Shawnee Forest Campground

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.

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!

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

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!

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.

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..

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

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!

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.

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

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.

Great spot just a quick trip, good Wi-Fi, nice setting easy to get in and out.

Easy access from interstate, full hook-ups, clean bathhouse and friendly camp hosts. Only stayed one night, quick stop on way home  but will definitely be back when we when head this way again.

Nice campground, loved having electric, water, and sewer hookups.

Spacious and level sites with full hook-ups. The campground is convenient to all of the attractions in the area. There is easy access to the tunnel state trail in Vienna. It’s about a 9 mile ride to the tunnel. Be sure to visit Garden of the Gods. Really remarkable.

We very much enjoyed our stay and will return!

Perfect place! You can go fishing (catch & release). Visit Garden of the Gods and much more! Friendly, helpful , clean and easy sites to pull into.

We camped with friends here for a long weekend. Sites were fairly flat. We had site 58 & 59. Lots of green space not many trees for shade. It was an old golf course which made great walking and bike trails. Kids loved that.

Only complaint was the road noise. Great thing is it is right off the highway, bad thing is you can hear the Highway. 🤪

We hiked in Little Grand Canyon. And ate at Giant City Lodge and played at the Castle park. This campground was a good location for those things. We plan on coming back to hike Garden if the Gods.

Also it was nice that it was open year round. We camped in November and the shower house was working.

This is an old golf course. Lots of green grass not many trees. Friendly staff. Very clean. Close to I-24. Would definitely stay again when traveling through area.

While they cater mainly to RV's, they do allow pitching tents. Angela was super friendly and helpful in selecting a site best for pitching a tent. It was moderately busy with RVs. The bathrooms were very clean and grounds generally well kept. It's quiet at night but it is near the highway and a relatively slow main road, so you will get some traffic noise, especially if your not in a motor home. All in, it was a great quick stop for us as we travel north.

I’m a novice car camper, sleeping in my Tesla Model 3. This campground is quiet and clean. The host is very friendly and knowledgeable. Each site has 50 amp electric service (so you can charge your EV with a NEMA 14-50 plug), fresh water, fire pits, and picnic tables. A nice stop to visit the Shawnee National Forest.

Stayed the night on our way to Springfield. The campground has pull thru sites with water and electric only. Some shade trees and sites are gravel. This use to be a golf course and the cart paths are now walking trails. Be careful as the paths are in poor condition with cave ins in some areas and they arent blocked off.

This campground is very nice. It's only 1/4 mile from the highway but still quiet. They have a couple of ponds to fish in and the restrooms are clean. They also have a laundry room.

The staff was friendly and helpful. Clean bathrooms and laundry facilities. They are planting trees and trying to improve the grounds. It is a good location and easy access to the Shawnee forest. We stayed 2 nights and would stay there again.

Was a great campground to stop at overnight. It’s conveniently located right off the interstate. Check in was super easy and contactless. The full hooks up were great. We had a spot by the pond and it was a great place to walk the kids and dogs around. Would definitely stay here again.

This was our first stop on a trip out west. It was a great spot to pull into for the night, pretty sunset over the little lake on site. Sites were kinda close together but that is more of a preference thing I think. Picnic table, hook ups, level, host was friendly.

Only stayed 1 night, but beautiful sunset over the lake. Was able to catch and release a small mouth bass while cooking dinner. Owners are very friendly- will stop again!

The sites are nice and level. Quiet in the area. Picnic table and fire ring at every site. Park offers firewood. Pond for fishing so bring your poles. It's catch and release. Manager is very friendly and accommodates you as possible.

The staff was unbelievably friendly. The sites are great. It’s close to parks & food. We had cell phone service, which is a plus for us. We’ll definitely be back to explore more.

Gary and his family are very polite and very happy to be helpful. Great prices. Burn pit and cooking grill above the pit at every site I visited. Clean Air condition in the bathroom. Showers work great. I stayed here twice, my family and I had a great time and met some really nice people.

Relatively new. Has great potential. Located in Vienna, IL near Shawnee National Forest. It has 3 fish & release ponds. Sites were a bit hilly which stands to reason since it was converted from a golf course in 2016. Some sites are pretty long. It accommodated our 35ft. MH with attached car. Some sites are close together with very little shade. The campground had lots of open sites during our stay (3rd week in Aug), but during our stay 2 other short stay campers came in & they parked them right next to us. -Full hook ups available -Hosts were very friendly & provided insight to area. -Bath house - provided air conditioning. Although new & spacious there were only 4 in the entire campground & the toilet & shower were in same space. Upon arrival only 1 was open near us. Subsequently the 2nd was closed due to a water valve malfunction & wasn’t re-opened during our stay. My husband likes level sites & facilities he could use. He said he wouldn’t come back any time soon.