Campground Review #1 - Shabbona Lake State Park

Shabbona Lake State Park - Shabbona, IL

This is my go-to campground.  This is where I bring everyone for their first-time (or first-time in a long time) camping trips.  It's about 70 miles East of Chicago and about 20 miles South of Dekalb.  I live about 30 miles East of Chicago, so it's only about an hour from my house...just far enough away to feel like I'm on a vacation.  

I've never had a bad camping experience here (not counting the thunderstorm and leaking tent - which had nothing to do with the campground) and I've camped here close to a dozen times in the past 4 years.  The campground hosts are awesome, they enforce quiet hours but not too strict.  If you're having a good time and keeping quiet, they'll leave you alone.

The lake is for fishing only, not swimming.  You can bring your own boat or rent one of theirs.  They have a whole bunch of boats available to rent.  I've rented a pontoon boat several times and had a great time.  The lake itself has access from the campground and also general access through the State Park.  On the non-campground side (which is only a 5 minute drive around the lake) there is a restaurant, more boats to rent and a fishing store where you can buy anything and everything fishing.

There is a small playground on the non-campground side of the lake that kids can use.  The campground itself has a playground and some swings.  My only concern on the campground side is that the playground is not really designed for my kids (currently 3 and 1.5). In a few years, they'll have a great time!

The town of  Shabbona has a small grocery store and a Casey's within 5 minutes of the campground so you have everything you need. 

Here's some of the finer details and my opinion of some of the campground specifics:

Types of Sites:

• 150 Class A Premium campsites (90 reservable through www.reserveamerica.com & 60 first-come first-serve)
• All with electric, picnic table, fire ring and vehicle access
• Also have 2 cabins available for rent
• Also have a youth camping area - 2 groups of up to 50 campers
• Sanitary dump station available

Bathrooms

• 1 Shower Building with flushing toilets
• 5 pit toilets throughout campground
• 6 water spigots throughout campground

General Cleanliness

• On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best): 8
• Pit toilets smell and look like pit toilets (a little bleach would be nice)
• Shower building is clean and comfortable
• Campground is very clean and kept up very well

Family Friendly

• On a scale of 1-10 910 being the best): 7
• There is a playground, but not the best for toddlers
• There is a youth fishing pond (I've never seen a fish pulled from there)
• Bicycle friendly
• Trails and paths for kids to enjoy (hiking trails are also great!)

Camp Store

• Always has enough wood
• Always has what I forget to bring
• Prices are reasonable
• Hours are good

Swimming

• There is no swimming anywhere (cannot swim in the lake, no pool)

Boating

• Boat rentals are available at the Camp Store (fishing boat to large pontoon boat)

Hunting

• Archery deer hunting, waterfowl and dove hunting are available on 744 acres at Shabbona.

The Trailhead

Every journey has to start somewhere, right?

Like many guys my first camping experience happened with the Boy Scouts.  I have memories of camping trips where I learned to start fires with nothing but flint and steel.  I shot my first rifle at Boy Scout camp.  I stayed up all night telling stories and having a good time around a campfire.  Camping has always been an interest of mine.

But then one day, Boy Scouts was over and I found myself in High School with a part time job.  Then college.  Then after college and my first real job I found that camping was just a distant memory.  Until the day a friend of mine said he was going to throw away his tent.  There was nothing wrong with it, he just didn't want it laying around anymore.  So I took it.

I can remember very fondly the first time using the tent at a nearby State Campground, my wife and I had no idea what we were doing.  I had some memories of camping with the Scouts, but most of those were stored away deep in my memory.  We packed a small bag with some cloths, deodorant and toothpaste.  Stopped at the Casey's near the campground and bought some food (S'mores, frozen pizza and bacon)  and headed to the campground.  I showed up, paid my fee for camping and setup the tent and realized I didn't have firewood.  So off to the camp store we went.  There we found the wood we needed, along with matches, some candy bars and Pepsi.  We were set to camp!

As we got back to the site, we threw the pizza on the grill (and immediately realized that pizza and camping are not a good combination) and it started to rain.  We barely got the pizza done before the fire went out.  So we took it into the tent to eat.  Once we were done eating we realized we didn't have anything to do - no cards, no books, nothing.  So we sat around, talked and listened to the rain.  After several hours of that we decided it was bedtime.  That's when the lightning and thunder started.

For about 45 minutes we both were too stubborn to admit that we weren't having any fun, she didn't want to ask to leave and I was too manly to admit that I wanted to leave.  But once the tent started to leak, we looked at each other and almost at the same instant said "let's go".  We got in our car, headed home and got a good nights sleep on our bed.

The next morning when we got to the campground, we packed up the tent, cleaned up our mess and went home.  It was the most memorable camping experience I've ever had and we didn't even spend the night.

So why, if it was so bad, do I love camping?  I don't know, it planted a seed in me that just kept growing and growing.  Several weeks later, we tried camping again and actually spent the night....in the rain.  Then over the course of a few years we camped, started building our supply of camping gear and became more confident.

Then, two years ago we traded in the tent for a popup camper and have had two kids since.  Now camping is a completely different and even more fun.

I've learned a lot since that first rainy night and know that I have a whole lot more learning to do.  So, I'm going to use this site as a resource for any camper from the newbie to the seasoned pro.  I want it to be interactive, I want it to be informative, I want it to be fun and I hope that you'll find it all of these things too!

Product Review #1 - Coleman Deluxe Camp Grill ~ $10.00

Why in the world would I write a review about a $10 piece of metal?  I'll tell you why, it's the first camping accessory I ever purchased and I still have it today.  I use it at least 2 times a year when the grill on the campground fire ring is really really nasty.  It works as you would assume, you place it in the ground above or near an open flame.  The closer to the flame you get, the hotter the cooking temperature.

I've cooked burgers and hot dogs on it and I've used it to boil a pot of water.  It's pretty basic, pretty useful, and extremely portable.  I would recommend having one of these in your box of camping goodies so you have it with you everywhere you go, you never know when it may be needed.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Big cooking surface
• Easy to setup
• Folds down almost flat for storage
• Sold everywhere

Cons:

• If it isn't setup the right way it can be unstable
• Once it's in the ground, it's hard to move if the fire is blazing.  

That's it, my first review is in the books.  Please reply and let me know if there is something you would like to see reviewed or talked about.

I'll see you next time!