Prairie State Park Campground
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Reviewed May. 31, 2022

Primitive accomodations but beautiful land!

The tiny campground is located in a wooded hollow at the edge of the prairie and has 4 primitive sites, no electric or water at sites, no showers and one vault toilet only. You can drive up the hill to the maintenance area to get water and there is a sign for this. 2 sites have paved pads and the others are gravel/dirt. The 2 outer gravel sites back up to a curved stream that runs along the perimeter of the campground but are lower and more shaded and more prone to hovering clouds of bugs. They are all have a picnic table and fire ring and are relatively private and well distanced. Since you have to drive through this stream to get to the campground beware when there has been heavy rain as it may not be accessible. The center paved sites are more open and grassy and get more wind but also don’t have as much shade. I think I stayed in site 4 and it was great for my solar panel. I did have steady cell service with AT&T while here.

Since it’s pretty primitive you will likely have the place to yourself, but be prepared to have guests of the state park driving through all day to check it out. Lots of deer around, beautiful to see but this also means ticks! There is also significant poison ivy along the roads but there are signs warning about that. Best to keep to the maintained roads and paths. As far as dogs, they are not allowed on any of the trails because of the bison but they can walk the entire main gravel road of the state park (no shade). Nature center was closed due to covid when I was there but looks interesting. There were a couple bison about 20 feet from the center when I was there. My parents visited once and ended up on the road for about an hour while an entire herd of bison meandered across the road around their vehicle! The bison roam free here, although the small campground area has fences and/or cow grates to keep them out. The land is stunning and open and takes you back to a bygone era of this country. The sunrises here over the prairie are gorgeous.

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Month of VisitJuly