellite should not be an issue. We got two bars on Verizon. Each of the bath houses have a washer and dryer. Our site was not level and with all the rain we had, there were water puddles at the steps. There are some nice sites in this CG but we were not offered one of the better ones even though there were plenty of sites open in the upper 26- 50 site area. If we come back, we’ll know where to ask for a site. They have a small lake and two ponds for fishing. There's no formal dog area, but there are paved trails around the large CG area, which made it nice to walk our dogs.

• J

  Jeff F.

  Traveler

  

  Nov. 8, 2024

  Gun Creek

  Beautiful Sunsets over the Lake

  What a beautiful campground, it’s our second time here. Some spots do have a fairly good slope to them

• 

  Tabitha R.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Johnson Creek

  Nice!

  This campground provides large spots, drinking water, vault toliets, dumpsters, picnic table, lantern hook, fire ring, and contactless check in. I also appreciate the value of these sites. It really is a reasonable rate for forest camping.

• E

  Eric W.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 16, 2024

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Great place to camp!

  We stayed 4 days and had a great time. The camp was clean and well maintained. The staff are very friendly and helpful and was more than happy to offer places to visit in the area, places to eat and provide assistance as needed. The trails are paved so we had a nice area to walk (twice around the lake from our site was 3 miles). :) We plan to visit again!

• 

  Brian F.

  Scout

  

  May. 15, 2024

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Great and clean!

  Great little stop, everything is clean and a fresh shower was refreshing.

• 

  Barb N.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 30, 2024

  Gun Creek

  Blue Jay #49 Water site

  Love this state park! Clean, quiet, water views and lots of bike paths to ride.

• 

  Tonya B.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 18, 2024

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Great Place!

  Stayed here on the way to and from Florida (home in Minnesota). Very nice campground. Well maintained, big sites for our 40ft fifth wheel, great sunrise/sunset views, and the bathrooms are very clean and well lite. The gentleman/host that greeted us at the office upon arrival was polite and helpful. Will definitely stay again!

• 

  Logan W.

  Guide

  

  Feb. 23, 2024

  Giant City State Park Campground

  Great trails and well kept campsites

  We stayed at Giant City in February on a very cold weekend. It was still a fantastic trip! The campsites, fire pits and pit toilets were well maintained. The shorter trails in the park were beautiful even in the winter. The Lodge also had excellent food and a very cozy feel. Definitely visit the Lodge!!

• 

  Logan W.

  Guide

  

  Feb. 4, 2024

  Pyramid State Recreation Area

  Nice campsites and lots of lakes

  We stayed at the campground on the north end of Pyramid. The campsites were close together but we visited in February so we were the only campers. The fire pits were a little run down but the sites were nice and level with a table. No lantern posts. Pit toilets that were decent. The park office is a pretty long drive from the north end campground. The hiking is limited but the campground was peaceful and close to the lakes. Probably covered in bugs in the summer. Overall pretty nice stay

• T

  Tori P.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 29, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Suburb Camping

  Came to this campsite with my boyfriend and I as well as our two dogs. We were in spot 51, we have a large 8 person tent and need water & electricity so we rent out RV spots instead of the typical tent spots. When we arrived after our 15 hour drive, someone decided to park in our site. Once they moved we were able to start putting up our tent which was on a hill so we were slanted throughout the night. A family rented out the entire rest of the cul-de-sac, which isn’t the parks fault, but they claimed the pavilion and surrounding area. I would call this more of “suburb camping” because there are hardly any trees for privacy, large open fields of grass, and you are 2 minutes from the highway, food, and gas stations. It is only a single bathroom with toilet, sink, and shower instead of any stalls. They provide WiFi that did not work for us, we had better connection with our cellular data. No garbages anywhere in the campsite, thankfully we had our own garbage bags and tossed it in the dumpster before we left. It was fine to crash for one night, but I wouldn’t want to stay here for an extended period of time.

• k

  kenneth B.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 23, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Quiet, Peacefull, Friendly

  This was one of the best I have stayed out. I met some nice people, Manager helped me get my electric set up, (user error), Facilities clean and very nice, roads and park well taken care of..

• 

  Klayton W.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 7, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Close to home, will be back

  Easy access, very clean facilities and lots to do and see nearby, friendly service. The constant interstate noise is a bit annoying

• E

  Eric C.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 23, 2023

  Gun Creek

  Beautifull

  Only reason for not 5 star was it is a little to close to the interstate.

• 

  Cassondra P.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 18, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Very clean and well kept - new campground

  This campground is very clean! Large open sites- shade is minimal for most sites but we had a beautiful large site with some shade (site 51). They have new trees planted.

  There is no pool or activities for kids but we went out and explored the area

  Beautiful walking/bike paths around the property

  Hosts were very kind and helpful, we felt very welcomed!

  There is some freeway noise but didn’t bother us at all

  Laundry and bathroom facilities were very clean - was great to do a laundry mid trip!

• R

  Ralph S.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 2, 2023

  Apple Creek Conservation Area

  Level spot to camp

  It's a level spot with gravel, so it's a "clean" place in damp weather. No much right there, but Apple Creek is a very short distance north on the gravel road. The creek is a good place to fish and you can launch a kayak the boat ramp. A picnic table and trash can were also on the site.

• B

  Blake M.

  Guide

  

  May. 24, 2023

  Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park Campground

  Good Luck

  The stay was pleasant and the lake was very nice but the reservation system and finding a spot was overly complicated for a first timer. Basically people show up and throw a cooler or tent onto a site to claim it and then leave. They have to pay for the spot by 8pm. And people can stay as long as they want as long as they pay for the next day by then. But if they don’t pay they have to leave by 9am the next morning. So you never know when people are actually leaving or a spot was opening up. Every spot was taken when we go in and we heard from the check in lady that someone was leaving so we went and waited watching them pack up to get their spot. We were there for one night and had 5-6 people come to us asking what time we were leaving the next morning. It was crazy. This was also the week before memorial day weekend so that’s probably why. Primitive camping was closed. We were in a truck with a roofnest.

• 

  Paul B.

  Ranger

  

  May. 7, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Full Hookup Value

  There are numerous state park campgrounds in the area, but we stayed here for the full Hookups and available wifi. Just of I-24, was a plus as well. We did hear traffic noise from the interstate, but it was tolerable. Showers were clean. With a discount from this app, we saved $16 off our stay. Close by are dining options and a dollar general.

• 

  Barb N.

  Ranger

  

  May. 5, 2023

  Gun Creek

  Amazing Lake Views!! Bring a fishing pole.

  Excellent park but many sights aren’t flat. Not all have water, septic. Clean facilities. Self checkin. Golf onsite, clubhouse with food.

• T

  Tracie E.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 18, 2023

  Crab Orchard Lake Crab Orchard NWR

  Early April Nice Weather

  We spent 5 nights on Site A5 at Crab Orchard Campground. All sites are FC/FS. Full hookups are in Loop B & it was full. Overall the campground was full but not very many people around. Appears many locals take spots on the weekends & then hold onto them during the week. The 2 nearest to us we saw on Sunday (Easter) and the only 1 more time during the 5 days. Someone in one of the sites by the late (A9, A11 or A13 I think) said they saw snakes but we never saw any and our dogs would have noticed.

  Showers and restrooms are nice. Ones in Loop A are no new (Loop Bs are new) but still nice. Lots of hot water.

  Lots of trails (within 10-30 minute drive). Fishing was good (especially catfish and crappie). Went into Carbondale a few times. Also went South to Alto Pass but wineries all closed on Tuesday; locals told us they are open more hours during summer.

• 

  Barb N.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 5, 2023

  Gun Creek

  Lots of space by a Lake

  RV or tent, book online at Recreation.Gov not all spots are level. Electric on most but not all have water. Campfire area and picnic table provided. Bathhouse is clean and park areas are all clean, dump station on site. We will be back and book closer to the lake in a level site.

• E

  Elaine P.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 28, 2023

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Clean

  This is a very spacious campsite. The bathrooms and new laundry room are clean.

• 

  MickandKarla W.

  Legend

  

  Dec. 23, 2022

  South Sandusky Campground

  One of Our Favs

  This campground(CG) is super easy to find. We arrived at the CG at about 1:45 PM, which was early as this CGs check-in is 5:00 PM. The gate office was open and after a very quick check-in, we proceed to one of the few FHUs(50/30/20 AMP), back in site 135. This site slopes downhill we so moved our rig onto the pad towards the back as far as possible to level. The water pressure was poor so we filled our fresh water tank and used our internal water pump. We got 2 bars on Verizon and T-Mobile and quite a few OTA channels. Satellite is iffy due to the number of mature trees in all CG areas. We’ve been to this CG many times but normally stay in the non-full hookup sites closer to the lake. There are five CG/loops within South Sandusky plus a walk-in tent area. We have stayed mostly in the first loop, Dogwood, as you enter, but the others are nice as well with some sites having water and electricity. The only FHUs are in Dogwood and most will take larger rigs. All campsites are reservable but reserved campsites are not marked on the post when you arrive(see the sign pic we posted). A comp host comes by after you set up and tag your post. There is a lot to do here. There are miles of paved bicycle trails, a marina, fishing, and a 27-hole golf course a couple of miles away.

• L

  Laura P.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 7, 2022

  The Art Farm Women’s Retreat

  Serene and private. Beautiful rolling farmland.

   Lots of choice camping spots! Serene and private. Beautiful rolling farmland, just minutes from town. They also offer tiny home rentals, yurt-style glamping tents, RV spots with 30 amp, 50 amp and 110 outlets, and The Art Barn for larger groups, retreats or family reunions.

• R

  Robert R.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 20, 2022

  Shawnee Forest Campground

  Plain and Average

  Easy in/out, reasonable rates, but pretty plain. Used to be a golf course, so few spots have any trees that could provide shade as of 2022. Host was nice, matter of fact and all business.

  Stayed here twice, once on the way out to Yellowstone, and once on the way back. The nearby town is small and kind of dumpy.

  Was fine for a one night stay. Giving it an average, 3 star rating.

• G

  Gary P.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 5, 2022

  South Sandusky Campground

  COE does it again

  Another great COE Park and this one offers some full hook up sites. ATT & Verizon both came in good. Water & electric (30 amp) were convient & functioned perfectly. Not all sites are very level. We got a great water view site, but lacked afternoon shade. A large park with well spaced site. Well worth the money, especially with the geezer pass.

• K

  Karen

  Guide

  

  Aug. 6, 2022

  Canal - Lake Barkley

  Beautiful Views

  I stayed here for 1 night in early April at an RV back-in site#81 on the hill. Water and electric were at the site. There was a dump station, trash and recycling near the campground entrance. The views were spectacular- especially the sunset. I would gladly stay here again!

• 

  Matthew B.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2022

  Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park Campground

  Peaceful

  Sites are well spaced apart. Bathrooms are pretty disgusting buggy and dirty.