Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Turkey Bayou Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · IL · 37.68463, -89.41095
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Turkey Bayou Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 353 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Turkey Bayou CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Turkey Bayou Campground · Shawnee National Forest · IL
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail5 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- WWater7 mi
- MMechanic7 mi
- FFuel7 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- DDump8 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- HHardware10 mi
- RxPharmacy10 mi
- EVEV fast charger11 mi
- OOutfitter11 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- AAir-up54 mi
- PPropane55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Turkey Bayou Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
353 ft
State
IL
Coordinates
37.68463, -89.41095
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Turkey Bayou Campground · Shawnee National Forest · IL (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureTurkey Bayou (water) · nearby
- Nearest townPoplar Ridge · ~2.5 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~6.6 mi
- FuelCircle K · ~7.3 mi
- Propane / LPGRoc Stop Fuel · ~27.0 mi
- Dump station~8.2 mi
- GroceriesCardinal Corner · ~6.2 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~11.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicSaint Joseph Memorial Hospital · ~7.8 mi
- HardwareMurdale True Value · ~9.8 mi
EV charging — from Turkey Bayou Campground · Shawnee National Forest · IL — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger10.7 mi straight-line NE — SIUC Transportation Education Center, Murphysboro, IL (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach12 within 25 mi · 26 within 50 · 182 within 100 · 308 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)24.9 mi — Marion, IL - Tesla Supercharger, Marion
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.5 mi — Holiday Inn Express - Perryville, Perryville
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.6 mi — Airport Site 2 LV 2, Murphysboro, IL (at a public site) · RED_E · J1772 · 10 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 428473 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Turkey Bayou Campground · Shawnee National Forest · IL — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLittle Grand Canyon · ~0.9 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOakwood Bottoms Greentree Reservoir Interpretive · ~2.9 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOakwood Viewing Blinds · ~3.1 mi W · USFS
- RestroomPomona Natural Bridge · ~4.4 mi SE · USFS
Open Turkey Bayou Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Turkey Bayou Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Seventy-Six Conservation Area~11.4 mi
- Johnson Creek - Primitive~11.6 mi
- Pine Hills Campground~11.7 mi
- Johnson Creek Cg~12.0 mi · fee
The unit that manages Turkey Bayou Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Turkey Bayou Campground are set by Shawnee National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Turkey Bayou Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
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.
Field check
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.
What we don’t know about Turkey Bayou Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Turkey Bayou Campground
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading the aerial →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →