shabbona lake state park

Relaxing atmosphere. You can rent a boat and enjoy the water. Interesting coffee place with a variety of food. Also, nice afternoon ride if you live 10-15 miles away.

We stayed here over Columbus Weekend 2014. It was beautiful. Many campsites are wooded, although you will meet your neighbors. If isolation is what you want this may not be the place for you. Sites in the 140s seemed a little more secluded. There are some sites right up by the lake too. We were close to the showers, which were clean and had regular toilets. The pit toilets were also clean at this time and had no smell at all. There is a camp store, marina, bait shop, restaurant and some great hiking! They also have a dump station if needed. Lots of picnic areas and playgrounds. Good fishing too. Great for a day trip or a weekend of camping!

We spent a wonderful day at Shabbona State park taking in some hiking and lunch while my hubby fished for musky. He has always enjoyed the challenge of catching the "big" one. In past years we camped here with the kids often. The camp store can furnish all your needs and the people are just so darn friendly. We look forward to a fall trip, again to look for that elusive musky!

We once lived near a hog farm and there were fewer flies. It is painfully obvious the numerous pit toilets in the campground are not treated to prevent this onslaught. The park itself is very nice , just don't try to sit outside until after dark.

I would go there again but this time I would rent a boat so the kids can have a overall good experience. We fished,bbq, played at the park and than laid on the picnic cover enjoying the day.

We did two nights camping during July 4th weekend with two kids, 10 and 12 years old. Friday night there was a firework over Shabbona Lake, which you can see from the certain part of the camp ground. But we decided to drive to picnic area of the lake which is open to public. It was more fun watching fireworks from there. Next day we rented a pontoon boat and did fishing from the boat. Hoped to get large fishes based on the pictures posted all around the bait shop there, but got none. Then towards evening kids got good size crappies fishing from the boat launch area. That was lot of fun. I would not rate camp ground high. Sites are very small and right next to one another. Campers there bring pets which tend to make crowded. I probably will not go back for camping, but certainly will go back for fishing and picnic.

This is a popular camp ground so reserve way in advance. We came here a week before 4th of July and got the lake front spot, which had no shade and no tree. It was a great spot with the view but not ideal for staying in hot weather. We came back 4th of July weekend and had a better spot with shade, which was just across from our previous spot the week before so the lake was visible from our spot. We saw the fire works and rented a boat for four hours. It was a great stay!

This campground was very nice and a short distance from Chicago. I made our reservations online and check in was easy. We had 138 in Casselback Cove. It was partly sunny which was nice. The site itself is where the road splits and there was a lot of traffic. The sites were a nice sizeHowever, with the location of the firepit, we were unable to utilize our awning and screened in attachment to our pop up. The firepits were very large cement circles with no grate to cook, so make sure you bring your own or a grill. The campstore was well stocked and had most of what you needed. There is a grocery store in town but the meat selection is poor at best. The meat did not look fresh and careful when picking out cold salads in the cooler. The potato salad had a sell by date sticker over an expired older sticker. Best to bring in your own food. We went on a hike on the trails and ended up accidentally hiking more 10 miles. Forgot our map and one trail connected to another and so on. We ended up going around the entire lake. Not clearly marked. So take your map! We had a great time and the camp hosts were very friendly. Oh.. yeah the toilets near our site were pit toilets and were surprisingly clean. The showers and flush toilets were not far and were okay. Bring your own soap to wash your hands. None in bathroom,!

I liked the ability to ski and I was at an event where they used the garage for a warming site which worked out well for our group. Thanks to the Lions many visually impaired skiers were able to ski. They also do a fishing event in the summer. There is a lake at this site as well with a fishing pier.

This little bit of paradise is just a bit of a drive from Chicago. Enjoy nature; camping, boating, or fishing at your leisure. So close - yet so far away.

We loved camping here, especially in the fall. There is a restaurant in the park and the rest rooms at the campground are good. Views of the lake are beautiful and there is lots of camping in the woods. Over all, a great campground not too far from Chicago, but it fills up fast. We would go out on Wednesday with our camper and set up in order to have a great site for the weekend! Fishing is good also. Nature at it's best in the country.

Great place where we have had many family picnics that started with breakfast and lasted through dinner. Beautiful surroundings. Fireworks over the lake are a great experience as well.

Nice place to go for a day, family friendly. The fishing can be good but you need to have a boat to really do well. Personally feel the lake is a bit overfished.

We fished there 5/11/2013. It was a rough day to fish - Cold - Very windy. I caught 4 Large Mouthed Bass and a few Crappie. The guy that owns the bait shop is nice and knowledgeable beyond words. There is a restaurant on the property and the food is very good and reasonable $$$.Check it out at:http://shabbonalake.com/index.php/fishing/Mike

We were part of a two family group that rented a pontoon boat for the day. It was very enjoyable and relaxing to just enjoy the beautiful summer day. My only advice for pontoon rental is to NOT reserve it for 1/2 day as we made several laps around the lake in that time. 1 to 2 hours would have been plenty.