Campgrounds and RV parks near Collinsville, IL

Collinsville is home to the Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site and sits within reach of the full St. Louis attraction lineup: the Gateway Arch, Forest Park, the St. Louis Zoo, and Busch Stadium. The Metro East trail network, including the Schoolhouse Trail, connects to more than 85 miles of bike trail in Madison County and links to downtown St. Louis via the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Outdoor options cluster around Horseshoe Lake State Park, which offers hiking, biking, boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, picnicking and wildlife viewing. Riverboat gaming, golf courses, and easy transit access into St. Louis round out the options for families spending a day downtown while the RV stays parked.

Southern Illinois has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons, which drives when regional campgrounds open. Private parks in the Metro East operate year-round, but state facilities run a shorter window. The Horseshoe Lake State Park campground is open from May 1 to September 30, campers can stay a maximum of 7 days in a 30-day period, and the park does not take reservations for camping. Spring brings the region's heaviest thunderstorm activity and rising river levels, so lower-lying sites can flood. Summer is peak season for family travel, with hot, humid conditions and busy weekends around Cardinals home stands and Fourth of July fireworks along the riverfront. Fall offers the best combination of mild weather and open sites, with foliage color arriving in October. Winter closes tent-only and primitive sites but keeps most full-hookup parks in operation. Note current advisories at Horseshoe Lake State Park: there is no access to Chouteau Island until approximately October 1, 2026, due to bridge repair, and the campground, the road leading to it, picnic shelter 3 and the hiking trail are closed due to an installation project on the causeway.

Expect a clear split between primitive public land and full-service private parks. At Horseshoe Lake State Park, sites are basic: there are no showers or hookups at the campground, and primitive, or class C camping, is available from May 1 through September 30, with drinking water, vault toilets and a dump station. Private parks are more RV-oriented, typically offering full-hookup sites with 30 and 50 amp service, water and sewer connections, gravel or paved pads, picnic tables, and fire rings, and most can accommodate larger rigs. Sites in urban parks tend to sit closer together than at rural campgrounds, and some traffic or train noise is normal given proximity to interstates and the river industrial corridor. Cell coverage across the Metro East is strong on all major carriers.