Starved Rock State Park

This was a really nice campground. Person at the gate was super nice and funny. We came without a reservation and lots of availability. Site was nice and level. No water, just electric but there was a spigot available not far from our site to fill. The only bad thing was the mens bathroom was awful but didn't need to use it as we have our own. I think $25 is a really great price for a paved site with electric hook up. The sites were fairly far apart but with nothing between to screen. We stayed in the east loop. The west loop at the end was very wooded and private.
Like a previous person said, the campground is a little farther past the entrance to the main park. Lots of trails to explore in the park. No entrance fee to the park.
We would definitely stay here again.

Stayed here in mid August 2023. We were in the area for hiking at the State Park. This is a State Park property, but it's a short drive to the actual park. We were a little concerned following the GPS to the camp ground because it does NOT feel like a State Park area. We were driving down the middle of a cornfield, then all of a sudden there was the campground.

There's a relatively late check-in/check-out time of 3:00 PM. The campground host was very helpful during check-in. He asked if we needed water, and suggested the best place to fill. This brings me to my first "Not so great" thing.

There are several water fountains with water fill availability throughout the park, but there's no way to get your rig out of the way to fill at them. You have to legit block everyone's path to fill at these locations. The only station semi-out of the way is at the dump station, which is designed for being on the way OUT of the park. We had to make a rather sharp turn from the entry gate to the dump station, then again to enter the park after filling. Not a HUGE deal, but it definitely feels like water fill was an afterthought.

The park has two main loops. One loop as little to no shade, the other has a lot of shade. We opted for a lot of shade, and got site 88. This is a back-in 30 Amp site. It's not very level, and we felt it was a little small. After leveling the best I could, I had to park the truck basically next to the camper, resulting in very little room to move around.

The site had a decent fire pit and camp side. The electric post was at the rear of the site. While there is a lot of tree cover, there wasn't much separation between our site and the one behind us. Wasn't an issue, but if privacy is what you're seeking, site 88 isn't the right one for you.

There is a very small camp store. I'm not sure what the hours actually are. We saw it open only once during our stay. There is a 24 HR fire wood vending machine, but it's $9 a bundle. We got ours at a nearby gas station for $7 a bundle.

The shower house, at least the one near the loop we were on, was disgusting. I'm not very picky when it comes to shower houses at State parks especially, but everyone has their limits. The smell and filth would make not showering a better option.

The website should be a little more clear that none of the trails are near the campground. It wasn't just us who thought they may be, as we were asked by a couple other campers about it as well. It's a very short drive to the state park, but the name of th3 campground is confusing.

All in all, not a bad option if your visiting the State Park. Just make sure you have everything you need, and maybe buy firewood before you get there to save a few dollars.

The host (Mac) is super friendly and informative. Our site was HUGE (#40) and had one tree for some shade. The site has a number of large, long divots as though someone drove a heavy truck through the site when it was wet. This was a trip hazard all weekend. The lawn wasn’t cut but we stomped it down. The bathrooms were covered with daddy long leg spiders (not exaggerating, the walls were covered!) so we ended up at the local Love’s for a shower. Aside from Starved Rock Park, there’s not a lot to do but we made the best of it and got some much needed rest.

I've camped at starved rock countless times, but haven't for at least five years. This past weekend I took our travel, trailer, and RPod with my 14 year old son for some bonding time about 30% of the total sites were occupied, which is not surprising, given the chilly weather. With the weather dropping below freezing, I had already winterized our camper and relied on the shower, building for toilet and shower access. On one occasion, the toilet paper in the single stall available in the shower house was out of toilet paper, and there were a dozen or more small worm like creatures crawling all over the walls of the shower stalls.

The campground has both wooded and more open sites. Depending on your site restrooms and showers can be a long walk. Site 63 is a nice one on the edge of an open area and with relatively short walks to the shower building. One of the best things about this park is the trails. There are many and they are very popular. East Utica is a nice town near by with many options.

This campground was full for the weekend. Unfortunately, we made a reservation near the entrance/exit of the campground so there was a lot of traffic during the day. But, it slowed way down in the evening. The park was quiet even though it was full. Just a heads-up - the gate closes at 10pm, so if you intend to be out late checking out Utica or Ottawa, I recommend leaving a car at the camp store and calling an Uber.

Starved Rocks State Park - Utica, IL. I *Really* wanted to like this park. Another traveling friend went a while back and I put it on my bucket list. Seriously disappointed. Not only was the loop we were in incredibly unkempt (site 88), but it looked downright abandoned. The bathhouse was dated (which isn’t necessarily bad), but it looked like it was only halfway cleaned. The larger shower stall in the women’s had dog hair all over the tile and floor. LOTS of dog hair. I read another review talking about the water button in the shower (which we’ve encountered before and don’t mind). They said they timed the water flow at 20 seconds before it cut off. I think that’s being generous. And there IS no temperature control. You get what they select. Our site was littered, the previous camper had thrown their food garbage (egg shells, etc) to the back of the site. And the fire pit was chock full of soda boxes, an empty foil box, several plastic bottles and the plastic wrap that came around them, cigarette butts, cigarette boxes and more. There is absolutely zero policing by the camp hosts. The only time we saw them was when they rode around on their golf cart attaching cards to the site post for the next camper. And they didn’t have to get off the cart to do that. The day before we left, we got ambitious and walked not only our loop, but around to the other loop. It looked like a totally different campground. Two hosts were set up, the grass was cut, the sites looked maintained. There were actual vault toilet buildings instead of a row of “seasonal” port-o-potties. This kind of neglect was reflected at the park itself as well. We attempted several of the hikes, but the trails were littered, there was a dead deer near French Canyon that had been there probably a couple days, any garbage cans that were available had scattered garbage strewn around them like the person didn’t even care if they got it in the can or not. Not to mention all the graffiti and vandalism that ran throughout the park. I was told this was the states most visited park - and if that’s actually true, I’d hate to see the lack of care at the others.

Came out just to get away for a couple of days and were not disappointed. Although there seemed to be plenty of open spots, the reservation system only provided a single site for the days I selected. It turned out alright, but there were other open sites I would've preferred. The campground was clean and very quiet. Showers are OK, could've been a little cleaner and could use an update. Camp hosts were very friendly both at checkin and during the stay. There is a 24hr firewood vending machine, but each bundle cost $9 (ouch); we did not purchase any. The park itself is very nice with some easy hiking trails to interesting canyons and waterfalls.

Came out just to get away for a couple of days and were not disappointed. Although there seemed to be plenty of open spots, the reservation system only provided a single site for the days I selected. It turned out alright, but there were other open sites I would've preferred. The campground was clean and very quiet. Showers are OK, could've been a little cleaner and could use an update. Camp hosts were very friendly both at checkin and during the stay. There is a 24hr firewood vending machine, but each bundle cost $9 (ouch); we did not purchase any. The park itself is very nice with some easy hiking trails to interesting canyons and waterfalls.