U.S. Forest Service · Shawnee National Forest · IL

Pine Hills Campground

First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
OpenThe agency lists it open
A night
$10From, per site
Season
Year-roundOpen year-round
400 ftElevation
5,191 ftWater · Wolf Lake
8.6 miNW of Jonesboro, IL
94%Tree cover
Bortle 4Night sky · 9th darkest of 30 in IL
Open year-roundToday

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

Pine Hills campground has level campsites with open grassy areas between campsites. Popular with hunters in the spring and fall, the campground is also ideal for those who like to view nature, go birding, hike or take a scenic drive. Pine Hills Road leads to the top of the bluffs and features panoramic views of the LaRue Swamp and Mississippi River floodplain. Located adjacent to one of the largest natural areas in the state Pine Hills is ideal for nature lovers. In addition the Snake Road, located at the bottom of the bluffs is closed biannually to vehicular traffic, to protect the thousands of the reptiles and amphibians as they migrate between their summer and winter habitats. Pine Hills Campground Map

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
River
Source: Stated in the agency description

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and a night costs $10 with nothing added. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
A night$10Per site, fromthe agency’s fee record
A weekend$20DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 6

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night, from$10
Campsites $10/night - 8 people & 2 vehicles max.
Payment cash or check only.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What a stay costs
One night, fromDerived$10
A weekend, Friday and Saturday, fromDerived$20

Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($10), and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

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Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight42°Mostly Clear
Saturday60°Sunny
Saturday Night35°Clear
Sunday66°Areas Of Frost then Sunny

NWS forecast for Alto Pass, IL

Typical weather

Typical October night 48°F, day 73°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 25°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

100°32°20°

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: ANNA 2 NNE, IL (USC00110187), 11 miles away and 240 ft higher

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Clear Springs11 acres · 3 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Mike Bost, official portrait

Pine Hills 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: The agency lists it open right now.
Season: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’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 place of any size: Alto Pass, IL, 6 mi SW. Straight line.