Fox Bluff Cottages & RV — Local services in Oswego Township

After three seasons as seasonal campers at Fox Bluff, we feel it's important to share our honest feedback. It’s worth noting that negative comments from long-term guests are often discouraged, with reports of requests to remove unfavorable reviews or leave the campground. We arrived at Fox Bluff in May 2022, shortly after my husband’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis. We were looking for a place to escape from daily life. While we recognized that the campground offered basic amenities—gravel roads, a playground, and plans for additional amenities —we were willing to overlook these shortcomings for a peaceful getaway. We chose a site facing the river and invested considerable time and money transforming it into our happy place. We cleared old trash, satellite dishes, metal rods, and extensive poison ivy. We laid sod to create a lawn, built a deck, and added a fire pit. Our efforts resulted in a beautiful site overlooking the river. Fast forward three seasons: the roads remain in poor condition, riddled with potholes that create dust and flood when it rains. While the campground claims to be upgrading, we’ve mostly seen more sites being added. Areas behind the playground are dangerous, filled with abandoned trailers, boats, and trash that attract unsupervised teenagers. Projects started and were just left unfinished. The lack of tree maintenance is concerning; rotted trees have either fallen into the river or onto trailers and have been left there. Additionally, poison ivy is on many trees, affecting several guests. Staffing has declined significantly, with most employees terminated. There is a person managing the front office, but they are never there, making them rarely accessible and sociable to only a select few. Guests are often left to call a phone number for assistance, whether for accessing the front gates or requesting basic supplies like hand soap in the bathrooms. The pool and hot tub struggle to accommodate the volume of guests. The mix of seasonal and transient campers frequently results in noise disturbances, with loud music echoing late into the night and no effective means to address these issues. The absence of on-site security has led to a chaotic atmosphere, as rules go unenforced. Text messages and or emails to management often go unanswered. Although there is a Facebook page for seasonal guests to ask questions, management’s responses are infrequent, leaving guests reliant on each other for answers. More recently, we were informed of changes to the river sites without any prior notice. The beautiful river views we had enjoyed will now be replaced by trailers, with narrower sites and closer neighbors. This change had been accompanied by increased rates and a rushed timeline with no apparent consideration for guests’ needs, especially for those who are older or disabled. The lack of support for helping guests move their belongings-combined with the threat of fees if the move was not completed on time- had left many anxious and frustrated, cutting our season short. Additionally, we were surprised to discover that we were paying $200 more for our RV insurance due to it being located at Fox Bluff. We had high hopes for Fox Bluff. Unfortunately, it felt more like a campground charging resort prices, lacking adequate staff and security. If the owners genuinely listened to the needs and desires of their guests, they could one day transform Fox Bluff into a true resort. Having a DJ and food trucks every weekend does not equate to...

For the record, I've seen the owners of this establishment attempt to disparage the poor reviews, but my wife and I are professionals, in our 40's, have a new, well maintained travel trailer and Toyota Tundra. We keep our trailer and grounds very clean and are quiet neighbors. We left after two weeks, cutting my business project short so we could leave early. I reserved a place here for a month back in March of this year, after reading the reviews and considering they might have been another case of bad perspective. I read about trash not cleaned up, hazardous objects in the grounds, and constant noise from construction work. (Not to mention construction vehicles blazing through the roads far faster than 5mph) After staying there less than two weeks, my wife and I couldn't take it any more and left. The reviews are right. When staying there, we felt it to be a dingy and poorly managed. The entrance has a small unstaffed building where you must call the number from the paper pasted on the door. After that you get in by a license plate scanner (which is nice). The woods have scrap wood everywhere. Trash, unfinished lots, and in the back of the complex there are two buildings left partially built. In my own site, the pvc pipe from the old electrical mast was left cut off at 3" from the dirt. Had I or my wife stepped on it we'd have been injured. They advertise that they're a place for children and families, but no one can run freely in the grass without possibly stepping on something sharp. They don't accept packages. When asked about it, I was abruptly (and very pompously) informed by one of the owners how much experience they had in campsite management, followed by his long barrage of reasons why he was right- followed by him ending the call abruptly after. The gist I get is they're looking for a more passive investment, rather than a "resort" that needs a staff. There's an RV storage portion of the park with travel trailers lined up, right next to the dumpsters, right next to the pond. You really just feel like you're in a piece of land that was once a decent place to camp, possibly in the 90's, and now it's just an attempt at a passive investment. It is not a resort. Resorts have staff, and they're attentive to the needs of their patrons. Aside from the debris found In my site during my arrival, or the three washers/dryers for over 1000 sites, of all of the other items mentioned here- I just think this place deserves better owners- or- they need to increase their staff and take care of it. I truly don't think many of the projects they're working on are safe in the current condition they're in- not for children or dogs at least. Not to mention the trash throughout the place. I'll never stay there again. I've been all over the country and in other countries as well, and this was among the...

This park is as good as it gets in Chicagoland.

Pool, hot tub, game room, laundry room, basketball court, volleyball court, gated entrance with plate reader, 4 private ponds to fish and play in, Fox River access for more fishing and boat play, and MILES of hiking/biking/jogging trails when you factor in the 150 acre forest preserve directly connected to the RV resort. The resort also hosts a couple of cookouts and get together every season!

Management and their employees do a great job of maintaining order. They are all very responsive and will go out of their way to make sure you are happy. I've seen them happily do things like add gravel to lots, move campers to campsites they prefer better, back in campers for people that are uncomfortable doing so, and fix frozen water lines in the bitter cold! You will often see the resort owner himself getting his hands dirty tending to things around the park. I personally find that reassuring and it gives me a little more peace of mind leaving my $50k rig parked here if work calls me away and I'm gone for weeks at a time.

I've never had an issue with noise, people being rowdy, things going missing from my truck or anything of that manner. I have stayed here for parts of the last 3 seasons and each time I come back the park has improved upon when I left.

I will stay here everytime I am working in the Chicagoland area.

Edit: I wanted to include this personal story that attests to how great of people are at Fox Bluff

I had a real big emergency a couple weeks back where I had to leave for about a week and i wasnt able to bring my dogs who were in my camper at Fox Bluff.

I was able to get my aunt and grandmother to agree to pick up my dogs from my camper but there was 2 problems. They did not have gate access to the resort and they have never been to my camper before.

The only people who would be able to help would be if someone at the resort answers my calls at 730-8pm on a Monday night.

I had to reach out to one of the resort employees, Jeremy, for help. Jeremy went above and beyond for me, my dogs, and my family.

My aunt and grandma are both elderly and have poor sight. They didn't get to the resort until about 9pm so it was dark. Jeremy patiently waited at the gate for them and then guided them back to my lot. He then unlocked the door to my camper for them because they are both unfamiliar with campers.

Considering it was about 730 pm when I first reached out to him if he hadn't answered his phone I would have understood.

He went above and beyond and is another reason I'll always stay...