Sparrowhawk Camp

We waited too late to secure a reservation with another river outfitter and should have just stayed home. On the first day, they lost our reservation for six people. We had to move to three different campsites to find an RV spot with functioning electricity. The area was littered with trash. On the day of the float trip, there was no organization, and the employees and owners were arguing behind the bus while we waited in the hot bus. The raft we finally got was covered in mold . When we returned, the electricity in our RV was off and not working. The owner insisted it wasn't their fault but was overheard telling someone else that something had been plugged in and it fried our RV. Needless to say, it's still at the shop being repaired, and we won't be returning to SparrowHawk Camp. I hate to even give this place a one star .

Was staying in the area to enjoy the river floated and stayed at another location the first day decided to float this location the second day. Big mistake! The parking lot is not for you to park any vehicles you care about. The amount of trash and glass drunk people parking all random umm no. No point in even paying to float as there is no organization at all I did pay but several people didn’t they just sat and waited for a ride up lol that’s terrible no one even knows what’s going on. But, then after you do pay and wait in the sun for someone to pick you up, a young kid driving a bus that stinks BAD, bus is acting like it’s gonna break down any minute,young guy driving is smoking his weed pen and on his phone while this person is responsible for all these people he is driving. Once you get to the location literally stood there waiting for 30 minutes to get the kayak to float. We made the best of the float had a great time in the water. When we were finished we had to drag our own kayak out of water and put up. Heard music playing and thought we would hang for a bit! Not a good idea! Ghetto! 1 hour after we left there was a shooting at this location. Bathrooms are absolutely disgusting. No organization. Rude. In my opinion unsafe. But, the river is fun, this is a nice float once you actually get in the water but I feel ALL the other locations offer a better experience, supplies, instruction, parking, and areas to enjoy in a safe fun way.

Attended Earthnote Underground for 3 days May 2023, the 3rd Annual but its 1st year at Sparrowhawk Camp. 2 friends and I had lovely Cabin #3 -- 2 bedroom with1 King, 2 Twins and. cot, very COMFY bed mattresses. Lovely living area and kitchen and biggest deck you ever saw, overlooking the river. We needed supplies which were promptly supplied by the office, the grill definitely needed some love and we just couldn't get it started to clean it. They brought us a BRAND NEW one before we needed it for dinner. Roof leaked a little during the torrential rains one day and they had covered it within an hour. Truly, the most reponsive staff ever. Dishes and silverware were sparse, I would ask about it or bring what you need. Beds are made up with clean sheets. In the photos of twins here I had already stripped the beds, so I included some photos of the room after I dolled it up. Bring an over the door hanger for clothes, it worked great, as there are no closets or hanging space. I cleaned the place and took all these just before I left. I didn't float but friends did and they loved it. They get an A+ in hospitality!! And the stage and event we attended was excellent.

The campsite area itself was clean,mowed, and pretty scenery. The bathrooms didn't look like they had been cleaned maybe ever. We also didn't like that there are no reservations for campsites or for floating. The reservations made for the 3 cabins were told upon arrival that only 2 were available now because someone was living in one. We were also told to be there to float at 8am as it is first come, first serve. We were part of a large group that got separated into different busses. We waited over an hour for the next bus to see if our group was on it. Spent our day trying to go slow and wait and look for our group. Never saw the people we came to float the river with. We also had a hammock stolen out of a tree the first night we arrived ahead of our group when there were no other campers.

Beautiful camp sites, very clean and spacious. The river looks very suspicious... there's a good 2'-0" of green algae around the perimeter. But there are signs at the entrance that poke fun at the algae problem, so I'm sure it's "fine." We went the last weekend of October, so there wasn't hardly anyone there at all. There's only one restroom building, and it also has indoor and outdoor showers. There was no toilet paper in any of the stalls, and no shower curtains. There wasn't anyone in the office, although it said it was open. There was a note with a phone number to call to check in and get thru the gate. The lady who answered the phone sounded annoyed whenever we had to call her to get in. We had to drive into town at least once a day to get ice for the cooler. Luckily, she finally gave us the gate code, and we didn't have to bother with her anymore.

My family camped here during the off season and can’t wait to go back. They have a new caretaker named Tim that has done an amazing job of making sure everything is very clean. This camp ground is very very big with a half mile of river beach and lots of trails and a gazebo for bands. They even allow personal equipment and offer shuttles as well as providing equipment rentals if you don’t have your own. Everyone went out of their way to make sure we were well taken care of. Many thanks to the crew at Sparrowhawk, we will be back!

Went to hear my favorite local band, CatDaddy, play at the Earth Note Music Festival and had a blast there! It was really cool to hear the live music while enjoying the Illinois River at the same time. Very laid back peaceful place to camp out too! I'll definitely go back again ❤️