Going against the grain here a bit. Pros: -Place is clean. Very clean. Even the water looks clean. -Decent life guard coverage provides adequate safety -Plenty of picnic tables, space, and even some spots to get out of the sun if you need it Cons: -Yeah definitely not cheap. May not be practical for the family outings. Definitely more geared towards grown ups Bottom Line: -If you're going to worry about the nickle and dimes, then yes I'd recommend other options. I think people that come here pay their own way and just want to chill. I'm by no means wealthy, but I could really care less about the price when I can just as easily waste more money on God knows what... (drinking, video games, gambling, televangelists....) read more

On Thursday August 21, 2025, I made a road trip from Chicago to Pearl Lake Beach. It was good timing because there were only about two dozen visitors there, due to the local schools being open for the first day of the school year. This was the first time that I have been here since 1992 when I was scuba diving, and this lake is definitely known for scuba divers. The manager Ginger and her staff (Sophia, Parker, Kameron) were just magnificent. I told them that I was hearing-impaired, so they assisted with filling out the computer waiver. They showed me where I can go to lay out on the beach and where the handicapped parking was located at (only three spots). When I arrived, the water was slightly chilly, due to the weather being 75 degrees and an overcast day, I laid out a blanket, fell asleep. It was a magnificent siesta but the sun came out around noon while I was sleeping and caused sun burn on my legs and neck. Lesson learned- bring sun screen next time. Pearl Beach Lake is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and currently there is a $25 per person fee. Be warned- I was told that on hot summer weekends there could be as many as 2,000 people a day visiting this beach. Week day visits are probably less crowded...Five stars! read more

Pearl Lake Beach - Pearl Lake Beach map - Campgrounds Near Me - South Beloit, Illinois

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Horrible customer service from the start. We registered online with a 35" 5th wheel for 2 nights. On checking in, we wouldn't fit in the site so the girl at the desk put us in a different site saying she couldn't escort us to our site. This was our first time being there and her excuse was they were short staffed. The street signage was very small and hard to read. Site numbers were said to be on every pedestal but they were not visible from any drive. After only a few minutes of driving around, we were astonished by all the trash and junky trailers on site. Note that if your camper is more than 10 years old , they want to first see a picture of it so as to keep their place classy. Not the case here once you have paid and are here. We call back to the office for assistance finding our site and the girl said she would have to lock the office and was hesitant about doing so but she would come out to hep us find our place. We simply asked for a refund saying we were very disappointed with the situation so far. When she told us they don't give refunds, we asked for a manager to call us back. At this point we left to find another place which we did and were at in about 30 minutes. The manager called us back offering us drinks at the bar, a premium site, tickets for kids in the bounce house, and free water craft but I and the wife were only there for 2 nights. We were not going back to that dump. She said she would have to speak with the owners about a refund but never called us back. Five days later I called several times to speak with the manager again but no call back. She did however text us saying they will not issue a refund saying the girl in the office could not leave the desk because her coworker was using the restroom. Then why did she say she couldn't leave because they were short handed? Long story short, think long and hard before you visit this trashy place. Showers were dark and dingy and smelled. The beach looked more like gravel and not pleasing. Just walking around, I couldn't get away from the awfull smell of people smoking and vaping and a strong smell of pot smokers everywhere. Not at all the place we would take our grand kids ever. read more

New owner told me to move my parkmodel out,after he said he wood sell it. I left it there, took my losses, he still Changed me $4950.00 seasonal fees.he never gave me any kind of time frame to sell it ,and he would not let me list it with a realtor. He's a con man.was a investment banker, bet on loans to fail, remember back then. read more

Well, the reviews were not wrong, in fact they seem kinda nice considering my experience.. I'm from outta town wanted to swim and relax for the day. I was fully aware of the $20 admission. The thing that makes it so hard, is when your paying the people collecting the money are so rude, you really don't want to give them your money... so, me and the other four of us decided to go elsewhere. You know, if you don't take care of your community, they will not take care of you.. Here is another little nugget for your business. Get rid of your disrespectful staff in the office. They are running off your costumers... read more

Beautiful lake with clear turquoise water. Been there twice, once during the week and it was not busy and on the weekend, when there were over thousand people. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Loved DJ and variety of food trucks on the weekend. Posting pics from both times. Definitely will go again. read more

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Update its now $25 per person. Absolutely ridiculous. Family of 4 is gonna cost you $100 a day. Don't understand.

We rented an RV on site for a long weekend. The lake and property is very beautiful and well maintained. The lake is open to the public which makes the weekends insane so I recommend visiting during the week. Customer service is really slow and very much lacking but overall it was a good experience and we would come back. read more

Pearl Lake has been around for a very long time, the new owners are trying to get rich however. They have a website that shows pricing but once you go to book the price changes drastically. Then they want to charge a resort fee a booking fee and multiple other add ons. Tisk tisk on you, as a consumer I do not want to use a site that clearly states a price only to be charge more. As far as a campgrounds goes it is not that spectacular. They offer nothing. read more

Racist management Ginger Smith charged me and 16 yr old my daughter with hostility asking us to identity ourselves and that we were trespassing after I asked why she was approaching us with such hostility because we were in fact legally on the property in which she proceeded to demand we show proof and told us she will be calling the police.. She then followed us and I showed her the wrist band she asked us for, and told her Melania only indicated and I emphasize ONLY mentioned to us, the wristband would need to be worn only pass the swim zone. So, in our minds we were following the rules that was given. To then be met with the hostility proved to be a racial profiling in Gingers lack of professionalism and prideful ignorance as if we were intruding and trying to make up something that wasn't true. I then spoke to Lance Beatch about the issue, and he responded that I was sensitive in my feelings towards her racial harassment towards us, because she proceeded to call my friend who owned the RV and ask them to make us leave. In summary, I would say this place is a total complete racist facility that do not want to encounter people of color, or other ethnicities outside of their caucasian communities. They are full of pride and puffed up, but do They know pride comes before the fall. People of color stay away from this kind of establishments, It would be for your own safety. I have a video of the encounter Luckily, we're not able to share it here so I hope you take my word for it. Disappointed at its highest, ruined my 16 yr old daughter vacation and showed her how ugly people in the world can be steering up trouble all day long because their hearts are wicked... read more

Pearl lake is beautiful! The lake is emerald green and clear! -Plenty of picnic tables, space, and even some spots to get out of the sun if you need it read more

some of the working people I've ever seen in my entire life obnoxiously long lines. They don't serve food, but most importantly very rude rude workers. read more

$20.00 a person to get in. Extra $8.00 to go on floaty things. They do take debt. Plus went on a Friday afternoon and place closed at 5:00! Nice beach. Not very busy. read more

Went to Pearl Lake for the 1st time on a solo trip from Chicago (2hrs) & I can say it was worth the drive!! Upon arrival I drove through a little camp site which was very clean & parking was nice & easy and close to the main entry. I failed to realize I needed to sign a park waiver which the most helpful cashier assisted me with and she did not make me get out of line, instead she had me come on up once I was done, it was a fairly easy process. Lake is very beautiful just like the pics, the beach area is very clean. I felt very calm & relaxed with their great music Playlist. I will definitely be going back! You can take a cooler, they have free air for your floaties, and a food truck was also onsite! The water was clean, fresh & felt amazing on this scorcher of a day! Where they fell short was the women's bathroom which needed upkeep & should be checked every hour for emergency maintenance. Otherwise I had an amazing time & the vibes were definitely on point for me. $20 entry fee is worth it to me, especially when you can sit anywhere you want and even get a shaded pavilion for larger groups. read more

DO NOT GO TO PEARL LAKE BEACH !!! Oh PEARL LAKE, how I thought you'd be better with new owners , I was sooo wrong ! So we made a trip to Pearl Lake on Thursday and we were super excited because it has new owners ! We were hoping these new owners were gonna be awesome, I guess we were VERY wrong. We get there, we found a spot, and now we're relaxing on a beautiful day. We decide we're gonna go on the floatie course they have, it looks like fun. We walk across the beach, swim out to it, get up on it, then we get screamed that we need to pay. They couldn't even talk to us, they had to use a microphone and we're super rude about it too. We we're willing to pay because it looks like so much fun, we asked where we pay, they told us the wrong area to begin with. We finally get to where we need to pay, they tell us we have to wear life jackets no matter what, even though we would be signing a waiver already and with the price we just said nevermind and walked away. We KNOW it's not the employees fault, they don't make the rules. As we're walking away we're complaining to each other because we're grown adults and we would already be signing a waiver. I mean it's as simple as adding on the waiver "I take full responsibility for what happens when not wearing a life jacket" but whatever we're not gonna let it ruin our day. We go back to our spot and mind our business because it's not the end of the world. OVER AN HOUR LATER as we're building sand castles the "owner", I can't even be sure because he didn't introduce himself, came up and started intimidating us wanting a confrontation. First off, he NEVER introduced himself and wasn't wearing any indicators that he even worked there, no name tag, plain white shirt, and a construction hat. He said " You were swearing at my employees ? I'll escort you off this ground right now" with so much attitude. Us completely taken off guard because we never swore at anyone said, "No we were walking away talking to each other". He said "I don't care, I can get security to escort you out right now. I don't allow that and you will not be able to come back. I don't deal with this" Then he walked away, leaving us completely confused, feeling intimidated, and like he doesn't care about his customers. Then I look across the pool and there are the employees staring and LAUGHING at us. The employees were LAUGHING at their customers because their "boss" was just super rude to us. He only wanted to intimidate us and try to get us to start a fight so he could kick us off but we don't stoop to that level. I thought he would try to ask us our side of the story, what happened but no he just jumped to conclusions and assumed we were bad people. He wasn't even in the vicinity when we were talking to the employees OVER AN HOUR AGO, he just took their word for it without asking ours. I was shocked that that's how they treat the PAYING people. We know better than to swear at the employees because we've been in their shoes before, they can't change the rules, it's not their fault ! We had completely let it go at that point, were minding our business I mean WE WERE MAKING SANDCASTLES we weren't bothering ANYONE. We were actually just about to go get something from their concessions and stay longer but after the boss had just tried to come up and basically fight us , we decided to leave. To anyone looking to go to PEARL LAKE , I do NOT recommend it. The new owners are just as bad, rude, intimidating, and CLEARLY don't care about the paying people. There's plenty of other beaches we will be going to and I hope other people will consider others too. DO NOT GO TO PEARL LAKE BEACH read more

Went to Pearl Lake Beach today for swimming. Overpriced for sure at $15 a person. The food was alright, but for the price is too much for very small portions, especially the mini cheeseburger for $4. read more

Such a disappointing day. Too expensive $15.00 people! No activities, snack bar closed. No wonder there is no one here. This place is not fun. read more

Pearl Lake Beach - Campgrounds Near Me - South Beloit, Illinois

If you decide to check it out! Don't ask Susan in the office for anything. Very rude. Ruined our time

Ok clean lake way 2 expensive 15.00 Realy!! Waited 20 minutes 4 expensive small portion food. 8.00 a drink! Sheryal in the bar super rude. B.....TCH can't bring ur own alcohol its not recommended all they have is clean water! read more

This place is terrible. Over priced. Cash only. ATM costs five dollars. Weak expensive drinks and food at the beach house like a strip club. The workers are so rude! I cannot express that enough. Really rude. Like you need to earn your right to play in a hole in the ground. You need to have two adults per child which is unheard of. Isn't that what lifeguards are for? Why do I need to pay so much when it's a lake? There's literally no upkeep. I'm super pissed about this stupid place. Drove 45 minutes and wanted to turn away over a hundred dollars because we were paying with plastic like normal people and the ATM didn't work. The old bag at the front told me she wasn't sure if it was working, so I asked her, are YOU? And she started giggling at me! Wtf! Don't go here unless you literally want to waste your day. read more

15$ per person just to swim in the man made lake. To keep out the "riff raff"? What is that even supposed to mean? 8$ for drinks, bringing in food is not encouraged, but it doesn't seem like much is encouraged. Not very friendly or welcoming. Not a place I'd go to again, even if they stopped charging. read more

This is a beautiful quiet campground where you aren't kept awake all night by campfire drunks and unsupervised children. The beach is fun, but more importantly you can't beat the walk-in scuba diving. After diving all day it is great to be able to return to camp, shower and cook dinner before turning in earlier and actually be able to sleep without loud music and firecrackers going off. It is so worth the money to be able to go directly from diving the lake to "home" in our rv. read more

This place is ridiculously over priced. The beach is clean and that's all I have on positive note. The owner is super rude. They didn't open the concession stands and you couldn't bring in food. We ordered a couple drinks and there was barely any alcohol in them. I think they cheap people out as far as that. I never in my life met such rude employees and I will never go back. We had to order double vodka lemonades at 16$ a drink and I swear there was no alcohol. They had chips at 2$ a small bag, and were super crabby when asked to get some. Customer service sucks here read more

We have been going to Pearl Lake beach for the past few years to go to the beach and have always had a good time and the beach is great. So we thought we would give camping a try and what a mistake that was. We had two families wanting to stay in a travel trailer which has never been a problem anywhere else. My wife had called ahead of time and they said it was cool, our price would be $20 more. So we get there and they totally shut us down. Not only did they not allow the second family to stay there, they were not even allowed to come hang out and grill dinnner before going home. So we went round and round with the management and finally decided to just cut our losses, get our money back and go home. Not to mention the fact that it was Sunday night and not one other camper besides seasonals there. The 1 hour I was at the site they drove by in a golf cart 5 times, seriously. The worst part is we really love the beach and now there is no way I will ever be able to give them another penny of my money. read more

We came here and we thought it was nice but really it sucked, even though we stayed one night. Staff is really strict and your not even allowed to have visitors. If you wanted to bring friends they can't get in as visitors they would have to pay to stay. You think the beach would be nice but it is super crowded and has a ditch with water in it. They even make you swim in a certain way which is really stupid. We had one of our family friends come here today and his wife was at the beach, he wanted to go and look for her but the owner wouldn't let him because you have to pay separately just to swim. And once he "stepped over" this yellow line with one foot, he got yelled at and was told to leave by the owner himself which honestly don't think was fair because they literally stayed for like one hour until he called the cops and they had to get escorted out WORST PLACE SOMEONE COULD SPEND A NICE FOURTH OR JULY. THE STAFF ARE JERKS AND SO IS THE OWNER. read more

I would not recommend this campsite based on the following: 1) Poor Customer Service practices - after 17 years of camping at this site the owner and her staff are confrontational to the patrons and use yelling as their primary means of communication. I would think that any patron that shows loyalty to a business would get more professional means of communication and attention. I don't understand the blatant disrespect that they show to not only long term patrons, but people in general. This is a service business and relies on people to grow their business. 2) Discrimination practices - they blatantly favor bad behavior from others and penalize those that follow the rules. Case in point a group of campers next to our site were loud in voice and music until 2:30am but told us to turn down the music at 5PM in the afternoon, how is this fair??? 3) Rates for camping are not aligned with amenities. No new upgrades that been added to the camping area but yet prices have gone up 30% over the past 2 years. Unless management makes a more immediate turnaround on their interaction with patrons and how to interact with people I would not recommend this place. I am an avid camper and have traveled around many states and both private and state and national parks, the one aspect of repeat customer business is customer interaction and making the customer feel valuable. read more