South Marcum Campground

We enjoyed our stay at this sprawling and beautifully maintained park. Our kids enjoyed some fishing and we loved seeing the deer pop in and out of the forest. We only regret not staying longer than an overnight. We had such a peaceful nights stay and being IL residents ourselves we are disappointed to not have seen it sooner! The staff is incredibly informative and kind and the spot was pretty level where we stayed! We absolutely recommend!

This Corps of Engineers campground is a jewel. We stayed here twice, both on our way out on a western camping swing and on our way back to Georgia. The campground is spread out over several ridges on Rend Lake and many campsites have lake views. Some of the walk in tent sites are right on the water as are a few of the RV sites. The thing a person needs to watch here is the mix of electric only and full hook up sites. They are pretty easy to spot in the reservation system as the full hookups are twice the price of the electric only. (twice the price is not bad when you are talking $26 vs $13) This being Corp of Engineers does accept the America the Beautiful pass and it gives ½ off the price for seniors. What a deal! Uses recreation.gov for reservations. We loved sites 70, 72, and 74 as they are very level and close to a bathhouse. Some of the sites are not as level as one would like but are workable if you have proper leveling equipment. There are deer and turkey wandering the campground in the early morning and late afternoon. This place is close enough to the interstate for an overnighter, but nice enough for a week's stay with the boat if you are of a mind to do a longer stay. Some road noise from the interstate is experienced but just a hum when sitting out outside your camper, never enough to hinder sleep. Bath houses are clean and there are enough that it is never a long walk to the potty. We stayed here in early and late June of 2023. Highly recommended for overnight or a fishing long weekend!

We made a reservation using the online system only about 4 hours before we pulled in. Only one full hookup site was left so we made sure to reserve. There were many signs all over saying “Advance Reservations required” so not sure if we could have just pulled up to the gate house without one.

The campground is beautiful! Very clean, quiet, and each space is paved with a concrete picnic table and benches and campfire ring. Also, they have plenty of space around them so you don’t feel like you’re packed in. The kids immediately booked it down to the lake and hopped in. Lakeshore is very rocky, so beware of that. Saw a family of mink!

We were just passing through on our way south but will absolutely stay here again if we come through again!

Camped 5/25/23 (Thur). Elec only site. $18/night is full price. This campground is really nice with multiple loops and large sites. The biking trail is awesome. There is a main bathhouse, but also bathrooms with showers in various loops. When we arrived, I noticed the Recreation Area sign and figured it'd be super busy. Going into the Memorial Day weekend, it was. The campground was full of families, and a lot of campers had boats. The long pads accommodate extra cars and boats.

Our site was near the water, and we could see the lights of I-57 traffic across the lake (at night). The I-57 traffic noise never stopped, and we heard trains as well. Where we were, there were kids yelling, but it was mainly families having fun. So no biggie... We just prefer a lower key campground. This was an overnighter, and at $9 half price, we'd stay here again for an overnighter, just for the convenience to I-57. Probably would pick a site farther away from the lake and I-57, or chose a CG on the other side of Rend Lake.

We stopped here for a quick overnight in our 36ft Class A. It was a few miles off Hwy 57 on paved roads. We picked site 3 as it was pretty level. The sites in that area all looked to be 65-70 ft long. All well spaced with trees and grass, picnic tables, fire pits and lantern hooks with 50amp electric. No water at the sites but potable water spigot near the dump station. Outside the rig you could hear the hmmm of the interstate and occasional distant train, not loud enough to impact my sleep. We saw deer, turkeys, toads, robins, cardinals and an indigo bunting! This would be a great place to spend a few days, there are bike trails and hiking trails with a pond and lake to explore. There was also a Walmart close by.

We needed an overnight stop and were planning to just stay in a parking lot or truck stop when we made a spontaneous decision to pull off the interstate and check out the Rend Lake area. We are so glad we did!

We spent one night in South Marcum Campground. This is a COE campground and with our senior pass we paid $8 for an electric only site. There are electric and water sites, as well as a limited number of full hookup sites. We chose this site because it overlooks Rend Lake.

The sites include concrete picnic tables in good shape, and fire rings with an attached grill. The parking pads are paved, and the cooking/sitting area is gravel and each site has a large grassy area surrounding it.

Driving into the campground we saw deer, turkey, and groudhogs. The campground is quiet except for the sound of birdsongs.

There are bathhouses situated throughout the campground but we did not need to visit them. We also spotted a nice playground. There is a wide, paved bike and walking trail throughout the campground that I wish we'd had time to explore. Maybe next time.

The staff members in the registration building are friendly and efficient. Every part of the campground seems to be meticulously cared for.

We will definitely be returning for another visit here!

Stayed here on a Thursday night early May so lots of open slots. Right on the huge lake. Clean and groomed open areas. Sites are far apart and almost all with shade. Our site was slanted, as are others, but many are flat. Saw a few lone star ticks, and a few mosquitoes, but it’s a wooded area near a lake. Bathrooms are new and clean with nice showers. Hope to be back.