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
What to stock for this state
Outfit for wet ground and paid-in-cash campgrounds. Shawnee National Forest sites take ten dollars a night in cash or check only, several have no potable water, and the whole system is first come, first served with no reservations, so water containers, exact change and a paper map are the three things people forget.
The motor vehicle use maps for the two ranger districts exist online only now that the paper run is out of print, and the forest says acquiring the current one each year is the driver’s own responsibility. Anything that helps a customer carry and read those offline is worth having on a shelf here.
An outfitter is the difference between reading reviews and opening the tent yourself. The good ones stock what works, install what they sell, and will tell you what they took off their own trucks.
What they carry
01Roof tents, awnings and shelter
02Fridges, kitchens and water systems
03Racks, drawers and storage
04Recovery gear and compressors
05Power stations, batteries and lighting
How to choose an outfitter
Look for people who use what they sell.
01Ask whether they install what they sell, and whether the installer is on staff.
02Ask what they run on their own vehicles, and what they stopped running.
03Compare weight as well as price. It all rides on your suspension.
04Ask about returns and exchanges on large items such as tents and fridges.
05Check that they know your vehicle. Fitment is where online orders go wrong.
What to have ready before you ask for a quote
Dimensions prevent returns.
01Vehicle, and rack or bed dimensions if you know them
02How many people travel and sleep
03The kind of trips you take, and how long
04What you already own
05A budget range
Questions people ask
What gear should I buy first?
A way to sleep well, a way to keep food cold, water storage and basic recovery gear. Everything else can wait until a few trips show you what you miss.
Is it worth buying from a local outfitter instead of online?
For anything that has to fit your vehicle or be installed, yes. Fitment mistakes on racks, tents and fridges are expensive to ship back, and an installer who sold you the part will stand behind the install.
Can I try before I buy?
Some outfitters rent roof tents, fridges and even vehicles. Say so in the form if that is what you are after.
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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