We planned a weekend with friends to camp and go tubing down the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River June 11-13, 2021. Part of the river, and where we’d tube, is in the Kickapoo State Recreation Area.
I went a day earlier than the gang so I could canoe down the river on Friday with my brother-in-law Steve.
This weekend was HOT and we were under a full on cicada invasion all weekend long. They were so loud and annoying, non stop. But, that didn’t deter our great time!!
The Campground
The campground at Kickapoo State Recreation Area is really nice with 101 ‘Class A’ sites meaning they have vehicular access, 30 or 50-amp electricity at the site, and showers\toilets available – all for $20/night. Generally there will be a picnic table and fire ring, and a gravel or concrete surface to park on. The campground also offers 64 ‘Class B’ sites which means they have access to showers and toilets, but there is no electricity. These sites will also likely have a picnic table and fire ring. Note there is no alcohol allowed in the campground.
About half the Class A sites are reserveable, the rest are first come, first served. For this trip we’d have our 44′ Class A coach, and a friend would bring their camper so we wanted to be close to each other. I set off to reserve sites for us both. When you’ve got a large coach like ours, which also requires 50-amp service, you have to vigilant to actually get a spot that works. While we can run some things on 30-amp, knowing it would likely be hot we didn’t want to risk it.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources campgrounds all moved to a new reservation system at ExploreMoreIL. When they first migrated every site was listed as having 50-amp and 40′ long. I was skeptical, so Karen and I took a drive over there one day with the dogs to check it out. I’m glad we did!!! We also used this as a great excuse to visit a nearby winery we really enjoy: Sleepy Creek Vineyards.
What we discovered within moments of talking to the Campground Hosts is that there are 23 50-amp sites, 5 of which are ADA only. So we drove around to get an idea of which sites we’d fit into and has a good ‘friend’ site nearby.
The lower level sites along the water (87-101) are nice, and there are some 50-amp pull-thrus. These of course always book first as they are the most desirable. However, you should note that the shower house is up the hill, and you’d most likely end up driving to it, there is just a small toilet house between sites 99 and 100 (with a REALLY bright light above it).
We managed to reserve site 99, but couldn’t get another site nearby for our friends, so I booked them into 46 and figured we’d just keep trying.
When I arrived at the campground Thursday afternoon I talked to the host about what 50-amp walk-up sites were still available. They showed me on the map, so I set off to check them out. I ultimately chose site 41 which provided a large enough level spot for our coach. When our friends arrived the next day they were able to get site 37 across from us. We got lucky, but this was my first experience with the campground, so maybe it’s a weekend only location?
Amenities
The campground hosts were SUPER nice people, very friendly and accomodating. They greet you with a smile and answer all your questions while checking you in quickly.
There is a 2-lane dump station right after check in, with a dumpster and potable water. One of two shower houses is located nearby and is the closest for the tent sites (102-153) and camper sites (87-101). This was being remodeled when we arrived and opened on Saturday of our stay. The crew worked late into the night to get it completed and open for use. Overall the shower houses were very clean. The other shower house is located on the opposite side of the campground (near sites 43 and 73 on the map), and contained 2 shower stalls, a toilet stall and a urinal (men’s), so easily reaches capacity fairly quickly as popular times.
There’s a decent little playground for the kiddos, and the hosts put out Bags sets near the office for general use.
Great Campground
Overall this is a great campground in a great location. Kickapoo State Recreation Area is home to so many things to do: Hiking trails, Mountain Biking trails, and plenty of water for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and tubing.
I’m looking forward to heading back to this area in the fall when the cicada invasion is over and the weather cools down, hopefully to check out the hiking and biking trails.
The only real downsides to the campground are the lack of reservable sites, but that’s probably only specific to our ‘problem’ of having a larger RV. Second is the massive speed bumps throughout the park, they’re pretty gnarly, even going really slow.
