Best Tent Camping near Washington, IL

Stayed with daughter in tent site right on shore of Illinois River. Has marina adjacent, showers, host, and laundry. Inexpensive tent sites with access for fishing, paddling, wildlife and sunset viewing.

Tent-camped here with my husband and dog and loved it! Great site, very clean, very peaceful!

We typically tent camp here, but have car camped in one of the RV spots. Staff is always great, and facilities are clean. Hikes are always fun too!

Stopped here overnight in late August. Only a few other campers on a Sunday so nice and quiet. Typical midwest tent camping on dirt, lots of mosquitoes, pit toilets.

We tent camped for one night the weekend of Independence Day. Very quiet campground. Clean and spacious camping areas with a nice bathroom and multiple shower stalls. Bring firewood with you. We plan to stop again on our next road trip!

Condit’s Ranch is family friendly and away from it all. Sue and the staff could not be nicer. We did tent camping and the setup was perfect. Huge lot. Fire pit and electric. 

The small fishing pond, the swimming hole and the clubhouse were great to mix in to keep the youngsters entertained.

Our family has been camping here for years. Starved Rock State Park and nearby Matthiessen State Park offer beautiful hiking, canyons, and waterfalls along the Illinois Michigan River.

Regarding the campground: There are several options for tent camping, RVing and trailers. I definitely recommend making reservations in advance as it tends to fill up quick!

Showers and toilets are… well… camping showers and toilets… nothing special but do the job.

There is a small town close by with lovely little cafes, shops, and gas station.

There is also a Grizzly Jacks Grand Bear Resort that has an indoor water park and amusement park.

We came on Memorial Day weekend so the campground was very full. It didn't feel too crowded though except when playing on the playground there were lots of kids and its not a very big play area. But it was fun for the kids to play with other kids. 

While I wish the tent are and comfort station were closer to one another, the walk really wasn't all that bad from our campsite. I loved that the tent sites (especially as you go further back (like to sites 6-10 probably) just had a secluded woodsy feeling to them. I loved how convenient our site was though being right by our car and the road to the restrooms. 

Some of the tent sites are close together with some having a little more seclusion. There are a  lot of trees and plants with it being in the woods so this does help. But with the trail running right down the middle that cuts out a little of your privacy. But the seclusion is definitely better than the RV sites that we saw in the main big loop of the campground. 

We walked a couple trails and they were lots of fun for us and the kids/dogs. 

There is a STRICT no alcohol rule in the tent sites. A sign said coolers are subject to inspection, but from our experience and the vibe of the place, I don't see this really being an issue unless your group gets kind of rowdy ;) 

All in all a great experience.

I got here after dark and paid for a walk-up reservation. They don’t differentiate tent and RV sites, so I picked one that looked like it wouldn’t be near other RVs since I’m tent camping. Registration was easy although a bit confusing about credit card options. Everyone was quiet and the bathrooms were clean.

A dog ran up to my tent and scared the crap out of me at like 11pm, but he quickly apologized. I’m not sure if he was unleashed or on a long leash, but there were a lot of dogs.

Starved rock has so much to offer. trails that lead to caves, waterfalls, lakes and beautiful scenery all around. great for kids too. I have a two and 10 year old and they both do great on all the trails. the campground is pretty but a typical Midwest campground. Some spots are more secluded than others. Some are wooded others are open. Clean bathrooms, RV and tent camping. Firepits. close to the park so you can get up and hike!

This campground is located just north of Kewanee, Illinois. It has a lake with seasonal canoe, kayak and paddle boat rentals and a cafe. The trails are fairly short but can be combined to include 8 miles of trail. The campground is not terribly big but has a shower house in addition to some pit toilets. One large section of the campground is walk up non-electric sites in a grove of pine trees. It’s lovely! Perfect for hammocks. Shady but open enough to get a breeze. There are electric sites as well but, since I tent camp, I’m. It familiar with those. No issues with noise either. As a matter of fact, I camped over a perfect July weekend and the campground host wasn’t even there all weekend and there were no issues.

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.

My wife loves birds, and if it weren't for all of the geese on the lake we wouldn't have enjoyed our stay here. There are plenty of sites for tent camping but the one we got wasn't level so we kept sliding our bags off our sleeping pad. There are shower houses but they weren't the best maintained. Being able to bring our dogs was a plus. There wasn't a boat ramp that we saw but you can kayak on the water. Fishing was really just to kill some time because the park itself was pretty boring. Maybe we were just in a funk, or maybe this place was funky. Being around all the water was this places only saving grace.

We went here with a group of tent campers sight unseen, so that’s always rolling the dice. We stayed until the main part where you could reserve online through reserve America. Would not recommend that area to anyone. Sites are right on top of each other in every direction. Not sure who would seek this out or agree to it after seeing it.

Upon finding the rustic tent sites, we’d wished we’d known about that area before going. Those were still a little close together but were at least wooded and you could walk from your car.

The dispersed camping sites were the closest to what I’d been used to coming from New Hampshire, but it was more of a hike than I would be looking for.

This campground is our "go-to" when we need a last minute getaway from city life. Located outside of Peoria, Jubilee is far enough away from town that you get clear, start night skies.

The campsite has three main loops with RV pads and electric goo ups. We tent camp and majority for the sites also have plenty of room for one or two tents. There is also a fourth tent-only loop, which is all grass and technically "hike-in" but a very short hike depending on which site you pick. All loops have restrooms and a water spigot. There is a shower house near loop B, which is not bad. Could be cleaner, but gets the job done.

There is a decent trail system, which supports hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The trails are well maintained and most are used on regular basis.

The campground host is very friendly! If you are looking for food or supplies, the town of Kickapoo is not far, and Peoria is only a 15min drive, which offers Hy-Vee and an abundance of restaurants if you prefer not to cook over a campfire. Overall, Jubilee offers a nice camping option near Peoria, IL.

 If you like your hammock, or anything you can string between trees, this is the place. The campground is in a stand of tall lodgepole pines with no lower branches. This means there's little privacy, but lots of shade and trees everywhere.
 There is a nice man-made lake for canoeing/kayaking or fishing. No power boats.
 There is a row of hike-in tent site along the trail connecting the campground to the lake. At the lake, there is a General store and above that, a nice restaurant serving farm to table food and snacks.
 There is also a historic Round barn museum on the grounds. Nice trails that are pretty easy to hike.
 There is one cabin available to rent, which is quite secluded with a view of the lake. Nearby attractions are the Woodland Palace home and park, Historic Bishop Hill town and the Corner Coop Cupcakes & Ice Cream.

I only booked this place because Starved Rock was booked. Pros: close proximity to the parks, nice scenery at some sites near the creek, very quiet during our midweek stay ( almost deserted). Also lots of activities in site. Cons: Where to begin?!

1. Poor layout. Single lane asphalt "road" in and out and within the campground itself, on a sharp incline.
2. Our site was Creekside and supposed to be ok for RV. We have a 31' class A. We barely made it up to the site - which was mud. Had to pick another site at random after we called the office and nobody answered.
3. Crappy dump station location. Again, up a hill with sharp turns, one way in and out - single lane.
4. Price! We paid $48 + tax. What a ripoff. For that I expect better access and full hookups including sewer.
5. Our neighbors warned us that if we are 1 minute late checking out they would charge us another night, even if nobody is waiting for your spot. Gee thanks!

Overall, ok for tent camping or small rigs (15 ft or less). Anything longer forget it!!!