This is a very quiet campground with good hookups and a country setting. Check in was friendly and…read morecourteous. They do have bathrooms and a coin laundry but we didn't use either of them. The town of Bushnell was only about three miles away with a Dollar General located there. There are several restaurants and gas and diesel are available too. Campground accepts Passport America. We would stay here again.

From the owner: Campground Permanent and Overnight Sites…read moreFishing Land Activities Water Activities History: Timberview Lakes Campground, in Bushnell, Illinois, is the area's leading campground serving Bushnell and surrounding areas. We are a campground offering permanent and overnight sites. We also have fishing as well as land and water activities available. For your next camping trip, contact Timberview Lakes Campground in Bushnell.

Review Visit: March 7th, 2012…read more After a whirlwind trip in Florida, I came back to Illinois and kept up the traveling. You could say traveling is my... forte. My friend Tim and I decided to check out what Fort Creve Coeur had to offer. Never having been in the area, I parked in a seemingly random parking lot that had a walk up point to a trail. I remember there being a small monument or plinth with an inscription on it. Referring to my photos, there was also a rock with an inscription dedicated to the fort. After we spent a few minutes reading the inscriptions and surveying the area, we hit the hiking trail. What a trail it was. The trail was a lot harder than I expected due to the constant elevation changes. It was a winding and roller coaster hike. After thinking we were about to get lost, we emerged to a clearing that lead to the fort itself. The fort was closed to public access. We could only observe the inside by looking through the spacing the logs provided on the front door. The interior of the fort seemed to represent the time period perfectly; that time period being in the ballpark of 1680. Looking in to the history of the fort, it seems to have been destroyed shortly after being constructed. You can read about it below via the Wikipedia link. Following and looking in to the Facebook and website page, it seems like they host some events. I haven't had the time to attend one, but they sound fun. If the rain ever stops, I would like to revisit during a time they are open and see the inside of the fort. Once I get to do that, I will update this post with some photos from the interior. Funny story... once we got done exploring the fort and the surrounding area, we realized that there was a parking lot next to the fort. We laughed at that fact since we spent a solid chunk of time hiking up to the fort. So, do yourself a favor if you aren't a fan of hiking and locate the nearby parking lot.

Fort Creve Coeur, in Creve Coeur, Illinois, is a historical re-creation of the winter, 1680,…read morequarters of the French explorer LaSalle, who went on from this site to explore the Mississippi River and who was eventually shot by his own crew in what is now Texas. The park and re-creation are probably near to the actual fort site. The re-creation itself will be of interest not only to history buffs, but also to civil and military engineers. There is a small museum/gift shop that offers some background about the town of Creve Coeur and the surrounding area, as well as a bit on LaSalle and his expedition. More about the expedition itself and their time in the Illinois country would be very welcome. The fort itself is in a neglected condition: all the labor and staff are volunteer, and the group that seeks to preserve the fort and its history operates almost entirely on donations from visitors. The fort site-museum/gift shop is open from 10 to 5 Tuesday through Saturday. There is no admission charge, but donations are very welcome. There are interpretive events featured at the site a couple times a year. The fort's website (www.ftcrevecoeur.org) has more information on these. This is a site that might disappoint people who are hoping to have a lot of detailed historical re-creation, but for those who enjoy letting their imaginations fill in the details, a visit to the site could be very rewarding. Young children probably won't be impressed (there is playground equipment near the museum/gift shop). The site might be best for more mature children. The site appears to be pet-friendly: a father, son, and their off-leash dog were just leaving the fort when we were about to enter. The site offers camping. A state nature preserve adjoins the fort site. There is a trail through the preserve, but the trail is not well-maintained as of this writing (8/2013).

The cabin me, my dad, and my sister are staying in is very small and it had said on the webite it…read morecould fit six people. there is a bunk bed and a couch that is very uncomfortable to sit or lay on. You can feel the wood through the beds and they are very claustrophobic and not very long for people that are taller that 4 ft. There is a hole in the floor that the carpet is covering up and its easy to trip over. There is also something under the carpet that you can trip over. Its very dirty and I would never recommend this for anyon.

expensive. maybe St Louis / Chicago people don't think so but us ordinary folks about chocked on…read moreprice. Then the seasonal thought was fun to play their music extremely loud all weekend. spoke to office they obviously didn't care.

Shaded tree line most of the sites with nice grass pads along level gravel pads, very nice indeed…read more This is a wonderful place to stop and spend a few days to rest along the highways of mid America. The campground has full amenities for the kids of all ages. Friendly staff and well kept facility.

What a WONDERFUL find along our trip!! This campground is a new KOA Journey, and you can tell the…read moreowners are VERY proud of their property! I was especially impressed with their mens room bath and shower! My wife and I were on the road for 28 days and THIS was the cleanest and largest shower I had seen after traveling 6600 miles. We discovered that KOA's have three levels: Journey, Holiday, & Resort. My wife and I enjoyed this Journey as it is the closest to "real camping" with just enough to relax without feeling like you're in some sort of "Disney Resort". I would highly recommend this campground and will stay here again if I ever get the chance!!

Advertisement says 25 a night. We got charged 30 for broken rotted picnic tables, unkempt campsite…read morewith no pad, closed restrooms, open restrooms were filthy.

Nice campground here, medium lake a great outdoors experience for walking, bringing pets, running…read moregetting that exercise in. I overall liked it.

Sand Ridge State Forest is a place to clear your mind and enjoy the beauty of our outdoors! The…read moreforest will forever be my drug of choice to escape from reality, even if it's just for a short walk making conversation with myself!

Wow what a golden find in Illinois. I usually don't camp in…read morethis state because it seems like one big cornfield, but now finding this place about an hour from my home might make this an annual thing. So after our last treacherous back country camping trip in Colorado, my friends and I decided it was time for some Glamping close to home for Labor Day weekend. We found this place... A man-made forest (largest one in IL) that has beautiful pines, oaks, fungi and cacti all growing next to each other. The camp sites were clean and well maintained. Plenty of sites and hiking trails. There are fire pits for BBQ or bonfires, picnic tables, trees to hang your hammock, & stores near by for beer runs. There are no showers, but there are plenty of water spigots and bathrooms. The camp rangers were informative and friendly. They came by daily to pick up cash for the sites... which is soooo convenient. They recommend making reservations online but you could probably just show up and find a spot. We had a group of 8 and split 3 connecting sites for the long weekend. The entire weekend we probably only saw 2 other campers.

Review Visit: October 14th, 2015…read more First impressions are hard to change... If you live in Illinois at all, you know of the budget cuts, budget cuts, tax increases, budget cuts. Jubilee College State Park is one of those that has been hit by budget cuts. Decided to check this place and Jubilee Cafe out in the same day. My first time there, I encountered a few areas that were closed due to inadequate staffing. So a lot of places have become overgrown and broken down. This state park is beautiful and it's a shame that it is in such a bad shape. While looking up some info on it to write this short blog, it appears that after 3 years they finally have a (volunteer?) Park Ranger and a volunteer group to help clean the place up and make it usable. Having never been here, I tried quite a few different places that I thought were openings to go hiking, but I really never could tell what was what since everything was overgrown. Now if this volunteer group is helping out and making the place a bit friendlier, I would love to go back and check it out again. Maybe even update this blog post. I just hope I don't have to mark it 'Closed'. It fills me with such sorrow that beautiful recreational places like these are cut short on budgets and fall into disuse. I won't get into politics, but I hope they figure something out and restore this park and all the other closed/understaffed to their rightful natural beauty.

So many great memories of Jubilee State Park. Went there many times as a kid and we had our annual…read moreChurch Picnics there which were a ton of fun. The place is a gem and truly beautiful with fantastic hiking and biking. I recently discovered the "South Trails" for Mountain Biking. Some super sketch single track in areas and you will find a ton of crossover bridges, many with only a 2X4 allowing to cross the copious small creeks that meander throughout the woods. Decent elevation and tons of roots, rocks and obstacles to keep you on your toes...or pedals as it were. You don't want to miss this I will be back for sure next time i'm down visiting the fam!

As they say it's a postage size campground BUT the hospitality is ON POINT! We are headed further…read morenorth in IL and just needed a place to rest our heads one night. The grounds are ran by 2 brothers and their beautiful lab Wriggley there is no pet "area" but PLENTY of space to walk your dogs

They saw me go by as it was dark and I didn't see it, not real well marked but what a great spot…read moreonce I got in there. They flagged me down, guided me into my spot. They charge by what you use so I just did electric $30. Friendly, helpful and made sure I had everything I needed.

Nothing like it is advertised as. She told me to not pay through VRBO and to pay her directly…read more Was not a good idea. We went one year and my kids wanted to go back the next year. Reluctantly, I paid Amy, the owner the entire amount for a 4 day stay for June 2021. Two days before we were to go to Norris, she emailed me and cancelled our vacation there. I have taken her to court, many added expenses, and will not ever get a penny back. She is not a corporation, therefore she seems to be able to do whatever she can. We are on a long list of people she owes. She even owes back taxes. THIS IS A SCAM!!! AMY IS A THIEF!!! She needs to be stopped from ruining other peoples plans!

Norris canceled my reservation shortly before my booking was set to start. They gave no reason…read more VRBO did refund the cost but now my family is left with only a few days to try to find alternate arrangements for our vacation.