If you want more trees and privacy stick to the east loop if you want more flat land that is easy to drive up and camp, go to the west loop. The Camp store is cute but tiny. There is also a vending machine by the bathhouse and a 24/7 wood vending machine by the camp store.

3 state parks are within a 5-10 minute drive making early morning hiking very easy. Welcome to the Disney Land of outdoors!

The campground itself is off of Starved Rock’s main entrance but we think it’s perfect because I don’t need that much traffic with cars and people constantly walking/driving by. I do wish there were walking trails off the campground though.

You can tell they’re trying to remodel some of the sites. There is lots of grass so all the rain this weekend and we weren’t muddy was awesome! Big park with tons of spots. The pull throughs were really long. We like dispersed sites so we wouldn’t have like this park ‘in season’ when it’s packed. That being said we’ve already decided this will be our first stop when the season starts again! Water pressure was steady. Power was consistent. Bathroom/shower/laundry rooms were all very clean and well maintained. We couldn’t reach the WiFi from our site but it was good closer to the lake. They also have free TV but we didn’t hook up to that. Having a sewer hook up on site was a welcome change to our typical state park sites we frequent. The road has lots of dips and bumps but going slow they weren’t an issue. We were on the main road and there was lots of traffic going back and forth which was surprising since there wasn’t a lot of campers. They have a huge lake with paved paths that we were able to walk the first night (not raining) and the beach looks like it will be fun to enjoy in the summer.

The historical stories at the Blackhawk statue were really cool to read. We saw lots of woodpeckers and a red fox. The trails were fun to walk but can get steep. Some the sites are close together and in the sun but others are spread out and under the cover of the trees. It was super quite and you didn’t hear other campers even with everyone out so it was nice. Definitely will come back here!

Friendly staff and a nicely stocked store. Has a pool, petting zoo, kayaks, rocky beach, dog park, and a land pillow! The sites are spaced out well and there are more secluded sites so you have the feeling of privacy or big group sites for a big party.