Hennepin Canal State Trail - Lock 6 Campground

public land records

Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.

One of nine canal-side campgrounds IDNR names: "Campgrounds with multiple campsites along the canal can be found at: Lock 6, Lock 11, Lock 17, Lock 21, Bridge 14, Lock 22, Bridge 23, Lock 23, Lock 26." Only Lock 6, Lock 11 and Lock 21 carry a point in IDNR's GIS, so only those three became rows -- the other six are real but unmapped. IDNR's page prices this as "class 'C' (primitive camping without showers or electricity) for $8.00 per family/per night"; note the STATEWIDE schedule prices Class C at $10 -- IDNR's own two pages disagree and a reviewer should confirm which is current. "The Hennepin Canal State Park is not enrolled in the camping reservation system and DOES NOT take camping reservations. Camping at the Canal is on a first-come, first-serve basis. There are no set check-in or check-out times." "Camping along the Hennepin Canal towpath is PROHIBITED - camping is only allowed in the designated campsites. Fires are only allowed in the state-designated fire pits." WATER: "the ONLY DRINKING WATER available on the ENTIRE canal is located at the main parking lot in front of the visitor center at the large shelter." Carry water to this lock. Source: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/camp/park.hennepincanal.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: Tiskilwa, IL -- 3.2 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.