Chicago RV Camping

[Buzzroll]

We are going to be in the Chicago area for a couple of weeks this summer and would like to find a nice place in the suburbs to RV camp. However, we’d like it to have proximity to mass transit so we can get to and from Chicago conveniently. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[missonyxk9]

I am originally from Cook county and have family still there that I hope to visit someday with our new TT and was wondering about this myself. When I was a kid we used to go to these forest preserves for picnics and family reunions so I looked it up and I read that the county recently invested money into bringing camping back to these places. I know for sure there's a train station in Oak Forest which is same town as the Sullivan park and near where a family member used to commute to downtown. Also, looking on a map, I see a train running right near Camp Bullfrog Lake. It would be a fair assumption that trains are probably not too far from the other parks as well as I recall so many trains living and visiting there in the past. Hope this helps! Would love to hear how your trip goes if you're so inclined to report back. I'm not a city girl but I do love Chicago!


Forest Preserves of Cook County
http://fpdcc.com/camping/

[lcv800]

We live on the northwest side of Chicago, so I can't speak to the far south side of the city. There is nothing within 30 or 40 miles of even the outer limits of the city due to the sprawling suburbs, and nothing near mass transit that I'm aware of. Try using the free RVParky app on your phone. If I've missed one and you find it, let us know. Good luck.
Rusty

[Buzzroll]

Originally Posted by lcv800

We live on the northwest side of Chicago, so I can't speak to the far south side of the city. There is nothing within 30 or 40 miles of even the outer limits of the city due to the sprawling suburbs, and nothing near mass transit that I'm aware of. Try using the free RVParky app on your phone. If I've missed one and you find it, let us know. Good luck.
Rusty

Thanks much for the reply. I’ve been told about a couple of nice county parks with full hook ups that are in the vicinity of Elgin, which I understand has a train station. At this moment, that stands as plan “A” but we are looking for other options because those parks only allow a one-week stay, so we would have to move in the middle of our stay.

Happy camping!

[Jim34RL]

There is a KOA that offers full-hook ups and is close to Chicago, it is in Union IL. You can hop on to US20 than I90 that can take you into Elgin IL to catch a train from there. Or you can go to Crystal Lake to catch the train to Chicago both are about 22 +/- 3 mins from the KOA in Union IL.

[formerFR]

Camp Sullivan - Forest Preserves of Cook County

[lcv800]

The one outside of Elgin is a Kane County forest preserve. Very nice. Stayed there a few times. First come first serve, I don't think they take reservations. Large lots with water and electric (dump station only for sewer as of last year). About 10 minutes from the train station 5 minutes from local shopping. Still a good hour train ride to downtown once you get to the train station. If you go to the KOA in Union, there are several other private campgrounds in the same area, but again, even driving, you're close to 90 minutes drive time to downtown IF traffic is good to you. The Camp Sullivan site is south of Chicago, so I can't speak to it.
Rusty

[missonyxk9]

I think maybe the link I posted was missed because it looks like part of my signature (newbie). But the closest camping to downtown are at these places in Cook county south of the city and some I know are fairly close to train stations.


Forest Preserves of Cook County
http://fpdcc.com/camping/

[HaroldPE]

Maybe not what you’re looking for, but Indiana Dunes State Park, about an hour out of city. Electric only. South shore line station nearby (5 nun ride or 10 min via bicycle trail.

[Skip12]

+1 on campgrounds in northwest Indiana. There are a few public and private campgrounds in that area. We're trying one in July where I plan on commuting to Chicago to work. If you have your heart set on camping in IL, you could try Jellystone Park in Milbrook IL (full hookups, lots of activities, expensive). Or Big Rock Campground (water and electric only, no activities, good trails and fishing nearby). Both are about 30 mins from the Metra Station in Aurora. From there, it's another hour train ride. We like both of campgrounds, but they are very different.

[richp]

Hi,


Look at Paul Wolff Forest Preserve campground, in Elgin. I live near there and use it at least once a year.



As mentioned above by Rusty, it is a nice clean operation, although it does not have a reservation system. But if you arrive midweek, you should be ok.



Hope this helps.


Rich Phillips

[ependydad]

I'm bumping an older thread since I'd like some input from the locals. I think we might visit Chicago this year. I like the idea of staying at Camp Bullfrog. It seems to have electric hookups but not water or sewer. It does have a dump station and a couple of water spigots for filling (would have to fill containers and take back). The other Forest Preserves of Cook County don't appear to have dump stations. I called them and you seem to be able to reserve sites starting Jan 2. But, it's expensive for non-residents: $40/night (Sun-Wed) and $60/night (Thurs-Sat).

It also looks like there's a Willow Springs Metra train station, but I don't really see parking near it. The other option is to drive into Midway and catch a CTA train from there.

The other option is to go the Indiana Dunes State Park route. It's $23/night but seems like a longer train commute into the city. Does sound like there's a train station just a mile outside of the park. There are some spots that are much closer to water spigots and possibly close enough that a hose could be ran straight to my water fill on the camper.

Does anyone know how long of a train ride that is? My wife's sight-seeing commute limit is about 1 hour. After that, she starts to tap out.

[jeff64]

Try Chain o' Lakes SP it's on the nw side in lake co. Il near wi line. There is a metra station in Fox Lake with ample parking about 10 min. away from sp. They have walk in sites and reserveable with electric. No fhu. See reserve America. com

[Buzzroll]

After submitting my original post, we stayed for a few days at Indiana Dunes and then two weeks at Paul Wolff Campground near Elgin. Indiana Dunes was fantastic, though it was our destination -- we didn't commute into Chicago from there.


Paul Wolff is a very nice campground with big spots, lots of grass, water and electric at most spots, and a dump station on site. It is a 5-minute drive to the Big Timbers train station and an easy (but 90-minute) train ride to Union Station ($8 each way per person). As a result of the long train ride, we only went into Chicago four times over the two weeks, but were able to see plenty. I highly recommend the Chicago Explorer Pass for seeing multiple sites. We tried bus and taxi getting around town but eventually found Lyft to be way easier and cheaper.


If the commute from Indiana Dunes is 90 minutes or less, you might just stay there, instead of Paul Wolff. It would avoid having to pull your rig near Chicago and save $27 in tolls (no kidding!).


If you want more ideas and info from our experience there, look at blog post #9 at ElvisAcrossAmerica dot WordPress dot com.


Have fun!

[Skip12]

We stayed at Michigan City Campground for 2 weeks this summer. I commuted to Chicago via the train. 15 minute drive and 1 hour train ride if I recall correctly. Not a ton of trains, and even fewer express trains so you really need to plan your trip.

It worked for us. The campground had some nice spots but also some VERY CROWDED face to face pull through spaces where you have to share your outside living area with your neighbor. They've got a nice wider new area too that was still under construction last year. It was a 15 minute drive to the train station and to the beach. We'll stay there again, especially if they start letting people pick their spot as reservations are made. I'd rather stay at a state park if I could get a spot but the state parks fill up very fast and dont have full hookups if I recall correctly.

[rockfordroo]

Doug, you don't say what you want to see in Chicago. There's stuff to see besides the stuff downtown.

There's the Chicago Northwest KOA just off US 20 south of Union IL. You can drive about 20 minutes to the Big Timber METRA Station and take the METRA "Milwaukee District West" (MD-W) line into Chicago Union Station. The schedule looks like it takes about an hour and 10 min to an hour 20 min depending on when you leave. See here for the METRA info:

https://metrarail.com/maps-schedules...lines/MD-W/map

The Illinois Railway Museum is located in Union; it's one of the premier RR museums in the country. See here:

https://www.irm.org/