Winter Camping around Chicago, 2021

We really want to keep our hikes and camping going throughout the winter. We have never winter camped and we don’t really have the right equipment for backcountry camping in the winter. However, we want to experience sleeping outside as long as we can so we learned a few tricks before the snow came and the weather turned really cold.

On November 1, all Chicago area state parks close for camping except for 5 locations. Also after November 1, there are no more campsite reservations, which means all camping is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Almost all locations are $25/night except Illini State park at $18. Bring checks as the ranger station is often closed and payments are collected via a drop-box.

Open Campgrounds:

• Illinois Beach State Park (until Jan 1)
• Fox Lake State Park (Opens Jan 1)
• Rock Cut State Park
• Lowden State Park
• Staved Rock State Park
• Illini State Park

Winter camping at Lowden State Park. Sites 21, 22, 23 are all decent sites for winter camping. Most of the sites are closed for the winter and the shower house is also closed. On this trip, we encountered a crazy situation. Well, not that crazy, but a couple had driving into the campground and gotten themselves lost. It seems some prescription drugs and maybe a beer or 2 helped them get lost. The ground was covered in leaves and it was dark. When we checked in at the Ranger Station, they drove up to us and asked how to leave the park. We showed them and then went to our site. As we pulled into our site, they were driving in the middle of the camp grounds, dodging fire pits and picnic tables, and heading right for our car. I was already standing, but my dad was still in the driver’s seat and threw the car into reverse to avoid getting hit. This couple stopped exactly where we eventually placed our tents and I just started yelling at them. I mean, it was so dangerous and I had nightmares all night. My dad just started laughing when he saw me yelling. He said, “If Ryan starts yelling at you, you’re probably doing something pretty bad.”

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IL Beach State Park Winter Camping is a different experience. First, there are only about 10 other campers in the whole campground. Second, its all walk-up camping. We arrive after dark, find our campsite and then pay the next morning. There are payment envelopes at the ranger station and we always have 1-2 site specific envelopes from every campsite with us.

Another nice thing about winter camping is the wildlife. For the most part, the local animals hold on to their territory because there are not enough people to scare them off. On this night, we had 2-3 deer hang out with us. The coyotes don’t visit but they sing. Typically, the coyote concert begins at 9pm with new vocal sets every 90 minutes until dawn. Its pretty cool to wake up to in the middle of the night.

We are the only ones at this campsite camping in the winter in tents! My electric blanket broke in the middle of the night (don’t sleep with the power cranked too high!).

It’s about 8am in November and the sun has just come up. It’s cold but beautiful along the lake front. Watch and use the 360° features with our 4K quality video to have the best viewing experience.

We are discussing the Owls talking to each other during the night. Then we talk about the deer at the campsite next to ours. The animal life is really something great during winter camping. We also talk about our winter camping hack: electric blankets. Yes, this is a luxury in the same sense that a wrought-iron pan for eggs and pancakes is a luxury. As we discuss, alternatives for heat that we’d use for back country winter camping are 20x more expensive. Electric blankets are perfect for car camping in the winter at campsites with RV outlets in them.

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What’s in our bag? We talk about our clothing and gear for staying warm in winter camping. It’s still November when we recorded this and camping along Lake Michigan helped keep the night temps stable. Look at the color of that sky. Its about 8am, the sun is rising and it’s a beautiful day.

Setting up in the dark is challenging. With the sun setting before we even begin our drive, the dark is the only option we have. We didn’t take any winter camping videos during our set-up because it was always dark, but you’ll get the idea from this time lapse.

We are strolling around the campgrounds at Starved Rock State Park. Before you enter these campgrounds there is a firewood dispensing vending machine. The Starved Rock campgrounds are open year-round. Starved Rock also has cabins available to sleep in.

We are walking in between the two sections of campgrounds and couldn’t help but to stop and listen to these birds. There must have been a hundred birds (maybe more) going crazy.

We woke up on Thanksgiving morning, in the woods, at a State Park. It doesn’t get much better than that. Also, check out that fog! We are exploring campsites 254, 255, 256, 257 in this video as well as campsites 330-350.

We return to site 256 at IL Beach State Park. Winter tent camping on fallen pine is pretty nice. So are electric blankets.

sing an absorbent towel would have been good here. We wake up to a cold, frost covered campsite with cold, frost covered tents. We had to pack our tents up wet & heavy this morning.

As I enjoy my morning coffee, I take you on a tour of campsites 18, 19, 20 & 21 at the Starved Rock State Park Campgrounds. The campgrounds come equipped with a picnic table, fire-pit and RV outlets. There is a wheel-chair accessible restroom in the center of the campgrounds.

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Good morning from a warm and safe cabin at Illini State Park. We have the entire campground to ourselves. These cabins are not reservable in the winter, so be prepared to tent camp if someone beats you to this cabin. Eating at a table with some heat makes a big difference.

It’s fun to return to our summer camping sites at a different time of the year. Dad talks about the tree damage that’s occurred since last summer – use your 360° controls to get the full experience.

A lot is going on as we make room for my brother, Neil. We were blessed by his company this trip to the cabin at Illini State Park. We switch up our jelly from ginger to strawberry-banana in our famous sunflower butter jelly sandwiches. We experienced 2 astronomical events (Winter Solstice and the Great Conjunction) the night before. We share with Neil some things to expect sleeping here such as barges going down the Illinois River.

After a much-needed camping session at Illini State Park, Neil and I go over what we enjoyed most.

Sit back and enjoy the snap, crackle and pop of a campfire overlooking the Illinois River.

The last in our series of Winter Camping videos, we again head to Illini State Park for the cabin. Its Dec 30-31, my brother Neil joins us again and we end the year strong. It’s cold and there is snow, so we are grateful for the cabin.

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