Trail of Tears State Forest — Attraction in Illinois

amazing camping and forest area. Only reason for lack of a star is the reservation system is tricky. Look online first before you self-register or you could register for a spot already taken. They don't reserve online 3 days in advance. So if the site is open the next 3 days you should be good to self-register there at the barn. Also, make sure you go to the barn first. You are not going to want to make a lot of trips around the campground (forest) road. It is a long winding road that takes forever to drive through. Insanely beautiful camping though. You can barely hear any of the other campsites. Make sure to get a site with a lean-to. I was at n-7 which doesn't have any shelter and the trees are so tall a fallen branch would definitely do some damage if not kill a person. Go and enjoy this...

A nice glimpse of what the forest in this part of the country looked like before our country expanded west of the Appalachians. Pleasant picnic areas. Clean, mowed and cool in the heat of summer. Campsites are well dispersed, and mainly on the ridge top, with decent airflow on summer nights. On those cooler nights search for the campsites with three-sided shelters (built by the CCC) that include fireplaces. During your visit be sure to reflect on the name of the state forest and the meaning behind it. We must pay attention to all aspects of history and make sure to improve the future...

My son and I go camping in Southern Illinois every year and always try to pick new areas. This was our first time at Trail of Tears, we didn't get to hike and explore as much as we normally do, because I currently have a broken foot. But we did enjoy our time at the campground. We rented campsite N1 which was perfect for us, because we like to hammock camp. Campsites were very good sized and...