Jo Daviess County. Our own 3DEP reading at the USGS point is 1,234 feet. The low point is 279 feet where the Ohio joins the Mississippi at Cairo, a Corps of Engineers figure in the USGS table
Against under 32 inches in the north. Snow runs the other way, 36 inches a year up north and under 10 in the far south
Kit for Illinois campgrounds
Assume no reservations and no card reader in the national forest. The Shawnee takes campsites first come, first served, charges ten dollars a night in cash or check, runs most campgrounds from 1 April to 15 December, and holds sites to two tents, two vehicles and eight people with quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Carry your own water for the plain sites and buy firewood locally, because it is unlawful to bring wood onto state ground from more than 50 miles away or from outside Illinois unless it is certified, and a conservation police officer may confiscate it. In designated natural areas only a gas stove is allowed, so a canister burner earns its place.
Vehicle camping gear works under a different constraint than backpacking gear. Weight matters less, but everything has to survive vibration and dust and pack the same way every time. Stores that understand the difference stock 12-volt fridges, water systems and kitchens rather than ultralight pots.
What they carry
0112-volt fridges and slides
02Stoves and kitchen systems
03Water storage, pumps and filtration
04Chairs, tables and shelter
05Sleep systems
06Lighting and power stations
How to choose camp equipment
Buy fewer, better things. Every item has to be packed, carried and cleaned.
01Buy the fridge for your power system, not the other way round. Ask about power draw and what battery it needs to run overnight.
02Pack it before you buy it. Bring the measurements of your cargo area or drawers.
03Favor gear that can be repaired and has parts available.
04Choose a kitchen you can set up in the dark, in wind, when you are tired.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
Space and power are the limits.
01Vehicle and storage dimensions
02Your power system, if you have one
03How many people, and how long you stay out
04What you already own
05A budget range
Questions people ask
Do I need a 12-volt fridge?
For trips longer than a weekend, most people never go back. No ice to find and no wet food. It does need a house battery or a power station that can carry it overnight.
How much water should I carry?
Enough for drinking, cooking and washing between reliable refills, with a reserve. How much that is depends on the climate, the people and how you cook. Carry it low in the vehicle, and in more than one container.
Is a power station enough, or do I need a second battery?
A power station is simple and portable and suits lights, devices and a small fridge for a couple of days. A wired house battery charges while you drive and suits longer trips and bigger loads.
How high is Illinois?
From Cairo at 313 feet to Charles Mound at 1,235.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
ShelbyvilleShelby County seat at Lake Shelbyville, six federal campgrounds and two state parks on one reservoir, with Hidden Springs State Forest ten miles southeast.646 ft
JonesboroUnion County seat. Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District office, Trail of Tears State Forest five miles northwest, and the LaRue Pine Hills loop starts here.570 ft
OquawkaHenderson County seat on the Mississippi. Big River State Forest and its 60 miles of firebreaks are eight miles north on the Oquawka to Keithsburg road.553 ft
WilmingtonOn State Route 53, the old Route 66 alignment, two miles south of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie headquarters and welcome centre.543 ft
Forest CityMason County village that is the headquarters address for Sand Ridge State Forest, the largest state forest in Illinois and its main backcountry camping.494 ft
BentonFranklin County seat off I-57. Rend Lake and its five public campgrounds sit west of town, with the Corps office on Rend City Road.473 ft
CarlyleOn US 50 fifty miles east of St. Louis at the largest lake in the state, with the Corps visitor centre on the shore and camping all round it.460 ft
MurphysboroJackson County seat on Route 149. Johnson Creek Recreation Area on Kinkaid Lake, one of four Shawnee campgrounds rated for a 40-foot rig, is northwest.419 ft
CarbondaleLargest town in southern Illinois and the working base for the western Shawnee. Giant City State Park is near town and the Mississippi Bluffs district office is south at Jonesboro.416 ft
ViennaJohnson County seat on Route 45. Hidden Springs Ranger District office, one of the forest’s two districts and the office that issues its own motor vehicle use map.412 ft
Carrier MillsAddress of the Sahara Woods site office and the nearest town to the only state-run off-highway vehicle trails in Illinois.395 ft
HarrisburgSaline County seat on US 45. Shawnee National Forest supervisor’s office is on Highway 145 south of town, the Garden of the Gods road leaves Route 145 for Route 34, and the state OHV park is five miles west.394 ft
Cave-in-RockOhio River village at the state park with the 55-foot cave. The free Cave-In-Rock Ferry crosses to Kentucky here, supported jointly by both states.375 ft
ElizabethtownHardin County seat on the Ohio River Scenic Byway, between the Garden of the Gods road and the river, with Tower Rock’s free campground east on Route 146.361 ft
GolcondaPope County seat on the Ohio River Scenic Byway, on the eastern side of the Shawnee in the Hidden Springs district.354 ft
CairoThe southern tip of Illinois where the Ohio meets the Mississippi at 279 feet, the state low point, and where the Illinois stretch of the Ohio River Scenic Byway ends.313 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Charles MoundThe highest point in Illinois, in Jo Daviess County in the far northwest corner. Our own 3DEP reading at the USGS point is 1,234 feet1,235 ft
Williams HillPope County, high ground in the Shawnee Hills on the eastern side of the national forest. The figure is our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, because no agency publishes one1,062 ft
Bald KnobUnion County, in the hills behind the Mississippi bluffs on the western side of the national forest. The figure is our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, because no agency publishes one1,028 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
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