kayak starved rock
kayak starved rock getting their landing finished up
Beautiful location, out of control & worn out campground
We had reserved campsites and were told then and in person, plus noticed many signs on the way to our campsite about the NO ALCOHOL rule in this campground. Imagine our surprise when the huge group of young people across the road from our campsite had a party in full swing, with tiki torches, music, liquor bottles, and even a beer funnel in plain sight. They were even kind enough to offer use of the funnel as we walked past. They partied hard until at least 1:30am, well past the 10pm quiet time. And despite the rule of 2 cars max, there were 5 cars jammed into the driveway & road. Never saw even one DNR truck or ranger drive past. Beautiful park, but apparently there is no staff to enforce any of the rules. The bathrooms in the shower building were nice, however the rest of the campground had to make do with portapotties - most of which were well past emptying time. Some showed evidence of bad aim, another had a diaper stuffed in it, most were filled almost to the rim. If this is the "jewel" of the Illinois park system, they should be ashamed. We will not be back.
Month of VisitJuly
beautiful
campground is located a couple miles from the main lodge, miles of hiking trails, kayak rental available. the sites range from primitive to fill rv.
super busy
it’s as close to nature as you can get without actually being in nature
Beautiful state park camp ground
Located about 2 miles from the main entrance of starved rock, the campground books up fast during the summer, reservations are usually needed. Great sites, friendly staff and all around beautiful area.
Beautiful in the spring!
Great hikes ang great sights!
Month of VisitMarch
Wonderful Wooded Retreat
There is an abundance of spacious level campsites with abundant shade. Bath house is clean, however ladies shower tends to have long lines. Gate staff is always helpful. Close to the state park hiking trails, lodge, fishing. Also a short drive to the old downtown Utica area with plenty of wining, dining and antiquing opportunities.
absolutely gotta!!
dog friendly
Great Hiking
Tent-camped here with my husband and dog and loved it! Great site, very clean, very peaceful!
Amazing hiking
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!
Nice open plan campground
Open plan campground (not much privacy). The playground consisted of one swingset - swings only.
Lots of great hiking at both Starved Rock & Matthiessen Park.
Campground showers were hard to use; each push of the button for water only gave you 5 seconds of not quite warm enough water. I happened to use the handicapped shower one night which you would expect to be easy to use but the shower head was just dangling with no place to attach it which meant having to hold it with one hand whilst trying to wash my hair with the other in 5 second intervals. Not impressed.
Dump station didn’t have hose attachment to rinse out pipes with.
Month of VisitJune
Cozy
Gets really busy in the summer season, look to go in fall/spring when it’s chillier or when it’s raining
Month of VisitApril
Great as campgrounds go!
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.
Month of VisitMay
Close to main park.
I have camped here twice. Once during the week and once on the weekend. If you plan on camping on the weekend, make a reservation ahead of time. The campground was fully booked.
Even though it was fully booked, was not loud and didnt feel busy. Sites have a mixture of good privacy and wide open.
Camp store is good for convenience, but a local has a small campstore with better prices.
Plan to drive to get to hiking and other activities.
beautiful trails
loved the whole day there! can't wait to visit again
Great place to hike. Campground is nice. Campground is a drive to get to trail heads.
Had a wonderful time planning another visit this year for sure
Site12
Month of VisitApril
Beautiful but busy!
I've been to this lovely campsite three times - once in the fall and twice during different summers. The campground and park are packed during the late fall as everyone around comes to see the colors. Find a campsite that's a little ways away from others if you want a more private experience - they're very close together but you can find ones with better tree cover.
Starved Rock is great because you can walk a mile or two in a loop or do the full "mega hike" which is 13.4 miles through 18 canyons. The park features lots of elevation with many sets of stairs so make sure you bring water, sunscreen and snacks.
Kinda dirty, but a nice experience over all
Super busy, barely got to be at our tent 🤧
Month of VisitAugust
Great combination of chill and challenge
Visited here with the cubscouts and the boys had an incredible time! We camped out the night prior and spent all Sunday hiking! The waterfall canyon is rather breathtaking
Month of VisitOctober
Backyard Camping
In general, this campsite was one of my least favorite midwestern camp spots and will not be returning.
The fee for this campsite is $25 a visit, which is about $10+ more expensive than your average State Park. The experience is not worth your extra penny. The campsite itself has 3 camp set-up options: wooded, partially-wooded, and open area. My partner and I stayed in the wooded area at site 113, where we still felt very close and unsheltered from our neighbors. The partially-wooded areas basically fully open, but you can set up between woods and open grass. The open area is a grass slab in the middle of the campground where you may as well be hanging with your neighbors at a city park. This campsite includes all the amenities, if that is your forte on camping (I camp for the full outdoor experience w/o bathrooms, showers, and a soda dispensing machine??!!) Even the park ranger said he disliked the site, but the one he recommended instead, called Cozy Corners, offered the same lack of privacy (we drove through to check before returning to the Starved Rock State Park Campground).
The state park itself is very lovely, which I slices amazing rock formations. However, if you're going for waterfalls, consider that these falls are not being fed by mountain caps and rushing springs, but dependent on rainfall. It is best to go shortly after one.
Site113
Month of VisitAugust
great park but a lot of people
went for fathers day on Saturday awesome waterfall and features. although therr are a lot of people. i like turkey run in indiana better.
Month of VisitJune
Crowded
Just too many people. And not Rustic enough for my taste. No privacy.
Amazing!
Spacious campgrounds, clean facilities, and tons to do! I'm a big fan of just hiking and exploring around. I could "go for a walk" and be gone for hours! Beautiful scenery year round. Have been several times and will be several more!
Wow just wow
This place is so beautiful I highly suggest staying here or stopping by for a day trip. We didn't get to do much hiking but made our way up French Canyon. The waterfalls and mossy ledges are breathtaking. The campground was clean and well maintained. We plan on coming back when we can explore more of the park.
Rock Formations are Amazing!!
We headed south to Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Illinois. Boy was it HOT HOT HOT and HUMID HUMID HUMID. We were running on 30 amps and one air conditioner. (our main one decided to quit working a few weeks prior and we were limping along). Our site was in full sun and the heat indexes were between 112-117 while we were there. Ugh! We did our best to stay cool.
We went to see the I&M Canal…a 96 mile long canal that was dug by hand in the 1800s. Very neat rock formations and would highly recommend this area!
Busy But Beautiful
This is definitely a tourist attraction for Illinois. A great place to hike, camp, and overall- to visit. I can't wait to go back!
Nothing short of amazing
The campsite is separated from the park. The sites are clean and the bathrooms are pretty nice. You can camp pretty much year round. Go in the winter for the ice waterfalls, in the fall for the leaves, in the summer to ply in the waterfalls and in the spring to see the pelican migration.
Loved Starved Rock but not the campground
This campground is a large grassy camping area with big oak trees. The sites are large enough, but there aren't any shrubs or bushes or pine trees to provide privacy from neighbors. We love hiking in Starved Rock but dislike the campground.
waterfall
love the waterfall and other hiking trails
Starved Rock
The campsite is pretty standard, nothing to write too much about, but the trails it is located next to is spectacular. After some rain, the waterfalls will be flowing and the canyons are great to wander through. Should also mention that the nearby Matthiessen State Park also offers some great trails and views, including probably the best waterfall that we saw during the trip. Attached are some videos of us exploring the nearby trails.
