Campgrounds and RV parks near Lincolnshire, IL

Water recreation drives most trips. The Chain O' Lakes system holds muskie, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, and yellow and white bass, with no charge to launch boats and no horsepower limit on the Chain, though Turner Lake inside the state park is restricted to electric trolling motors. Fish Lake Beach Camping Resort adds a swim beach and boat rentals for families. On the Lake Michigan side, Illinois Beach State Park offers swim beaches, dune trails, and shoreline birding, with more than 300 bird species recorded in the park, including rarities such as the Piping Plover. Off the water, families often pair a camping trip with the Volo Auto Museum, Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, and the Lake County Forest Preserves for hiking and biking.

The camping window in this corner of Illinois runs roughly mid-spring through mid-fall. The campground at Illinois Beach State Park is closed from January through March and accepts reservations for stays between May 1 and September 30. Private resorts such as Fish Lake Beach Camping Resort typically operate from late spring into mid-fall. Summer is peak. The Illinois Beach campground gets very busy in July and August, so reservations should be made early, and lakeshore sites fill first on weekends. Spring brings cooler temperatures, chilly lake winds off Lake Michigan, and lighter crowds; fall offers foliage along inland trails before hunting season takes over parts of Chain O' Lakes. Winter changes the picture. Chain O' Lakes State Park is closed for all activities except hunting from the beginning of November through mid-December. Once ice thickens, ice fishing, ice skating, snowshoeing, and sledding become the main activities on the Chain and Turner Lake.

Public campgrounds here are electric-only for the most part. The 241 Class A Premium sites in the South Unit at Illinois Beach have electricity, showers, and sanitary facilities, with water spigots and a dump station in the campground rather than individual water or sewer hookups. Chain O' Lakes has Class A Premium electric loops at Honeysuckle Hollow and Fox Den, plus Class B Premium areas including Turner Lake South, which sit on the more basic end with a water spigot and outhouse nearby and a shower house a short drive away. Private resorts run closer to full-service, with 30 and 50-amp electric, water, sewer, laundry, and camp stores common at the larger operators. Expect ticks and mosquitoes in wooded state park loops during warm months, active raccoons after dark, and busy shorelines on the Chain on summer weekends. Cell service is generally reliable across Lake County.