Public land camping
Camping in Illinois
24 federal places to camp in Illinois, from Forest Service and Army Corps of Engineers, on the land they sit on.
- 24
- federal places to camp
- 1 Forest Service, 23 Army Corps of Engineers
- 1,650
- campsites you can book ahead
- At the 22 places that take reservations on Recreation.gov. The rest are first come or not listed there
- 665 ft
- the highest you can drive to
- Coon Creek
- 8
- counties with federal camping
- 14 gateway towns, each with three or more within 30 miles
The Illinois campground map
Select a pin for its elevation, its sites and its page. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see how you get there, and use the finder for a campground, a town or a peak.
Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.
Map layers
Legend
Federal land, by managing agency
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment
Federal campgrounds, by agency
- Forest Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- National Park Service
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others
State and local land (USGS PAD-US)
- State land
- County and city land
- Regional agency or district
- Land trust or conservancy
BLM roads and trails
Roads Managed for Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Roads Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
Road
Primitive Road
Trails Managed for Public Motorized Use
Trail
Trails Managed for Limited Public Motorized Use
- Trail
Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map
Roads
Roads open to all Vehicles, Yearlong
Roads open to all Vehicles, Seasonal
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Yearlong
Roads open to highway legal vehicles only, Seasonal
Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails
Trails open to all vehicles, Yearlong
Trails open to all vehicles, Seasonal
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Yearlong
Trails open to vehicles 50" or less in width, Seasonal
Trails open to motorcycles, Yearlong
Trails open to motorcycles, Seasonal- Special Designation, Yearlong
Special Designation, Seasonal
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" in Width, Yearlong
Trails Open to Wheeled Vehicles Only < 50" or Less in Width, Seasonal
BLM Wilderness
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Study Area
BLM recreation sites
- Camping
- OHV area
- Trailhead
Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.
Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.
Select any point to see who manages the land.
The map could not start in this browser.
It needs WebGL, which is turned off or unavailable here. You can still browse public land by state, or use the BLM’s own maps.
Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.
Camping near a town
- Allenville
- Benton
- Bethany
- Buckner
- Carlyle
- Ewing
- Findlay
- Huey
- Keyesport
- Sesser
- Shelbyville
- Sullivan
- Valier
- West City
No town by that name has three federal campgrounds within 30 miles. Try the county list below.
Every federal campground in Illinois
24 places
- Blanchard Island Recreation Area Army Corps · Mississippi River - Pools 11-22 · Rock Island County 548 ftelevation 16sites n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Blanding Landing Army Corps · Mississippi River - Pools 11-22 · Jo Daviess County 604 ftelevation 37sites 40 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Boulder Campground Army Corps · Carlyle Lake · Clinton County 459 ftelevation 82sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Camp Cadiz Campground Forest Service · Shawnee National Forest · Hardin County 591 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Coles Creek Campground Army Corps · Carlyle Lake · Clinton County 457 ftelevation 145sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Coon Creek Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Shelby County 665 ftelevation 180sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Dale Miller Youth group campground Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 423 ftelevation 1site n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Dam East - McNair Campground Army Corps · Carlyle Lake · Clinton County 449 ftelevation 47sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Dam West Campground Army Corps · Carlyle Lake · Clinton County 444 ftelevation 108sites 79 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Fishermans Corner Army Corps · Mississippi River - Pools 11-22 · Rock Island County 574 ftelevation 56sites 70 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Forrest W. Bo Wood Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Moultrie County 621 ftelevation 135sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Gun Creek Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 437 ftelevation 100sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Lithia Springs Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Shelby County 653 ftelevation 104sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Lone Point Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Shelby County 645 ftelevation 61sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Lone Point Group Camp group campground Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Shelby County n/aelevation 1site n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Lotus Group Area group campground Army Corps · Carlyle Lake · Clinton County 457 ftelevation 1site 35 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- North Sandusky Campground Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 411 ftelevation 97sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Opossum Creek Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Shelby County 656 ftelevation 64sites 75 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Shagbark Group Area group campground Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 457 ftelevation 1site n/alongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- South Marcum Campground Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 438 ftelevation 160sites 79 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- South Sandusky Campground Army Corps · Rend Lake · Franklin County 427 ftelevation 127sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Sullivan Marina and Campground Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Moultrie County 639 ftelevation n/asites n/alongest rig First comeor not listed
- Thomson Causeway Army Corps · Mississippi River - Pools 11-22 · Carroll County 603 ftelevation 126sites 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
- Wilborn Creek (Group Camp) group campground Army Corps · Lake Shelbyville · Moultrie County 663 ftelevation 1site 80 ftlongest rig ReserveRecreation.gov
Nothing matches those filters. Clear one and try again.
Camping rules worth knowing in Illinois
- Primitive camping is free, and it starts a quarter mile out
- Outside developed recreation areas the Shawnee allows primitive camping free, at any time of year, with no permit. The Camp Cadiz page states it most precisely: a quarter mile outside developed areas, at least 150 feet from any water source for both camp and washing, no camping in the 80 designated natural areas or within 150 feet of lakes and streams or near trails, and no permanent structures. The camping page adds that lake shores are out, that you must park where overnight parking is allowed such as a trailhead, and that anywhere signed as a day use area open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is closed to overnight parking. Source 9
- On state ground you camp in a campground or not at all
- Part 130 of the Illinois Administrative Code opens with one sentence that settles dispersed camping on every acre the Department of Natural Resources owns, leases or manages: camping is permitted only in established campgrounds on designated areas, and camping is prohibited in any other area. The public use rule repeats it as an offence to use a tent, trailer or any other camping device except in a designated camping area. A permit runs up to 14 consecutive nights between 1 May and 30 September, with a ceiling of 14 nights in any 30 days at one site; from 1 October to 30 April a permit may be issued for an unlimited number of nights. Trailer and vehicle camps are both capped at 40 feet overall. Source 19
- Firewood: fifty miles, and nothing from out of state
- Bringing firewood onto any property the Department owns, leases or manages is unlawful if the wood came from more than 50 miles away, unless it is certified by the US Department of Agriculture or by an Illinois state agency. Firewood may not be brought into Illinois from outside the state at all unless it carries federal certification or another state’s. A conservation police officer may confiscate wood that breaks the rule. Fires on state ground are restricted to Department camp stoves or a visitor’s own metal grill at a designated campfire site, and are prohibited wherever open fire bans are posted. Buy it where you burn it and expect to be asked. Source 18
Campground records: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), read September 19, 2026. Elevations: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Fees, seasons and limits change; confirm with the managing office before you go.