Starved Rock State Park Campground — Attraction in LaSalle

Pretty good campground I have to say! Check in was easy and hassle free, the camp leaders that stay there for the season were kind and cool and very excited to be there, helpful to any campers that needed assistance. The site was peaceful and provided enough space for my car and tent. The bathroom/showers building nearby were clean and well kept, stocked with toilet paper and had multiple stalls for each. The showers were at a pleasant temperature and required you to press a button that kept the water running for a few seconds at a time- so you will have to keep pressing it but it’s not too bad to be honest. The accessible shower has a shower hose that makes showering easier and more pleasant. There are sit down areas in each shower that you can put your things on or rest on while getting dressed and such.

The women’s bathroom also has a double sink- but I don’t remember if there’s an outlet in there- I don’t think so but babe you’re camping so let your hair go wild and free haha.

The campsite also includes a metal enclosed fire pit with a removable grill that you can place your cast iron skillet on to cook. The fire is very ambient in the evening time, and the campsite while I was there was largely quiet even tho several families were camping around me. There are electrical hookups for RV’s and such.

There’s a tiny camp store with specific hours near the front of the campground right when you pull in, they have various essentials including firewood which isn’t toooo badly priced I suppose, but they also have a vending machine that you can use to purchase bundles of firewood at any time/after hours- when I was there it was $9 a bundle. It takes card and cash- but only cash worked. The machine doesn’t give back change so make sure you feed it EXACTLY $9. It was a pretty easy process.

One thing I do not recommend using is their “outhouse” near the accessible site. It’s just two large separate toilet rooms with a portapotty underneath but there were flies buzzing around EVERYWHERE. You think ima sit my butt down and try to fight them off? It’s JULY fam, the buggies are in full swing and up to no good. Use the shower and bathroom building to do your business instead.

There was a rather weak water pump on the campsite where you could fill up water jugs/etc but I just ended up getting a few gallons of spring water instead because I wanted something easy and fresh.

Overall, pleasant and easy state park. The area is beautiful and I went there obviously to camp and visit starved rock which was beautiful in July. It was hot and buggy af so make sure you bring your bug spray and sunscreen and stay...

A fantastic family camping experience!! We stayed in spot 6, which was right by the pit toilets (basically a port-a-potty, but in a brick building), and a short walk to the flushing toilets and showers. The men's room had 1 flushing toilet, the women's room had 2. Both restrooms also had 2 showers. There was always 1 roll of toilet paper in each stall but we carried a roll with us to be safe. None of us had problem flushing the toilets. I only gave 4 stars instead of 5 because we were hoping my 9 year old would be able to play on the playground, but it is actually just one swing set with 3 big kid seats and 1 baby holder swing. Since the campground was completely booked, there were always kids swinging. There is a 24 hour firewood vending machine inside the gates that took credit cards which was pretty cool. You would pay $7 for a bundle of firewood. We brought up our own bundle we found from the grocery store for $4 (same size at the campgrounds). Also, the outside gates were locked at 10pm so you couldn't drive in or out after then. The gates open at 6:30 a.m., but there’s always someone there on the property you can call if you need someone to come on the campgrounds in between those times. There was a cool little general type store out of a garage called Jacks (signs were posted up when leaving the campground) a few minutes away from the campground that has better hours than the store on the property. Jack is a older gentleman with an awesome sense of humor and great deals on ice and firewood. At the grounds, we kept our food in coolers in the car and didn't have any racoon or animal problems. The bugs weren't too bad, but we did wear the mosquito repellent bracelets and had a citronella candle burning. I highly suggest bringing flashlights, extra batteries, toilet paper and bags for garbage! My family will definitely be staying here again!

Update!! Our second year camping and we encountered a hungry raccoon we named bandit :) we made sure to keep our coolers and extra items in our car overnight. Also, plastic dollar store table cloths were super helpful and we didn’t have to worry about bugs coming up between the table boards. Lastly, you must check out the Illinois River Winery!! It’s about 6 minutes away from the campground and they have more than reasonably priced tastings. There’s an outdoor area as well and you can bring your kids to sit outside too!! We had 3 kids aged 10, 9 and 8 with us. Next to the winery are sweet shops with ice cream, fudge, cupcakes and popcorn so the kids brought in ice cream from next door while we...

Reservations for spots seem to get gobbled up pretty quickly for weekend nights during the summer months. Majority of the sites on the eastern loop are well-shaded, so it wasn't at all unpleasant tenting there in the middle of summer. All sites (not counting in the youth camp area) are 30- or 50-amp; no water hookups. Both loops do have a few water pumps located throughout. Loop is a pretty narrow, one-way road, and some of the spots seem to be pretty tight. Good luck if you get stuck behind a 5th wheel backing in to one of those. Only one shower house per loop. Two shower stalls & 2 toilets (1 stall, 1 urinal in the men's) in both the men's & women's halves. These are supplemented by porta-potties and/or latrines in both loops, so the hygiene situation isn't ideal. Camp store that sells firewood, ice, and various other drinks and snacks and camping accessories you may have forgotten at home or didn't realize you needed. Hours are a little odd, particularly during the week, but it wasn't an issue for us. Firewood is able to be dispensed 24 hours a day, but it seems as though it might be cheaper to buy elsewhere nearby outside the park & bring it in (definitely advise against bringing your own from home, as you may wind up accidentally transporting some invasive pests, like emerald ash borers or whatever). No alcohol allowed = sad-face. I understand that if you allow it, that could come with a whole host of other problems, but the threats of booting, fining or arresting people for bringing it in would work just as well if applied only to people who are excessively disruptive or messy. Accustomed to seeing park rangers patrolling through at state parks in my home state, if for no other reason than to simply converse with campers, but that wasn't the case here. Two nights spent here, but only saw the rangers manning the office. 10pm quiet hours... wasn't an issue on the Thursday night we spent there, but Friday didn't seem to be enforced especially well. Gate not opening 'til 8:30am seemed weird to me, but it is possible to exit through the dump station road, so long as you don't need to get back in before...