Unusual Illinois Camping at Dixon Springs State Park

Dixon Springs State Park is located in the Illinois Shawnee National Forest. 

What makes Dixon Springs an unusual camping site in Illinois? Because it’s unlike the rest of Illinois, the Shawnee National Forest is full of canyons, waterfalls, boulders and giant century-old trees. Dixon Springs makes you feel like you left flat boring Illinois behind.

What makes this Dixon Springs State Park very interesting are all the giant rock formations throughout the park. This is due to the sandstone that was deposited millions of years ago. 

This park offers hiking, camping, and a summer pool.

We were there in November so we didn’t have access to the pool but it has an bathhouse and a large water slide that the kids are excited to come back to in the summer. You can find more information on the pool on their Facebook page.

History

Originally the area was occupied by Algonquin tribes who favorited the area. In the 1840s the area became a small town known as Dixon Springs.  Since the park as 7 springs of mineral -enriched water it was a popular health spa in the 19th century.   It became a state park shortly after the state of Illinois purchased the property in 1946. 

Hiking

• There are plenty of canyons and waterfalls to enjoy in the area.
• The park itself has two short trials a 1.7 mile nature trail and a 1 mile trail through Ghost Dance Canyon where Pluto’s Cave is located.
• Dogs are also allowed in the park as long as they are leashed and our pup enjoyed all the hikes in the park as well as all the squirrels running around. 

To find Pluto’s Cave – walk into ghost canyon and follow the trail to the left when it splits over the creek.  After the split, you’ll find the cave few hundred yards down the trail on the left. 

Picnicking

There are several picnic tables located around the park which are surrounded by wonderful rock formations and a few reservable shelters as well. 

Reservations

Campground

• There is an RV trailer camping area with a dump station and electric hookups. There is also a primitive tent camping area. 
• There was a nice sized playground by the campground which was very convenient with kids.  
• We found some of the camp sites were very narrow and not level so read the descriptions carefully! 
• The site we originally picked was not level and since the park was mostly empty we were able to swap out to another site. 
• Other campgrounds in Shawnee didn’t take advance reservations and we really didn’t want to drive several hours south to find out that they didn’t have room for us so that’s one reason we choose Dixon Springs. You can reserve at ExploreMoreIL.

Cabin

• There was 1 cabin that was available for reservations when we were there and we didn’t stay there but from the outside it looked very nice.
• It can be reserved on the same site as you would reserve a campsite at ExploreMoreIL.