Starved Rock IL Area

Last weekend Starved Rock stopped people from coming in in the early afternoon. All parking was full. They did reopen hours later.

kknowlton wrote:
Agreed, Rock Cut is very nice! I had heard nice things about Blandings Landing but haven't ever been there; we did enjoy Thomson Causeway (COE) park, but the train is an issue there as well (as it will be in virtually every park along the river!) Another good SP in the area is Mississippi Palisades; likely to be full on the holiday weekend, though.

For near Dubuque - if you can't get into Wyalusing SP (Wis), which is our all-time favorite (Wis. Ridge CG only; some sites have electric, but most are pretty short) you might consider the Rustic Barn CG - also in Wisconsin but perhaps 20 miles from Dubuque. Electric & water at sites, nice farm country, both pull-thrus & back-ins. Not sure what they have for kids to do, though - we didn't check into that. They do have a group meeting room (or did when we were there, some years ago).

Found Rustic Barn last night. I work In Monroe, so its just a short hop away and may work out even better for us. Too bad 81 is closed, getting to/from work on G is a royal PITA with the hills.

We have stayed at the state park twice and it enjoyed it. It was early spring and late fall and not very busy. Make sure you get out hike as many of the spots you can get to. its a pretty awesome park in that regards. If you get a chance the spring is cool with more waterfalls to see but bring some rain boots because it's pretty muddy.

Hickory Hollow is about the nicest private one in the area.

Agreed, Rock Cut is very nice! I had heard nice things about Blandings Landing but haven't ever been there; we did enjoy Thomson Causeway (COE) park, but the train is an issue there as well (as it will be in virtually every park along the river!) Another good SP in the area is Mississippi Palisades; likely to be full on the holiday weekend, though.

For near Dubuque - if you can't get into Wyalusing SP (Wis), which is our all-time favorite (Wis. Ridge CG only; some sites have electric, but most are pretty short) you might consider the Rustic Barn CG - also in Wisconsin but perhaps 20 miles from Dubuque. Electric & water at sites, nice farm country, both pull-thrus & back-ins. Not sure what they have for kids to do, though - we didn't check into that. They do have a group meeting room (or did when we were there, some years ago).

I would be heading south down 39, which is what makes SR appealing, however, looks like the only Saturdays open are at the end of October, so looking elsewhere for the 8th at the moment. Chose this date since the kids have the following Monday off. I am looking at a CG now that is not too far from where I work and close to Dubuque.

Going to check the Hickory Hollows CG and see what they have available, and it nothing open, will look elsewhere. Illini has slots open, but looks like it is a fair distance away. So far we have stayed at three state parks, two in IL, and one in Colorado, and all three were decent places to stay, well, except for the trains. :) Last nights stay at Blanding Landing was....interesting. Need ear plugs, then it would be a good stay.

The CO park we stayed at on our way to Ruby's in Utah, and again on the way back, and will stay there again, only for more than an overnighter, they have an RC flying field! was great. The views were fantastic, a really nice park to stay at. Well worth the trip. The CG close to me is Rock Cut and will do that one again too. Sure can't beat the price of the state and federal parks.

That festival looks interesting, will run that past the group too.

You might want to check this site out. Uttica Burgoo Festival It falls right into your stated time frame. Have gone there quite a few times for this and might make it there this year if we are home that weekend. The Burgoo stew is quite tasty. Don't know about how your kids will feel about traipsing around a huge craft sale. They have had a small carnival in the past, but not every year. Traffic through town from I-80 towards the state park will be terrible. On those days, it would be better to take I-80 west to I-39 South then take 71 east back to Starved rock. Would take you about 30 minutes where driving through town on Saturday and/or Sunday will take upwards of one hour at times.

We live less than an hour from Uttica, so we don't camp there even though we visit often.

We just returned from a one nighter at Blanding Landing along the Mississippi, and it was practically empty. Just us, two tents and two hybrids. It was well shaded and very nice campground, except for the trains. Did not know it was right next to the main line for BNSF. I guess no one told them quiet time was between 10 PM and 6 AM. LOL

As long as it has electric hook up, and a dump we are pretty set. Shade is a plus, and being quiet is also a plus. We have two kids, 9 and 11, and having something for them to do is what we need to focus on, our last trip to Utah left them a bit bored and trailer bound, so having activities for them would be helpful. We went to Chestnut Mountain and they had fun, and the CG had a playground too, so this trip was much better for them.

I found Hickory Hollows site, so going over that one now, and checking the state park on the reserve site.

These little weekend trips are going to help payoff the trailer and not make it a barn queen. So far just the three trips we have done in it have saved us a few grand in what we would have spent for motels/hotels/meals. It has opened up short trips for us, and am really starting to get into it. Want to use it as long as I can during the year. Too bad it still snows in April or I would use it to go to Toledo for the annual RC show.

The state park is decent. One section has somewhat shorter sites in the woods, well spaced. The other has longer sites but they are closer together, no privacy between, still under big shade trees. Not sure if both have electric hookups, but the second one does. Good chance the park is booked, though. Weekends in a state park near a huge metropolis usually means no sites available.

We have been to the KOA in Utica and also to Hickory Hollow (I think that's the name - something similar, with HIckory in it :) ) in Utica. Both decent enough; some of the pullthru sites near the office in Hickory are pretty good. Others (back-ins) on grass. Nothing private. The KOA isn't quite as nice; some sites have 2 rigs parked one in front of the other on the same (long) pad - weird.

stickdog wrote:
Is the state park booked?

Is the state park decent? I haven't looked it up yet. I will also give that one off 6 a look.

Thanks.