Sand Ridge State Forest - Backcountry Site 7

public land records

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

Sand Ridge State Forest backcountry site. The site NUMBER in this row's name is OUR sequence number (north to south), NOT an IDNR site number -- IDNR's GIS publishes these points unnumbered. Do not print it as if it were a signed site number. IDNR: "Backcountry camping is available at 12 primitive sites along 55 miles of trail, providing a true wilderness camping experience. Users must obtain a camping permit prior to back-country use from one of the following: forest headquarters, campground host, silent host or at ExploreMoreIL." IDNR's GIS carries exactly 12 points named "back country" inside the Sand Ridge boundary, spread over 3.5 km -- the count matches IDNR's own text, which is why each is its own row rather than a centroid. IDNR's class table lists Sand Ridge as "C, D, Y, O, E"; backcountry walk-in sites are the Class D at $6. IDNR defines Class D as "Tent camping or primitive sites (walk-in or backpack) with no vehicular access". NO WATER is stated for the backcountry sites -- the water IDNR lists is at Pine Campground, Oak Campground and Horseman's Park, not out on the trail. Illinois's largest state forest, ~7,500 acres of sand prairie and pine plantation west of Manito. Source: https://dnr.illinois.gov/parks/camp/park.sandridge.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: Forest City, IL -- 3.7 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.