Illinois Beach State Park Campground

The proximity to the Lake is why this campground exists. Camp slots are side by side. No privacy between them at all. Park was conceived in 1948. Some of the concession buildings are closed now due to shoreline erosion and age. Park has a store for food & supplies. The location is all about the lake.

Reasonably priced, pretty wooded campground right along Lake Michigan is definitely a hidden gem. Campsites fill quickly and they are 100% reservable now, so get your name in quickly. Campsites are huge! There's no underbrush between sites, so there's little privacy--but also few bugs, and lots of room.

Checked in this past Saturday morning, and drove up to this site #359. Terrible. Guy at the Front Gate said they were Full (NUMEROUS empty sites around us during the entire time we were there), and our only choices were to Stay or Leave (No Refund), complete JERK. We made the most of it. Couldn't do a Fire (also food cooking source) , because our pit was in the middle of the swamp. I had to plug in our electricity in shin deep water. Can't be Safe. Beach and Water are ROCKY. Bring your water shoes to walk into the Lake.

It's been years since we had stayed here, and I thought it was awesome then but we just recently stayed and it's even More Amazing! They completely upgraded the Beach, and the maintenance guys do a great job at keeping up with everything. Oh, and the security at night, "John" amd his partner, definitely made us feel safe, We will be back lots this summer🤞😊

Overall, this place is good and I will go back. The Lakeside location is the best thing this place has going for it. I do want to first confirm that the dead trees are in fact being cut down. I saw previous reviews saying someone was almost severely injured when a tree fell on their tent (luckily they were not in it). The bathroom that was still opened (others closed for winter) was clean but a typical State of Illinois park facility, which is to say it's nothing special. There are many different types of sites here so no matter if you're looking for shady, sunny, grassy, paved, near a shower house, or semiprivate, you'll likely find what you're looking for. If you're pulling anything bigger than a pop-up, stay away from site 258. It's tucked in trees, which is great, but there are a few trees that made it very tricky to back in a 23' long, 8' wide, and 8.67' tall travel trailer. The website says it's a 40' long site which is probably true but the camper would have to be angled in the middle to fit. The "camp store" that sells things like ice and firewood closed for the season already when I was there the weekend before Halloween. It was also a store and concessions stand for the beach and appeared to have merch and gift store kind of stuff. I would have like to have at least bought a sticker with the campground logo. I would understand reduced hours but completely closed seems like a missed opportunity and a disservice.