Dixon Springs State Park - Tent Camping Area

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

IDNR's own words: "There is a Class B trailer camp area with a sanitary dumping station and electricity available. A tent camping area is also provided for the primitive camper." "Campers need to obtain a permit from the park personnel." IDNR's class table lists Dixon Springs as "B/E, D, Y, O" -- there is no Class C here, so the tent area is the Class D at $6. IDNR defines Class D as "Tent camping or primitive sites (walk-in or backpack) with no vehicular access". Centroid of the 10 IDNR points named "Tent Camping" (65 m spread). In the Shawnee Hills on IL-146 between Vienna and Golconda -- the closest cheap state site to the Shawnee National Forest free dispersed country. CONFIDENCE CAVEAT: IDNR's class table lists Class D for this park and IDNR's own GIS names this cluster of points as shown, but the park's public camping page does not separately describe the primitive area. A reviewer should confirm with the site office before publishing. Source: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/camp/park.dixonsprings.html (read 2026-08-14). Camp class for this park is IDNR's own, from the Camp Classifications table at https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/camp/camp-classifications.html (data feed read 2026-08-14). NOT FREE. IDNR statewide fee schedule (https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/parks/camp/documents/campingfeeschedule.pdf, read 2026-08-14) prices Class C at $10/night and Class D at $6/night. Illinois residents 62+ pay $8 (Class C) or $6 (Class D); Illinois disabled with a Class 2/2A card pay $0. STAY LIMIT, from IDNR's own administrative rule 17 Ill. Adm. Code 130.60 (https://www.ilga.gov/Commission/jcar/admincode/017/017001300000600R.html, read 2026-08-14): between May 1 and September 30 "a camp permit may be issued for a period not to exceed 14 consecutive nights" and a camper is limited to "a maximum of 14 nights in a 30 day period" at a given IDNR facility. From October 1 through April 30 "a camping permit may be issued for an unlimited number of nights". Coordinates are IDNR's own, unrounded, WGS84, from the agency ArcGIS Online layer Campground_Types (https://services.arcgis.com/b9DHj1BjfdLLFv11/arcgis/rest/services/Campground_Types/FeatureServer/0), park attribution by point-in-polygon against IDNR IDNRSiteBoundary (https://services.arcgis.com/b9DHj1BjfdLLFv11/arcgis/rest/services/IDNRSiteBoundary/FeatureServer/0). Both read 2026-08-14. NEAREST TOWN: Simpson, IL -- 7.6 mi straight-line from the campsite to the town's internal point. Source: US Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer place files (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2025_Gazetteer/2025_gaz_place_<FIPS>.txt, read 2026-08-14), restricted to FUNCSTAT='A' incorporated places across IL, IA, IN, KY, MO and WI. This is the nearest INCORPORATED place, which is not a promise that it has fuel, water or a store. Straight-line, not road miles. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.