Nine connecting lakes will be the center of your adventures at Chain O’Lakes. This is lake country and a small boater’s paradise. Paddle through the chain of serene kettle lakes, hike the 23 miles of forested trails, fish the electric-motors-only lakes, stay overnight in a forested hillside family cabin, visit the park's historic one-room Stanley Schoolhouse, or explore the Nature Center. Other facilities available for visitors to enjoy include Chain O' Lakes Campground, beach and picnic shelters.

Chain O' Lakes State Park Campground

We had a really great time. Good cell coverage. Lots of security, playgrounds, well kept trails, a beach, general store. This place is MASSIVE. You will need to pay a one time entry fee 9 for out of state, 7 for in state. After you check into the campsite you will have a pass. We got a space with direct access to a huge playground, but it was closed for Covid. Major bummer. There are LOTS and LOTS of playgrounds so we had a lot of temper tantrums from my normally very well behaved toddler. He goes days and days without fussing but seeing playgrounds he can't use is too much, lol The swimming area is great for kids. They have lots of stuff for sale. I posted pictures so you can budget. Overall this place was perfect, the only downside is the temporary closures. A Walmart Supercenter is 30 minutes away. The general store really has anything(including tents) that you might need but it's overpriced as you would expect. We were able to stay on property all 5 days! Extra bonus! We were here on Memorial Day and we saw 0 people on a morning hike.

Great outside of Covid 

Chain of lakes

Camped for Memorial Day weekend. It was hot and humid most of the time. We had a great shaded lot which helped a lot. Checked out a couple trails and did some canoeing. I have AT&amp;T service and spotty cell service, my husband has Verizon and he had no problems.

Hot Holiday Weekend

Loved going here as a child and love it today! Beautiful park, well maintained, with lots to do. At $35 ish per night it’s truly a great park.

Beautiful Park

The park itself is lovely, with lots of water activities. The camp sites are very open and connected to one another by grass.

Nice park, open lots

Medium sized campground with decently sized lots. Very relaxed even over 4th of July Holiday. Nice camp store for firewood and the extras forgotten. Great little beach. Wonderful small lakes connected by shady canals

laid back

I’ve been coming to Chain O’ Lakes with my family ever since I can remember. We’ve been camping countless times, swimming, canoeing, hiking, you name it! Now I’m showing my own dogs and friends the joy of this park as an adult and I couldn’t be happier.
Campground is kept clean and any amenities are within walking distance. Trails are clearly marked with the occasional map popping up here and there for you to make sure you’re on the right track. The lakes are gorgeous, don’t miss your chance to take a canoe out and explore!  

Once a Favorite, Always a Favorite

Came here for a trail race in October. The park is home to some beautiful water and trails to enjoy. The park is quite clean and they have very nice facilities for campers and daytrippers alike. 

Beautiful Trails and Scenery

A lot to do, hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, and swimming. Only down fall is the sites are very wooded so campers with multiple slides need carefull consideration when choosing a site.

We come here every year for Labor Day

Bathrooms were ok, but dirty.  Camp site was soaked couldn’t really walk around.   It was all the rain but you would think they would help with all the water.  Make it more bearable.  

Wet weekend 

I love the lilly pad "maze"through the lake, by far the most fun I had there, and it's the most beautiful part of the park. Can't wait to go back! 

The lakes are the best!

Met up with 18 other skoolies our first Indiana meet.   Met great people had a fantastic time.  Great park kids swam, showers are clean.  Electric at sites but water isn’t but very close by.

Great time with skoolies

Very clean state park. Reasonable prices. Kayaking and the beach was a huge hit with the kids. 

Great time

This was our first choice to camp after we bought our camper, and was it the right place!! The campground is beautifully kept, quiet, tons of camping spots! They are not full hook up, and make sure you fill up as you are not always close enough to a hydrant as I was somewhat led to believe. The only downfall to this place is phone service ice is very shady, as I have Verizon. 

  

Per the name, Chain O Lakes, there are 9 lakes connected, with canals connecting them all. Our 12 year old twin girls had a kayak, and my husband and I. To do them all is a total of 10 miles, MOST of which are easy. There are a few tricky spots, but you can get through it. Very picturesque going through the canals, with lily pads, and other water flowers all through your trip! 

  

The shower house didn’t have real hot water, especially if more than one running at a time. 

General store had everything and the staff was great! Will definitely be going back!

Beautiful, serene, great place 

Nine lakes, seven connected by water ways. Many trails with ratings from easy to  rugged, distances of 1 mile to  4 miles and many of them cross to  make your hike longer.  Many campsites with some space between, but if the park was full, would be crowded.  Very friendly rangers and well kept park.

Quiet naturalist preserve

If you're traveling with kids or enjoy the community of being near your fellow campers this is a great option. If you are looking for a peaceful retreat this may be a bit loud and busy. However, the many amenities are a great way to find peace with the 9 lakes, 12 trails and a beach for swimming. The lakes and connecting channels are stunning for canoes and kayaks and there is a convenient rental area. This is a campground of convenience with a very well stocked campground store with reasonable prices right next to the entrance. There is firewood and ice for sale as well as staple cooking items and cute souvenirs. The campsites are spacious and have a picnic table and fire pit at each. This campground is a great way to stay close to the fun and other campers. With so many options there is a something for everyone! Safe travels happy campers 😄

Great for families and group camping 

I’m glad we stayed four nights here.  It gave us enough time to see both good and bad from this lovely state park.  The bad included small sites, overcrowding, and a lot of raccoon activity.  But the good was beautiful scenery, lots of amenities, a wonderful camp store, and a lot of friendly people!

Your mileage may vary

Would give 5 stars except for the poor cleaning of boathouse near campsite 007.

Beautiful campground and park   

Great fishing, clean , pretty alright place!!!

If you like to fish this is it.

This is the campground that sparked my love for camping!  Its not the fanciest or modern but it's filled with families weekend after weekend that share the same passion for true camping.  Lot's of people cooking over their fires, hiking the trails, getting out on the water and talking around campfires late into the night.

Site 311 isn't my favorite but getting a site is better than not going at all.

Sites- gravel/grass and always groomed!
Bathrooms- older, lots of iron stain the walls from well water but cleaned multiple times throughout the day!
Staff- great!  They have lots of hosts that will help you throughout your stay.
Playground - centrally located and HUGE!  Kids will make friends at Chain O'Lakes.
Activities - if you like to be outside during the day you have plenty to do!

No seasonal campers which adds to the energy that flows through this campground.

A True Campers Campground

Did the 9 lake challenge. It was a new first.  Love the camping area. 

Paddling at its best  

We stayed at site #99 which is fairly easy to find and somewhat secluded from the main camper section of the campground. The site and neighboring sites are non-electric which makes you have to be creative if you need an air mattress.  The site is partial sun midafternoon. The campground can get busy and loud but for the most part everyone was was respectful of others.  


Chain is perfect for kayaking and canoeing with 9 connected lakes and 11 total.  A couple lakes are perfect for boat fishing as long as you have an electric motor only. 
Overall, in my opinion,  this is one of the more underrated state parks in Indiana.  Worth the trip up north away from the more popular parks in the southern part of the state. 

Labor Day at Chain 

Got to camp 9/10 and will be staying thru 9/12.  Lot 102 is perfect!  Shade the majority of the day, very back of the camp ground and close enough to walk to everything!  We got up Saturday morning and rented a row boat for the day.  Spent the day checking out the lakes, then hiked a couple of the trails.  Trail 1 had a huge snake on a tree that I found fascinating lol.  Great neighbors made it the perfect weekend get away!  Will definitely be back!  The staff is amazing, the restroom/showers were clean, and the whole park is very well maintained.  I have Verizon and had no service from Albion all the way to the park.  My wife has ATT and had spotty service in the park, just FYI

Great weekend!

It was my first time camping with my bf's family and we had a blast! We booked several sites and the sites that we got had a good amount of trees caving in so it was nicely shaded. There was a nice dock for fishing and the bathrooms were clean. We found a cave as well so some of us went to explore it!

Camping with my bf's family!

I've gone camping here multiple times and each time has been a fantastic trip. Can't recommend enough.

A campers dream.

We stayed in the Turner lake south loop, which has nice and private sites. This is in contrast to Honeysuckle hollow which is open and row after row of RV sites. Fox den and Prairie view loops are nice as well with mostly primitive sites. Be aware that the map on www.ExloreMoreIL,com  (where you make your reservations) doesn't show where the restrooms are. In the Turner loop, the pit toilets are next to the path to the fishing pier, while the showers and full restrooms are between Turner and Fox den, there is a short path between sites 60 &amp; 61. Facilities are clean and well lit.  
Fire pits are slightly raised steel troughs with a heavy adjustable grill.  
This is a BIG park, the campgrounds are two miles from the front gate, and it's a drive to the main boat launch at Maple Grove, where you have access to the Fox River and Grass lake. This location has a huge parking lot for boat trailers, a very well stocked general store with fishing supplies, a cafe, boat rentals and good firewood.  
To get away from the crowd if you're a canoeist or kayaker it's nicer to leave the park and go back in at Oak Point picnic area and boat launch at the northern border. This will put you on the Fox river with developments to the north (including a bar &amp; grill) or to the south which is all nature. I think the distance by boat between the two launches is 4-5 miles, but I'm not sure, Halfway there you'll meet up with the Goldfinch trail which is the shortest loop and the most diverse in term of flora.  
There are horse/ snowmobile trails, but no equestrian campground.  
Chain o' Lakes is one of the busiest waterways in Illinois, with motorboats everywhere in the height of the summer season. We canoe, and both times we stayed there it was October, so I can't tell you how crowded, but the vast number of picnic areas must be there for a reason.  
An odd thing is that you can hear a Steam Train whistle quite often, this is from Richardson's Adventure Farm in Spring Grove. We don't have kids so we went to Stade's Farm &amp; Orchard (which is also large and kid friendly) because they have an orchard and vegetable market.  
One last thing, the gates close at 10:PM and there are tire shredders, you can leave but you can't get back in... unless you want to walk 2+ miles in the dark :)