CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · IL

Dam West Campground

ReservableBookable through October 31, and from April 2 through April 16.

Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 15 nights read 16:19 UTC
A night: $20–$60Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 109108 on recreation.gov

Photos · USACE

138 ftLongest rig

440 ftElevation

31 ftWater · Carlyle Lake

0.2 miNE of Carlyle, IL

42%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices

In the agency’s own words

Dam West Campground is a recreation area situated on the southern shore of Carlyle Lake, a prime getaway for city-dwellers and families. Located 50 miles east of St. Louis, the area offers the peaceful retreat of a small town combined with the grandeur of Illinois' largest man-made lake. Keep reading

Recreation

Dam West Campground provides fun both on the water and on shore. Boat ramps and courtesy docks are provided, and the vast lake allows for plenty of water sports. Fishing is a popular pastime, and the lake offers year-round varieties of fish such as bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, flathead catfish, white bass, largemouth bass, freshwater drum, carp and walleye. There is an on-site playground and plenty of open space for children to play, as well as an amphitheater for educational programs. A multi-use biking and walking trail is located a short drive away at the dam.

Facilities

Dam West Campground contains 109 reservable campsites. It provides modern amenities and access to a marina and boat storage facility. The adjacent Dam West Spillway and Dam West Day Use Area offer additional recreational opportunities. Visitors can also walk or bike across the dam to the Dam East facilities and McNair Group Area.

Natural Features

Created in 1967, the 26,000-acre lake is recognized as one of the nation's top ten inland sailing lakes and hosts several annual races and regattas. Carlyle Lake is home to an array of wildlife that can be seen throughout the year. Its waters and shores are a resting spot for migratory waterfowl and other birds. There are six established Watchable Wildlife Sites with viewing towers open to the public around the lake.

Nearby Attractions

The Carlyle Lake Visitor Center, located in the Dam West Recreation Area, has information available and nature exhibits on display, including a 215-gallon aquarium with native fish.

Charges & Cancellations

Camping No Show - Camping no-show customers who do not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by check out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date will be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit their reservation. If the no-show service fee is greater than the reservation amount, the customer will not be charged any additional service fees. Cancellations - A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

All campsites are reservable.

Rule

No personal checks or cash are accepted at this time. Credit/Debit card only.

Rule

Camping No-Show - Camping no-show customers who do not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by check out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date will be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night use fee. If the no-show service fee is greater than the reservation amount, the customer will not be charged any additional service fees.

Everything else this campground posts · 4

Rule

Cancellation Fees - A $10 service fee is withheld from the refund anytime the customer cancels a camping or day use reservation. Depending on when the cancellation is made, it may be considered a late cancellation and additional fees may be forfeited. A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee.

Rule

Check-out time is 4 p.m. Check-in time is 5 p.m.

Rule

Firewood brought into this facility must be purchased, or collected locally due to invasive insects.

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 109
Hookups: 108 electric, 24 water, 24 sewer
Longest rig: 138 ft
Paved pads: All
Accessible sites: 2
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp: Yes
Playground: Yes
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake; Accessible Swimming; Biking; Boating; Fishing; Visitor center
Night sky · 27th darkest of 30 in IL: Bortle 4

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

3 of 216 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:19 UTC

recreation.gov lists 108 of the 109 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough October 31Bookable now through October 31, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for April 2, 2027 through April 16, 2027. Today at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 17, 2027.recreation.gov

Max stay14 nightsthe facility record

A night$20–$60plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$48–$128DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 16

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A night, per site$20–$60

Standard Electric$20

Standard Electric$30

Standard Electric (DOUBLE CAPACITY)$40

Standard Electric$60

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 3, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026.

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$28–$68

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$48–$128

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $20–$60 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

“Camping No Show - Camping no-show customers who do not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by check out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date will be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit their reservation. Cancellations…” · this campground’s own no-show terms

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 6

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Sep 10, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

This campground’s own terms: recreation.gov facility cancellation policy for this campground, quoted verbatim. Recreation.gov states that policies listed for specific locations supersede its site-wide policies. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 16:19 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

109 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 108 mapped sites

65 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most room058 128 ft056 99 ft036 96 ft037 96 ft095 92 ft

Least room093 42 ft094 42 ft072 44 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 109 sites

109 of 109 sites located

RV / electric108Type not stated1

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 109 of the 109 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 108 of the 109 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.


DAM WEST	001	type not stated	85 ft	20/30/50 amp			580 ft	206 ft
DAM WEST	002	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		67 ft	587 ft	260 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	003	standard electric	85 ft	20/30/50 amp		44 ft	523 ft	264 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	004	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		67 ft	533 ft	210 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	005	standard electric	77 ft	20/30/50 amp		44 ft	484 ft	307 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	006	standard electric	59 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	413 ft	263 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	007	standard electric	100 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	383 ft	238 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	008	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp		67 ft	494 ft	159 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	009	standard electric	68 ft	20/30/50 amp		64 ft	380 ft	197 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	010	standard electric	61 ft	20/30/50 amp		89 ft	419 ft	138 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	011	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp		74 ft	520 ft	38 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	012	standard electric	128 ft	20/30/50 amp		83 ft	422 ft	149 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	013	standard electric	99 ft	20/30/50 amp		83 ft	434 ft	199 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	014	standard electric	105 ft	20/30/50 amp		61 ft	525 ft	88 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	015	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		59 ft	530 ft	146 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	016	standard electric	63 ft	20/30/50 amp		88 ft	461 ft	272 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	017	standard electric	102 ft	20/30/50 amp		59 ft	530 ft	202 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	018	standard electric	65 ft	20/30/50 amp		45 ft	506 ft	290 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	019	standard electric	138 ft	20/30/50 amp		88 ft	444 ft	358 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	020	standard electric	102 ft	20/30/50 amp		45 ft	504 ft	335 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	021	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	511 ft	351 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	022	standard electric	106 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	504 ft	337 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	023	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp		57 ft	463 ft	343 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	024	standard electric	67 ft	20/30/50 amp		64 ft	354 ft	466 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	025	standard electric	52 ft	20/30/50 amp		46 ft	418 ft	367 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	026	standard electric	90 ft	20/30/50 amp		64 ft	299 ft	494 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	027	standard electric	68 ft	20/30/50 amp		55 ft	228 ft	548 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	028	standard electric	54 ft	20/30/50 amp		46 ft	387 ft	388 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	029	standard electric	68 ft	20/30/50 amp		55 ft	207 ft	568 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	030	standard electric	125 ft	20/30/50 amp		48 ft	347 ft	428 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	031	standard electric	61 ft	20/30/50 amp		62 ft	198 ft	590 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	032	standard electric	64 ft	20/30/50 amp		56 ft	187 ft	612 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	033	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp		48 ft	335 ft	448 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	034	standard electric	88 ft	20/30/50 amp		56 ft	213 ft	593 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	035	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp		55 ft	345 ft	454 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	036	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp		96 ft	238 ft	607 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	037	standard electric	65 ft	20/30/50 amp		96 ft	294 ft	557 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	038	standard electric	68 ft	20/30/50 amp		92 ft	150 ft	601 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	039	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp		92 ft	239 ft	648 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	040	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	376 ft	433 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	041	standard electric	63 ft	20/30/50 amp		85 ft	150 ft	464 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	042	standard electric	83 ft	20/30/50 amp		72 ft	109 ft	403 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	043	standard electric	85 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	324 ft	410 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	044	standard electric	77 ft	20/30/50 amp		50 ft	203 ft	315 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	045	standard electric	83 ft	20/30/50 amp		72 ft	79 ft	355 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	046	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		50 ft	211 ft	265 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	047	standard electric	77 ft	20/30/50 amp		85 ft	72 ft	274 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	048	standard electric	55 ft	20/30/50 amp	yes	56 ft	199 ft	214 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	049	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		85 ft	90 ft	199 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	050	standard electric	110 ft	20/30/50 amp		76 ft	89 ft	143 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	051	standard electric	98 ft	20/30/50 amp		76 ft	99 ft	123 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	052	standard electric	123 ft	20/30/50 amp		69 ft	209 ft	65 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	053	standard electric	112 ft	20/30/50 amp		68 ft	217 ft	under 10 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	054	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp		81 ft	111 ft	155 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	055	standard electric	98 ft	20/30/50 amp		81 ft	117 ft	209 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	056	standard electric	57 ft	20/30/50 amp		99 ft	130 ft	266 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	057	standard electric	127 ft	20/30/50 amp		68 ft	242 ft	70 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	058	standard electric	83 ft	20/30/50 amp		128 ft	82 ft	357 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	059	standard electric	52 ft	20/30/50 amp		68 ft	181 ft	433 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	060	standard electric	74 ft	20/30/50 amp		76 ft	260 ft	146 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	061	standard electric	111 ft	20/30/50 amp		80 ft	235 ft	219 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	062	standard electric	86 ft	20/30/50 amp		83 ft	252 ft	352 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	063	standard electric	63 ft	20/30/50 amp		86 ft	288 ft	353 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	064	standard electric	112 ft	20/30/50 amp		81 ft	305 ft	323 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	065	standard electric	108 ft	20/30/50 amp		70 ft	367 ft	247 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	066	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp		77 ft	395 ft	285 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	067	standard electric	71 ft	20/30/50 amp		77 ft	438 ft	261 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	068	standard electric	91 ft	20/30/50 amp		70 ft	419 ft	193 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	069	standard electric	67 ft	20/30/50 amp		73 ft	479 ft	148 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	070	standard electric	78 ft	20/30/50 amp		73 ft	459 ft	267 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	071	standard electric	71 ft	20/30/50 amp		67 ft	555 ft	121 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	072	standard electric	84 ft	20/30/50 amp		44 ft	479 ft	238 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	073	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		67 ft	581 ft	145 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	074	standard electric	63 ft	20/30/50 amp		70 ft	577 ft	201 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	075	standard electric	51 ft	20/30/50 amp	yes	71 ft	579 ft	82 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	076	standard electric	60 ft	20/30/50 amp		44 ft	453 ft	209 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	077	standard electric	66 ft	20/30/50 amp		71 ft	508 ft	89 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	078	standard electric	65 ft	20/30/50 amp		46 ft	427 ft	254 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	079	standard electric	111 ft	20/30/50 amp		52 ft	436 ft	133 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	080	standard electric	103 ft	20/30/50 amp		47 ft	384 ft	178 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	081	standard electric	69 ft	20/30/50 amp		65 ft	368 ft	316 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	082	standard electric	126 ft	20/30/50 amp		47 ft	339 ft	224 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	083	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		65 ft	353 ft	346 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	084	standard electric	136 ft	20/30/50 amp		47 ft	295 ft	272 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	085	standard electric	136 ft	20/30/50 amp		80 ft	220 ft	351 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	086	standard electric	67 ft	20/30/50 amp		69 ft	347 ft	354 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	087	standard electric	56 ft	20/30/50 amp		58 ft	218 ft	415 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	088	standard electric	90 ft	20/30/50 amp		58 ft	205 ft	472 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	089	standard electric	106 ft	20/30/50 amp		65 ft	318 ft	400 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	090	standard electric	55 ft	20/30/50 amp		65 ft	302 ft	415 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	091	standard electric	65 ft	20/30/50 amp		76 ft	221 ft	439 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	092	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		68 ft	146 ft	489 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	093	standard electric	83 ft	20/30/50 amp		42 ft	69 ft	544 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	094	standard electric	56 ft	20/30/50 amp		42 ft	106 ft	586 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	095	standard electric	58 ft	20/30/50 amp		92 ft	181 ft	663 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	096	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp		63 ft	150 ft	588 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	097	standard electric	79 ft	20/30/50 amp		63 ft	178 ft	543 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	102	standard electric	71 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	663 ft	391 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	103	standard electric	71 ft	20/30/50 amp		54 ft	709 ft	337 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	104	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		55 ft	760 ft	283 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	105	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		61 ft	818 ft	225 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	106	standard electric	62 ft	20/30/50 amp		61 ft	875 ft	168 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	107	standard electric	75 ft	20/30/50 amp		56 ft	937 ft	115 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	108	standard electric	71 ft	20/30/50 amp		56 ft	992 ft	84 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	109	standard electric	76 ft	20/30/50 amp		83 ft	972 ft	177 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	110	standard electric	78 ft	20/30/50 amp		84 ft	878 ft	235 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	111	standard electric	73 ft	20/30/50 amp		77 ft	797 ft	308 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	112	standard electric	70 ft	20/30/50 amp		57 ft	710 ft	400 ft	$20–$60
DAM WEST	113	standard electric	70 ft	20/30/50 amp		57 ft	663 ft	453 ft	$20–$60

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

25 of 109 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate38.62778, -89.35833

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone618-594-4410

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Dam West Spillway1.3 mi

Dam East Spillway (Day Use)2.0 mi

Dam East - McNair Campground2.2 mi

Coles Creek Campground5.7 mi

Lotus Group Area6.0 mi

Boulder Campground8.2 mi

Getting there

From I-70, take State Route 127 south to Carlyle and turn east on William Road. Continue for 1/2-mile and turn north on Lake Road to reach the campground or turn south to reach the day use area.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight40°Clear

Saturday60°Sunny

Saturday Night37°Clear then Patchy Frost

Sunday66°Patchy Frost then Sunny

NWS forecast for Carlyle, IL

Source: National Weather Service, LSX forecast office · Oct 17, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 46°F, day 70°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 22°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: CARLYLE RSVR, IL (USC00111290), 0.3 miles away and 61 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Dam West Campground is in Illinois’s 12th congressional district. Its representative, Mike Bost (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

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Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 15 of the next 15 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026, November 2026 and July 2027. It names 108 of the 109 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 11, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 109 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 1.1 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 30 rated federal campgrounds in Illinois · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Cell signal: the Army Corps’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026