America’s Camping Report Card
Illinois
#13 of 43 for camping
Better than 71% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 7,227 written reviews from Illinois - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- very clean198
- well maintained154
- clean136
- clean campground73
- well kept68
What campers warned about
- bathrooms not clean6
- moldy shower curtains4
- bathrooms not cleaned3
- bathrooms uninviting3
- grass needed cutting3
- Praised by
- 44.1%
- Warned by
- 5.3%
- Rank
- Top-ranked among graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.388 (±0.013, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- beautiful campground90
- lake view51
- beautiful area35
- beautiful lake31
- beautiful place31
What campers warned about
- rainy weather4
- lack of shade trees2
- lake was way down2
- lake water level low2
- limited shade2
- Praised by
- 37.2%
- Warned by
- 1.3%
- Rank
- Better than 10% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.359 (±0.012, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites91
- large sites46
- nice sites28
- great sites24
- nice campsites20
What campers warned about
- sites close together10
- sites not level7
- some sites not level5
- sites a little close together4
- sites very close together4
- Praised by
- 40.8%
- Warned by
- 9.9%
- Rank
- Better than 71% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.309 (±0.014, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff95
- friendly hosts55
- friendly and helpful hosts38
- friendly people36
- very friendly staff35
What campers warned about
- rude camp host3
- cleaning crew entered occupied site2
- hard to find staff2
- hosts ride around constantly2
- hosts unavailable at departure2
- Praised by
- 28.3%
- Warned by
- 2.4%
- Rank
- Better than 74% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.259 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bike trails39
- bike trail17
- bike trail access12
- fishing11
- bike riding8
What campers warned about
- bank fishing access2
- fishing slow2
- needs more fishing platforms2
- no lake access or swimming2
- no walking trails2
- Praised by
- 21.3%
- Warned by
- 1.2%
- Rank
- Better than 14% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.201 (±0.010, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- full hookups63
- restrooms and showers36
- bathrooms and showers35
- nice facilities17
- bathrooms16
What campers warned about
- shower house6
- power outage5
- restrooms and showers5
- more full hookups desired4
- needs more full hookups4
- Praised by
- 24.7%
- Warned by
- 9.3%
- Rank
- Better than 93% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.154 (±0.013, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet170
- very quiet82
- quiet campground65
- quiet atmosphere44
- quiet and peaceful34
What campers warned about
- highway and train noise3
- highway noise3
- interstate noise3
- road noise3
- sites too close together3
- Praised by
- 14.3%
- Warned by
- 5.2%
- Rank
- Better than 67% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.091 (±0.010, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- close to town19
- easy access16
- easy to get to8
- easy in and out7
- close to home6
What campers warned about
- boat ramp difficult2
- dump station hard to access2
- narrow road, tight 90-degree entry2
- narrow streets backing rigs2
- needs more campsite number signs2
- Praised by
- 7.3%
- Warned by
- 3.9%
- Rank
- Better than 83% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.034 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly campers19
- family friendly13
- friendly people11
- friendly neighbors7
- family-friendly5
What campers warned about
- access barrier for people without smartphones1
- age mismatch / not my crowd1
- camps feel cliched1
- cliche-ish environment1
- confederate flag made me unwelcome1
- Praised by
- 3.7%
- Warned by
- 0.5%
- Rank
- Better than 83% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.032 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- great price11
- good price7
- reasonable price7
- can't beat the price4
- reasonably priced4
What campers warned about
- would pay extra for better service2
- $30 in fees1
- 100-mile drive complaint1
- 90 minutes wasted daily1
- a little pricey1
- Praised by
- 3.8%
- Warned by
- 1.0%
- Rank
- Better than 91% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.028 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- safe8
- well patrolled6
- felt very safe3
- patrolled3
- secure3
What campers warned about
- dangerous edging2
- dangerous footing2
- dark shower area at night2
- dog came after leashed dog2
- loose big dogs2
- Praised by
- 1.4%
- Warned by
- 2.2%
- Rank
- Better than 60% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.008 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy check-in6
- easy reservation and check-in4
- easy reservations4
- easy check-in process3
- first-come availability3
What campers warned about
- hard to get reservations6
- hard to get a site3
- couldn't reserve adjacent sites2
- first-come, first-served sites2
- hard to get reservation2
- Praised by
- 2.8%
- Warned by
- 3.8%
- Rank
- Better than 93% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.010 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- dog friendly4
- dog-friendliness2
- pet friendly2
- quiet hours observed2
- rules actually followed2
What campers warned about
- checkout time too late4
- 14-day limit2
- closing date too early2
- forced to leave on weekends2
- keep campgrounds open until park closes2
- Praised by
- 0.5%
- Warned by
- 3.2%
- Rank
- Better than 86% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.026 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- few mosquitoes3
- bugs not a significant issue2
- bugs not bad2
- hardly any bugs2
- lots of wildlife2
What campers warned about
- mosquitoes5
- mayfly hatch3
- mosquitos3
- biting flies2
- buggy2
- Praised by
- 0.5%
- Warned by
- 4.2%
- Rank
- Better than 83% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.037 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 7,227 written reviews, 86% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Illinois and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Illinois vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.