Horseshoe Lake State Park — Attraction in Pontoon Beach

There is so much Poison ivy in mosquitoes and bugs out here that it's insane.

I stayed out here for six nights and I have poison ivy and so many mosquito bites that my skin is reacting to it. I literally use citronella candles deep woods off dryer sheets and anything at all to try to keep them away.

It is relentless out there.. Honestly this camping site should be free in my opinion. They have water that's not safe to drink, non-potable water and they have no electric. The bathrooms are absolutely terrible and full of mosquitoes to the point it's like the movie birds.

And they get mad at you if you leave the door open to get the mosquitoes out while you're using the restroom. They come by and they close the door and act like it's a problem.

It's just crazy to me that they don't try to fog that campground for mosquitoes.

You could literally catch a disease or have medical problems out here if your immune system or body is weak in any way..

So if you have underlying health problems you might want to stay away from this campground because it's dangerous to say the least.

And the only thing the park ranger DNR guy does is go around in the morning and make sure everybody's paid their $8 to camp at the campground that's not even worth $2 a night.

The lake is disgusting and not swimmable. And even at the lake at night is where the mosquitoes are worse. You could pull up in your car on the shore right there on the road and they will cover your car like crazy.

I'm just really disappointed. Honestly feel like I want my money back because the whole time there I was fighting mosquitoes 24/7 and that's it.

It's not just at night or when the Sun goes down it's during the day it's all day everyday, gnats and mosquitoes during the day and mosquitoes ×10 during the night.

Not to mention people drive through all throughout the night who aren't even camping there.

I've been to a lot of campgrounds and I've never seen a campground with a mosquito...

The horseshoe lake state park is located near highway 111 in Madison county. The lake drive in the park covering from the park boat ramp to the begining of the park trail offers an amazing view of the lake and the marsh land throughout the year. A wide variety of birds can be seen in the lake. The walkers Island contains a beautiful grassland which remains fresh and green even during the cold winter season. Although, the lake can freeze over but not completely. Therefore, it is better to check before one decides to stand on the frozen lake. Several hiking trails wandering through the park can be a great place to burn some calories. Also, there are arrangements for BBQ in different parts of the park. In addition, a beautiful view of the St. Louis skyline can be enjoyed from the park boat ramp site.

Important information:

-The park closes at 10 PM opening at runrise (campers can stay overnight ofcourse). -Mosquitoes can be a real problem after sunset specially by the lakeside. -Campground can be accessed only after...

I pulled in at 9p.m. use the RV waste station...(dump site) Dropped the payment in the night drop box... "BUT" DURING THE TIME I WAS WAITING FOR MY TANKS TO DUMP AND RINSE I PAUSED... Listening in the distance,turning all my lights off...my eye adjusted to the area...I could still see what I was doing,and hear all of God's nocturnal creatures screeching their preaching to their own kind...The bullfrogs being the most noteable...I had to take some listening time and enjoy the speeches from their screeches I haven't heard in a long city work life time...great place to camp with a fresh watermelon...and no Nats with right temperature.....I did...maaannn set melon on the table and shew...off went the attempted attitude we had no knife.... of went screching my wife... BYE BYE HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY STORY...STILL A GREAT VISIT TO HORSESHOE LAKE...MANY MORE TRIPS HERE THIS YEAR I...