NW Illinois, Buffalo Rock State Park: Walk-in sites?

**Rocket** · 09-06-2017, 19:20

I'm meeting my family for a trip to Starved Rock, and due to a change in plans I have this coming Friday night free and wanted to get in some camping, if possible. Starved Rock State Park campgrounds are full-up, but I see that there's a place called Buffalo Rock State Park just across the river, and that it has some walk-in sites. Other than that, I can't find any info on them. Anybody stayed here before? What're the fees like? How far are the sites from the road? Any trees there? Can you stealth hang?

Thanks in advance. You guys have been such a great help with my last few vacations -- I really appreciate all the input.

**Cory Hess** · 09-06-2017, 22:16

I haven't stayed at Buffalo Rock, but we visited last summer when we were at Starved Rock. It's not too busy, so I'd imagine it'd be pretty easy to get in. Stealth camping would be extremely easy as the property is pretty heavily wooded and as of last year there was no rangers on staff. There was a sign at the ranger station explaining that the state didn't have any funds to staff the park, so everybody was pretty much on their own.

My advice would be to definitely check out Matthiessen State Park. There's no camping, but it's a great place to spend a day. Matthiessen, Starved Rock, and Buffalo Rock are all within a couple miles of each other and Matthiessen was by far the best in our opinion. When we went back this year we didn't even bother with Starved Rock or Buffalo Rock. We camped at Illini State Park, which is about 20 miles upriver. It's got a decent enough campground and the drive isn't bad to get to the other parks. The campground at Starved Rock is basically a field with a ring of trees around the outside. You're better off with it being full. For us, the 20 mile drive was worth it to not have to camp at Starved Rock again.

I'm using pretty strong language in this post, and I don't want to come across as bashing a park that others might really like. However, I have pretty strong feelings about the camping at Starved Rock and the awesomeness of Matthiessen.

**rweb82** · 09-06-2017, 22:31

Matthiessen for sure. Much less crowded than Starved Rock, and the scenery is just as good.

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**Rocket** · 09-07-2017, 06:35

Good to know about Matthiessen; it's next on our list for sure. The trick with going to Starved Rock is to either go early in the morning (we're meeting at 9am) or in the winter (we've gone in January and been the only ones there for hours at a stretch, and the ice formations are gorgeous), and don't bother with the canyons nearest the lodge. There are three pocket canyons (Kaskaksia, Ottowa, and Illinois) over to one side. We're taking small kids that can't walk too far, and those three-in-a-row canyons -- with no stairs anywhere -- are just perfect for their short legs and short attention spans. But the eldest is getting big enough that she's ready for more in-depth exploring, so we'll look at Matthiessen next.

Cory Hess: really good to hear about Illini State Park! I've been through the SRSP campgrounds in the off season before so I know what they look like, but you're right, I loathe crowded RV parks, and the loops there were nothing special. I'll check ISP out and see if there're any openings. Thanks for the tip! HammockForums is the best.

**Ledanek** · 09-15-2017, 22:29

I agree with Matthiessen being better than SR. SR is getting too dirty with parents who bring kids with their bottle water the throw them under stairs or side of trails. These people have zero appreciation of the park. When someone ask about SR, I tell them its dirty and charge $50 entrance just to discourage them.

Unless. They are campers or I know are respectful to Nature.

https://imgur.com/gallery/mAM0n