We arrived during a downpour, but our site was on a hill and didn’t get too waterlogged. The camp host in the store was an incredibly friendly and welcoming woman. They have lots of gear and products you may need—firewood, ponchos, bug spray, etc, etc…even camping chairs! To escape the rain, we went to Pig Minds Brewing Co, about 5-10 minutes away. The site itself wasn’t too exposed, and the back had tall bushes insulating us completely from the other side. The shower house was a nice 10-min walk from site 24. Not dirty, though there were lots of tube-shaped creepy crawlers in the shower grout lines. Kinda cute. The hiking was decent, you can hike around the large lake.

I took out an inflatable kayak to test it out, and loooved the rock formations on the river. Definitely a special sight because I usually stay closer to Chicago, where I haven’t found such impressive geology. It was tough paddling upstream when I returned to the boat launch after camping, even after a dry spell. That said—I’m pretty weak so if I can do it, it’s not impossible! There are about 8 nice campsites right on the river. Despite being what the park calls “primitive” sites, there were picnic tables, fire pits/grates, and a cute little outhouse. There were 3 other parties there, and it was fun chatting with them. Be aware that the sites cost $6. I didn’t know this despite looking online and calling for info, I only had $5. Carry cash to leave in the envelope. There were a billion harmless tiny white moths by the river. There are 2-5(?) miles of trails (mowed prairie, dirt/gravel hills). The ONLY downside was the park staff person who gave me a hard time about the cash and sort of belittled me for being a solo female adventurer (at least that’s the feeling I got). Regardless—I will be returning soon!