CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · IL

Gun Creek

ReservableBookable through November 22, and from March 12 through April 16.

Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:20 UTC
A night: $18–$26Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 100All of them booked ahead

Photos · USACE

99 ftLongest rig

440 ftElevation

760 ftWater · Mine Number 21 Reservoir

0.8 miN of Benton, IL

48%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices

In the agency’s own words

Gun Creek Campground is located on the eastern shore of Rend Lake— the perfect place to enjoy a wide variety of activities, events, and nature at its best. Rend Lake is made up of 20,633 acres of water and 19,523 acres of land. Whether you're looking for high adventure, a peaceful retreat, or something in between, you'll find it here in the heart of Southern Illinois. Keep reading

Recreation

Gun Creek Campground is conveniently located near the Gun Creek Day Use Area, which includes a boat ramp and a reservable picnic shelter. The area offers abundant opportunities for boating, hiking, fishing, hunting, swimming, and general outdoor exploration. Additional recreation features around Rend Lake include the Rend Lake Bike Trail, an archery complex with a 3D trail and elevated shooting platform, a dog park with a swimming feature, and two public swimming beaches (including the pet-friendly North Marcum Beach).

Facilities

Gun Creek Campground offers 98 reservable campsites equipped with electric hookups, a picnic table, and a firepit. The campground offers a dump station, hot showers, flush toilets, and drinking water to provide a comfortable camping experience for guests. A playground is also conveniently located within the Nighthawk and Eagle camping loops.

Natural Features

The fields, forests and waters of Rend Lake provide a natural haven for wildlife and an outdoor wonderland for you. Woodland areas are made up of hickory, oak, and beautiful maples providing habitat to white-tail deer, turkeys, racoons, and many more native species. The shorelines are an excellent viewing area for waterfowl, shorebirds, and bank fishing our known crappie population.

Nearby Attractions

Rend Lake Golf Complex, which includes a 27-hole golf course, restaurant, and lodge. Rend Lake Shooting Complex Rend Lake Archery Complex Rend Lake Mountain Bike Trail Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park North Marcum Day Use (Beach and Boat Ramp)

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

What the agency tells you

Rule

All campers MUST register/ check-in with gate attendant upon arrival to receive site and vehicle tags.

Rule

Camping equipment is required to be placed on the campsite; one camper with a maximum of three tents OR four tents per site are permitted. Sites may NOT be reserved for parking of vehicles.

Rule

Reservations require a primary occupant to be 18 years of age or older and to be present on-site for the duration of the stay.

Everything else this campground posts · 2

Rule

See Park Information Guide for additional rules and regulations.

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: 100
Hookups: 100 electric, 26 water, 26 sewer
Longest rig: 99 ft
Paved pads: All
Accessible sites: 6
Pets: Allowed
Campfires: Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade: Every site

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

Facilities

Toilets: Flush Toilets; “…offers a dump station, hot showers, flush toilets, and drinking water to provide a comfortable…”
Showers: Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind; “The campground offers a dump station, hot showers, flush toilets, and drinking water to provide a comfortable camping experience for guests.”
Drinking water: Yes; “…station, hot showers, flush toilets, and drinking water to provide a comfortable camping experience for…”
Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp: Yes
Playground: Yes
Camp host: On site; recreation.gov lists “Host”
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

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

Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: Lake, Creek, Beach; Biking; Birding; Boating; Fishing; Picnicking; Water access
Night sky · 18th 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 198 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:20 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBooked

Booking windowThrough November 22Bookable now through November 22, 2026, the end of this reservable season, and again for March 12, 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$18–$26plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$44–$60DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.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 · 15

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Army Corps of Engineers

A night, per site$18–$26

Standard Electric$18

Full hook-up (Water, Sewer, & Electric)$26

Group areas, a night$30

The agency has already scheduled a change from Jan 1, 2027: $20 to $28 a night.

Rates for the season the campground is in now, Mar 13, 2026 to Nov 22, 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$26–$34

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$44–$60

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $18–$26 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

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 · 5

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

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 16:20 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

101 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 101 mapped sites

67 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

Most roomGUN CREEK DAY USE S10 436 ftLoop CARD 059 190 ftLoop EAGL 084 118 ftLoop BLUE 051 115 ftLoop BLUE 048 95 ft

Least roomLoop NIGH 001 44 ftLoop NIGH 002 44 ftLoop NIGH 008 49 ft

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

All 101 records

101 of 101 records located

RV / electric100Day use1

041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 S10 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

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 101 of the 101 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. 100 of the 101 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.


BLUE	041	standard electric	62 ft	30/50 amp		53 ft	401 ft	318 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	042	standard electric	89 ft	30/50 amp		53 ft	349 ft	345 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	043	standard electric	81 ft	30/50 amp		71 ft	286 ft	399 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	044	standard electric	82 ft	30/50 amp		62 ft	228 ft	463 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	045	standard electric	82 ft	30/50 amp		57 ft	182 ft	514 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	046	standard electric	78 ft	30/50 amp		57 ft	151 ft	565 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	047	standard electric	64 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	128 ft	627 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	048	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		96 ft	116 ft	715 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	049	standard electric	77 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	121 ft	764 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	050	standard electric	95 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	123 ft	711 ft	$18–$26
BLUE	051	standard electric	99 ft	30/50 amp		115 ft	377 ft	435 ft	$18–$26
CARD	052	standard electric	77 ft	30/50 amp	yes	68 ft	266 ft	666 ft	$18–$26
CARD	053	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	242 ft	700 ft	$18–$26
CARD	054	standard electric	81 ft	30/50 amp		77 ft	225 ft	739 ft	$18–$26
CARD	055	standard electric	68 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	96 ft	770 ft	$18–$26
CARD	056	standard electric	85 ft	30/50 amp		54 ft	115 ft	746 ft	$18–$26
CARD	057	standard electric	83 ft	30/50 amp		54 ft	125 ft	726 ft	$18–$26
CARD	058	standard electric	86 ft	30/50 amp		66 ft	149 ft	713 ft	$18–$26
CARD	059	standard electric	99 ft	30/50 amp		190 ft	317 ft	666 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	060	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		89 ft	735 ft	366 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	061	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp		85 ft	653 ft	412 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	062	standard electric	80 ft	30/50 amp	yes	88 ft	675 ft	293 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	063	standard electric	80 ft	30/50 amp		73 ft	589 ft	357 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	064	standard electric	62 ft	30/50 amp		87 ft	611 ft	244 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	065	standard electric	53 ft	30/50 amp		73 ft	541 ft	319 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	066	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	458 ft	319 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	067	standard electric	50 ft	30/50 amp		76 ft	518 ft	233 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	068	standard electric	59 ft	30/50 amp		50 ft	418 ft	326 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	069	standard electric	47 ft	30/50 amp		76 ft	470 ft	261 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	070	standard electric	84 ft	30/50 amp		50 ft	379 ft	355 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	071	standard electric	41 ft	30/50 amp		84 ft	408 ft	331 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	072	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp		60 ft	325 ft	379 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	073	standard electric	43 ft	30/50 amp		75 ft	373 ft	287 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	074	standard electric	65 ft	30/50 amp		60 ft	301 ft	333 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	075	standard electric	63 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	288 ft	289 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	076	standard electric	51 ft	30/50 amp		71 ft	298 ft	243 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	077	standard electric	63 ft	30/50 amp		66 ft	297 ft	183 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	078	standard electric	68 ft	30/50 amp		86 ft	310 ft	43 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	079	standard electric	64 ft	30/50 amp		66 ft	280 ft	124 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	080	standard electric	68 ft	30/50 amp		78 ft	274 ft	43 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	081	standard electric	55 ft	30/50 amp		78 ft	196 ft	100 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	082	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		90 ft	213 ft	148 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	083	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		90 ft	174 ft	185 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	084	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		118 ft	47 ft	326 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	085	standard electric	64 ft	30/50 amp		62 ft	114 ft	314 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	086	standard electric	83 ft	30/50 amp		62 ft	140 ft	308 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	087	standard electric	76 ft	30/50 amp		88 ft	209 ft	302 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	088	standard electric	77 ft	30/50 amp		70 ft	240 ft	343 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	089	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp	yes	69 ft	305 ft	325 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	090	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		66 ft	358 ft	252 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	091	standard electric	65 ft	30/50 amp		69 ft	374 ft	274 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	092	standard electric	75 ft	30/50 amp		51 ft	422 ft	192 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	093	standard electric	69 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	447 ft	226 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	094	standard electric	78 ft	30/50 amp		51 ft	471 ft	147 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	095	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	516 ft	193 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	096	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		58 ft	530 ft	99 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	097	standard electric	78 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	594 ft	183 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	098	standard electric	79 ft	30/50 amp		67 ft	661 ft	196 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	099	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp		66 ft	688 ft	123 ft	$18–$26
EAGL	100	standard electric	75 ft	30/50 amp	yes	66 ft	753 ft	180 ft	$18–$26
GUN CREEK DAY USE	S10	day use	99 ft			436 ft	59 ft	423 ft	$30
NIGH	001	standard electric	69 ft	30/50 amp		44 ft	589 ft	259 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	002	standard electric	76 ft	30/50 amp		44 ft	624 ft	245 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	003	standard electric	95 ft	30/50 amp		59 ft	579 ft	127 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	004	standard electric	79 ft	30/50 amp		52 ft	679 ft	232 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	005	standard electric	88 ft	30/50 amp		52 ft	718 ft	231 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	006	standard electric	96 ft	30/50 amp		59 ft	623 ft	104 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	007	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp	yes	50 ft	748 ft	228 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	008	standard electric	54 ft	30/50 amp		49 ft	778 ft	233 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	009	standard electric	78 ft	30/50 amp		49 ft	785 ft	223 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	010	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	618 ft	180 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	011	standard electric	73 ft	30/50 amp		70 ft	696 ft	257 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	012	standard electric	77 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	586 ft	228 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	013	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		70 ft	670 ft	296 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	014	standard electric	95 ft	30/50 amp		51 ft	533 ft	267 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	015	standard electric	91 ft	30/50 amp		92 ft	589 ft	296 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	016	standard electric	65 ft	30/50 amp	yes	51 ft	498 ft	226 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	017	standard electric	85 ft	30/50 amp		62 ft	450 ft	165 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	018	standard electric	76 ft	30/50 amp		64 ft	533 ft	222 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	019	standard electric	75 ft	30/50 amp		49 ft	490 ft	173 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	020	standard electric	93 ft	30/50 amp		49 ft	458 ft	152 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	021	standard electric	75 ft	30/50 amp		64 ft	397 ft	137 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	022	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		58 ft	316 ft	172 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	023	standard electric	61 ft	30/50 amp		58 ft	270 ft	195 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	024	standard electric	57 ft	30/50 amp		77 ft	236 ft	231 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	025	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		83 ft	192 ft	229 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	026	standard electric	88 ft	30/50 amp		55 ft	150 ft	243 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	027	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		55 ft	141 ft	225 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	028	standard electric	25 ft	30/50 amp		56 ft	116 ft	214 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	029	standard electric	69 ft	30/50 amp		64 ft	160 ft	181 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	030	standard electric	82 ft	30/50 amp		64 ft	203 ft	201 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	031	standard electric	72 ft	30/50 amp		54 ft	277 ft	263 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	032	standard electric	48 ft	30/50 amp		54 ft	324 ft	256 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	033	standard electric	63 ft	30/50 amp		94 ft	298 ft	168 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	034	standard electric	56 ft	30/50 amp		86 ft	360 ft	223 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	035	standard electric	71 ft	30/50 amp		70 ft	435 ft	142 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	036	standard electric	70 ft	30/50 amp		50 ft	338 ft	235 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	037	standard electric	92 ft	30/50 amp		50 ft	360 ft	221 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	038	standard electric	55 ft	30/50 amp		70 ft	456 ft	123 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	039	standard electric	77 ft	30/50 amp		76 ft	507 ft	159 ft	$18–$26
NIGH	040	standard electric	66 ft	30/50 amp		68 ft	445 ft	256 ft	$18–$26

The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It files it as day use. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.

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 101 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

Coordinate38.07861, -88.93028

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone618-724-2493

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Dale Miller Youth3.1 mi

Spillway Group Area3.1 mi

South Marcum Campground3.1 mi

North Sandusky Campground4.1 mi

Shagbark Group Area4.8 mi

South Sandusky Campground5.1 mi

Getting there

From I-57 take exit 77 and turn west on Route 154. Turn left onto Gun Creek Trail/Larry Foster Parkway, then right onto Golf Course Road. Continue 1/2 mile to park entrance.

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

Overnight42°Mostly Clear

Saturday61°Sunny

Saturday Night36°Clear

Sunday67°Areas Of Frost then Sunny

NWS forecast for Benton, IL

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

Typical weather

Typical October night 46°F, day 69°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 24°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: DU QUOIN 4 SE, IL (USC00112483), 16 miles away and at about the same elevation

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

Gun Creek 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

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 30 of the next 30 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 and November 2026. It names 101 of the 100 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 14, 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 101 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: 0.82 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