Rock Cut State Park

This park is typical of IL State Parks. Smaller sites with varying spacing. Roads and facilities in need of repair. Good news is a major park road south in the campground has been closed for the season for resurfacing. Lots of hiking and very good fishing (so I was told by a local) in the park. Very friendly and helpful staff. I suggest the 100 Plum Grove loop for larger rigs. At $25 dollars, this park is an outstanding value.

We spend the majority of our time camping in our home state of Wisconsin, so naturally my review may be a bit biased after experiencing some of the larger parks in Illinois's northern neighbor. That being said, we came here after a booking mishap in WI, because it wasn't a terrible drive and we didn't want our planning to go to waste. The park itself is gorgeous. Absolutely HUGE. I was surprised since it's literally 1 minute off a major highway. There's no fee to get into the park, which as WI residents was new to us. We got there around 1:30 and campsite check in was 3, but we decided to check out our site. The check in staff had no problem letting us check in early on a Friday, which was nice. We booked in the Prairie View (500s) grounds. Its...not private. Our neighbors across the path were like 10 feet from us. There WAS privacy on the sides which was nice. The campsite itself was small. It was tight fitting two tents (one 8 person, one two man). Many of the large trailers were almost on the path because the sites just aren't deep. Sites are not well shaded. There was also a lot of trash left behind from previous guests, both on the site and in the woods behind the site.

We visited the camp store in the Plum Grove (100s) grounds and those sites are literally ZERO privacy...campers on top of campers...so I recommend the 400 or 500 series sites for SURE, unless you're trying to have a large party.

The playground was...rough at best. My biggest complaint was the fact that the pit toilets in the 500 series sites was IN someone's campsite. Like, we had to invade someone's space to use the bathroom. Otherwise, it's about a 5 minute walk to the hard stand bathrooms which isn't fun with kids.

Aside from the camping aspect, we had good luck fishing both lakes. We didn't hike much because it rained all day our second day, but we visited the nearby paved trail (I think it was the Powerline trail) in Boone County which was a nice walk. The construction in the middle of the park made it a challenge getting around the park, for sure. I'd like to come back when it's done because I'm sure having full access would make things a lot easier.

Where do I start? The ‘paved’ road throughout the park is a series of giant potholes. The spaces are plenty wide, but seriously short. And, they are ridiculously unlevel. Maybe if you had a small rig it might be okay, but leveling my 40’ motorhome took all my blocks and every inch of the auto levelers, and left my front end so high that my front tires were dangling and I had to use extra steps to get in. Plus the electrical service was poor. I had to have service technicians come to my spot and we even tried neighboring boxes. I eventually had to move to get working electric. But while the service guys were at my rig, two other sites saw them and showed up complaining of issues with their electricity as well. And finally, the trees are encroaching way too far over the street. Between dodging the potholes and trying to drive where the branches wouldn’t scratch up the side and/or the top of my rig, I was all over the road.
The park is pretty, for sure. But with no water and no sewer at the sites, spotty electric, and the rest mentioned above … not sure its worth it.

We stayed at site 531 over the weekend of 10/28-10/30/2022. Campground was nice, check in was easy, very friendly park staff. The site itself was nice. It was a large concrete pad, but was a bit difficult to get in with our 37’ trailer. Site was divided from neighboring site but some large bushes. Fire ring/grill was not in a great location, back corner of the pad, and too close to a large bush.

The sites are all (except handicapped sites) on the grass and well spaced. However site 101 is very sloped and I had to extend my tongue jack all the way out to get it close to level. The rest rooms are needing work and, in fact the entire park needs maintenance. At some time in the past, they invested heavily in making this a premier park, but the love is gone. Nevertheless there are lots of trails that are pleasant enough. There is NO water at the sites so you must make sure you fill your tank before you set up. No sewer either, of course. And no wi-fi, of course.

Lots of broadcast TV stations from Rockford and we had good hotspot connections for both Verizon and AT&T. We were there over the Labor Day weekend and were not disturbed by anyone. Good distance between most of the sites. If we return, we will definitely avoid #101 in Plum Grove. In fact, I observed that some of the other camping areas beside Plum Grove looked much more inviting.

The park is large , with plenty of spaces many with privacy on 3 sides . We went mid week right after July 4 and we felt like we had the place to ourselves. Downsides : not all sites are level and the bathroom with showers and water can be a distance depending on your site and could definitely be cleaned better . Overall we’ve been here twice and will stay again if in the area .

Mature trees, shaded sites, electric RV sites. Community spigots around the loops, dump station has potable water fill. Two shower houses, sign is posted with cleaning times, but they are never cleaned. Huge cobwebs above toilet stalls, shower stalls, and paper litter on the floor. Park road has potholes, no evidence of patching in a couple of years. No state employees ever in sight, just volunteers at the gate. Several occupied host sites, but no effort by the hosts to enforce noise, pets, or vehicle rules.