Crystal Springs Campground — Hotel in Fairbury

A beautiful campground with potential—but definitely a bit sketchy.

Our group of four Overland-style rigs stopped here on our return trip from the Badlands. The location itself is stunning, with wide open skies and an unforgettable sunset. Unfortunately, the overall experience was tainted by a few uncomfortable factors.

The campground loop felt more like the Daytona 500 at times, with local teens racing through in loud vehicles, bass thumping and exhaust roaring. It wasn’t just disruptive—it made the area feel chaotic and unsafe. We also witnessed what appeared to be a couple of questionable “transactions” among locals, which added to the unease.

While we were debating whether to pack up and move on, a local sheriff’s deputy pulled up. We had just learned that the town no longer has its own police department, so his presence was reassuring. He was incredibly kind and welcoming, and after chatting with him for a few minutes, we felt a bit more comfortable staying the night. His timing couldn’t have been better.

The bathhouse, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired. After a week of boondocking, we were really looking forward to a proper shower—but the facility was so poorly maintained that we opted to wait until the next campground. The fact that they just stack 10 rolls of toilet paper in the stalls seemed to say, “We don’t plan to clean this any time soon.”

In short, this campground has real potential. The natural setting is fantastic, but it clearly lacks proper oversight and regular maintenance. With better management—or even a concessionaire—this could be a top-tier destination for travelers. Until then, it’s a bit...

The bathrooms were disgusting. Traffic was in and out all night. There wasn't a campground host the entire 2 weeks we stayed. There were sketchy people that frequented the campground all hours of the night. I am a travel nurse and was awakened by 2 men pounding on my camper door. They pounder so hard that it shook our camper. We will not go back there again. We also found out a drug deal went bad out there a few years ago and a guy was shot to death. Not a...

BE WARNED: Park itself is nice but 0/10 recommend the camp ground. I think the good reviews are for the park/fishing/playground. Avoid staying overnight here. Multiple interactions with the appearance of drug deals. People FLYING through the campground with no regard for kiddos playing. Absolutely no security. One of the worst campground showers, clean enough but one of the showers doesn’t even have a door. No soap for the...