For the first time in many years, we really enjoyed camping in this park. The reason: Fox Den, the newest CG in the park (there are 6 - one group CG, 2 no-hookup CGs and 2 with electric sites.) Fox Den has spacious sites, most of which are long enough for the bigger rigs, and a few of which have 50 amp (the rest have 20/30 amps). Most sites are open & prairie-like; pads are gravel, and mowed grass sets off each campsite area from the natural vegetation surrounding it. Each site has a raised firebox instead of a fire pit. There is one set of concrete vault toilets in the CG, and across the SP road (with painted crosswalk) is a newer bathhouse with showers. A bit of a down rating for the hyperactive auto-flush toilets! The CG was quiet, not only midweek, but on Friday morning as well, when it had become mostly full. Multiple CG hosts in this park, including 3 in residence at Fox Den alone, probably helps keep order. Nice place; we'll return! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We have been camping at Chain-O-Lakes for the past twenty years or more, with units starting at a tent on up to our motorhome, which we now live in full time. The staff is excellent and will go out of their way to help if you have a problem. Most use of the park comes from families from the surrounding area. Honeysuckle Hollow is the older of the two RV campgrounds. The electric connections there can be a problem for newer, power hungry rigs. We have found that Fox Den is the best place to park with a motorhome. There aren't as many trees, which means that satellite reception is better. Fox Den is also home to the only two 50 amp sites in the park for public use. All of the restrooms are very clean and well kept. The park rangers are very serious about the no alcohol policy and the conservation police will write speeding tickets along the main roads. If you like to speed and drink, this isn't your park! All told, a very quiet and family orientated place. We continue to stop and stay there in the spring and fall. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
August 2007
$35
We stay here over Labor day weekend. We had a BLAST, riding bikes and hiking trails. There was ample space between the sites. There is no full hookup sites at all. So use water sparingly to avoid having to make a trip to the dump station. I gave this site a 9 because the mosquitos were HORRIBLE. They had just had days of heavy rain and everything was soaking wet. We camped here in a Motorhome.
It had been years since we camped here, as sites in the original electric-hookup campground (Honeysuckle Hollow) are cheek-to-jowl (especially so for a state park) and weekend campouts were crowded and noisy. Camped here on a couple weekdays and it was nice & quiet, despite many bringing rigs in to claim sites ahead of time for Memorial Day weekend. There are multiple campground hosts living on site; the ones we met were friendly & conscientious. The campground is clean (including some of the cleanest pit toilets I can remember) and well-maintained; very popular on weekends due to proximity to Chicago & its north & northwest suburbs. 3 cabins in the campground extend options to those without much gear, or desiring more comfort. This is an attractive park, with boating, horseback riding & walking/biking trails available, plus some small fishing lakes. The newer campground, Fox Den, has more spacious sites but little shade; 2 no-hookup campgrounds also have spacious, shaded sites & are popular with tenters. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Our family enjoyed this campsite a lot. The campground was clean along with the restrooms and showers. It appeared most of the sites were large with lots of shade trees. The only issue we had was the site we were on had very little grass so when it rained it was a little muddy. Other sites around us did not have that problem and I will pick a better one next time. There is a playground for children which was in very good shape. This is a state park so alcohol is prohibited but that did not stop our neighbors from having quite a few beers. But they were very quiet and cleaned up after themselves so we were ok with that. There are many things to do like hiking, boating, fishing and horse rental. We camped here in a Motorhome We camped here in a Motorhome.
We liked our site, wooded and quiet. Walking trails, biking, all available...swimming close by... We were enjoying our stay and had guests. We were quietly having snacks and drinks before dinner. A park ranger came by and searched our campsite for beer, which we were discreetly drinking (we are all senior citizens and responsible people)... The ranger gave one of our guests a $150 ticket for drinking beer outside the trailer in the open... We will never return to this park. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
We love this campground and stay here several times a year. Shady sites with plenty of
space. Bike and hiking trails, horseback riding (in season), lake access, rental boats, store and concession stand. Fire grills. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
September 2004
$22
We camp here often. There's no water hookup witch is a downer but other than that it's a great place to camp. The sites are large enough, and the scenery is pretty. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This a state park, thus the sites for both tent and bigger units only have water. This camp ground was extremely clean, all of the sites are large, have grills and fire rings. Most of the sites in the newer trailer area are either concrete pads or level gravel.
There are not too many, if any, bad sites in this park. There are many hiking and bike paths, boat and horse rental. If you are not looking for a pool, then this state park is great! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2002
$11
Direct access to boating and fishing. Very large wooded park - many different types of camping venues. Lots of deer. Park rules strictly enforced. Water fill and dumps sites readily available. We camped here in a camper.