The Home of Adventure

Bear-Sig-01 1

Bear Grylls

Illinois Beach State Park Camping

Getting away for a weekend at Lake Michigan isn’t as easy as it probably should be. The Illinois Beach State Park provides visitors an opportunity to experience six and a half miles of shoreline for families to camp, play and swim. We spoke with Bob from Illinois Beach State Park, who filled us in on his favorite campsite in the park, what to do – and when to come trout fishing. Listen to our full interview here:

Illinois Beach State Park Camping

Camp Illinois: I’m talking with Bob today from Illinois Beach State Park in Illinois. How’s it going this morning, Bob?

Bob: It’s great.

CI: So, let’s just start with how long Illinois Beach State Park has been there and how it got its start.

RV_Camping_Illinois_Beach_State_Park

Bob: I don’t have the date. The Park has been here since the ’50s. The Park was originally started as an area that they wanted to save along the lakeshore that most of Lake Michigan had been developed, and they wanted to preserve an area to show what the lakeshore was like before development.

CI: Okay, and I can see from a couple images here on your website, it looks pristine. It looks gorgeous.

Bob: Thanks.

CI: And what are the most popular activities at the park?

Photo courtesy of David Narens
Photo courtesy of David Narens


Bob: The most popular activity of course is swimming, where you’ve got six and a half miles of lakeshore for swimming. We also have picnicking and camping. Right now we just opened trout fishing again. We stock the pond with trout twice a year: once we open, the first Saturday in April, and then again the third Saturday in October for trout fishing.

CI: Okay. And what kind of accommodations do you offer for camping?

Bob: All of our sites have electricity. Come with a picnic table and a fire ring. There are shower buildings and flush toilets. Water spigots are disbursed throughout the campground. About every 20 feet, there’s a water spigot. You can fill your tanks. You’re just not allowed to stay hooked up. There’s a dump station. And that’s about it.

CI: Okay, perfect. Two more questions for you. If you could spend just one hour in Illinois Beach State Park, how would you spend your time, Bob?

Photo courtesy of Vikas C Srivastava
Photo courtesy of Vikas C Srivastava


Bob: Well, depending on the season. In the summer, of course I’d be down at the beach. In the fall, I kind of like hiking the trails with the colors. The Nature Preserve. There’s a lot of different plant species. I enjoy that, or, in the summer, go for a bike ride also.

CI: Okay. And if you could spend just one night in Illinois Beach State Park, which specific campsite would you choose and why?

Bob: My favorite site, I think, is 3684. It’s along the beach and it’s a nice site.

CI: Okay, perfect. Well, thanks so much for taking some time out of your morning, Bob, to chat with us about Illinois Beach State Park in Illinois.

Visit the Illinois Beach State Park Website

Join the Conversation!

More Like This

More Stories

3 Tools to Make Backcountry Breakfast More Delicious—And How to Use Them

Picture this: You wake up in a tent. The air is cold outside of your sleeping bag. The sun is just about to rise, [...]

15 Best National and State Parks Near Denver, CO

Known for its majestic peaks and rugged beauty, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most iconic national parks in the U.S. It [...]

How to Clean Hydration Pack Reservoirs, From the Experts

Since they first made their commercial appearance in the late 1980s, hydration packs containing reservoirs, also called bladders, have become the de facto method [...]

15 Stunning Spartan Trailer Vintage Advertisements

If you’re anything like us, you love taking a look back into the early days of RV and trailer camping. One of the nostalgic [...]

A Whale Just Sunk This Ship in the Middle of the Pacific

Last week, four sailors were making their way across the open ocean between Ecuador and French Polynesia when they hit a whale. The collision [...]

Shipping Container Full of “Peanuts” Found to Contain 7 Tons of Illegal Ivory

On March 20, Vietnamese customs officials seized a 20-foot shipping container filled with about seven tons of illegal elephant ivory. According to the press [...]

Scroll to Top