Little Grassy Lake is a 1,200 acres reservoir in southern Illinois, created by the damming of Little Grassy Creek, a tributary of Crab Orchard Lake and the Big Muddy River. Most of the lake is located in Williamson County, southeast of Carbondale, Illinois.
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In May a friend of mine took me kayaking at Little Grassy Lake. I wasn't aware until then that there's a rental place for kayaks and other fun things for use on the lake. Rates are relatively cheap, and they seem to have enough kayaks that they don't run out unless maybe if it's a really busy day. It was a nice day when we went, and they still had some extras left to rent. You get two single person kayaks, life jackets, and paddles for about (if I remember correctly) $13-15 for the two for about 4 hours. You can also bring your own kayak out on the lake of course.
Little Grassy is a smaller lake with a rock dam and spillway on one side, and trees on a mostly undeveloped shoreline around the rest of the lake. There are plenty of birds, turtles, fish, and other critters to view while paddling around. There are also lots of little wooded coves and other areas to check out while you're out there.
There are smaller fishing boats and leisure boats that can be out on this lake, but when we were out there it was pretty uncrowded, and relatively quiet. We were out on a Saturday morning and afternoon in gorgeous weather too. Most boaters that were out kept only a very small wake, which is always nice when you're in a kayak.
There are also several swimming areas at the lake. Some are these are private for boy scouts and other groups, but there is at least one public beach that I'm aware of known as Bum's Beach. It's popular from what I hear, but I have not been swimming at that spot. I have been swimming at one of the other locations on the lake. The water was great, and it was quiet and nice. Typical lake swimming.
There are also camping areas around the lake for what seemed like mostly RV camping. They have a lot of areas for this right on the lake, and just near it. I have not camped here, but it seemed very popular that weekend.
Overall, another great local Southern Illinois outdoor recreation gem that I highly recommend for a nice relaxing day on a smaller lake kayaking, fishing,...
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I swinmed here a couple times and enjoyed it even though its small and a bit dirty but today myself and my best friend went out and were met by extremely hateful aggressive behavior by some people out there. They yelled at us to slow down while driving thru campgrounds while we were only going 15mph. We have children and had them in the vehicle at the time and would never speed thru there. The gentleman (if you could call him that) ran after her screaming at her and being aggressive and then they informed us that we couldn't swim there. Well that's fine with me. I'll never go there again nor ever tell anyone...
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This is an amazing RV and tent campground near Carbondale, IL! A hidden gem! It's beautifully set on a large clean lake that offers a marina, canoe/kayak rentals and a designated swimming area. The campground is full of beautiful trees and is well kept. Great for walks and our dogs loved it there! All the staff is exceptionally nice and accommodating, especially Lori, who goes by the nickname Turtle. She will go out of her way to help with any of your needs. We are making it our...
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