Agency-listedCity of WaverlyFree

Waverly Lake

Drive-up · public land · IL · 39.57557, -89.98599

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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

FREE primitive camping at Waverly Lake, the little city reservoir just WEST of Waverly, in Morgan County, west-central Illinois. The City of Waverly's own page says the lake 'is available for fishing and camping,' the camping is first-come, first-served and primitive -- no services, no electricity, no potable water, so come self-contained -- and you may stay up to four days and nights. There are pit toilets, trash bins, picnic tables, fire pits and a boat launch; it's a quiet spot (you'll hear the occasional train). ONE THING TO KNOW: the camping is free, but if you want to put a boat, canoe, kayak or paddleboard ON the water you need the city's lake-use permit ($25/year, from Waverly City Hall or the Water Plant) -- that's a boating permit, not a camping or entry fee, and you can camp and fish from shore without it being a paid pass to be there. This is the honest camp-free, shop-and-eat- in-town spirit -- Waverly hopes you'll spend a little in town. Please confirm the current rules (nights allowed, whether shore fishing needs the permit) with Waverly City Hall (217-435-4611) before you go, pack out everything, and leave it better than you found it.

USGS topo — contours & terrain

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Weather outlook — at Waverly Lake

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 627 ft.

Fire & smoke — around Waverly LakeNIFC · 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 Waverly Lake · public land · IL

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

@Mail2 mi
FFuel10 mi
MMechanic10 mi
GGrocery12 mi
AAir-up15 mi
RxPharmacy16 mi
HHardware17 mi
+Urgent care17 mi
EVEV fast charger18 mi
ShShower19 mi
PPropane19 mi
LLaundry19 mi
WWater19 mi
OOutfitter20 mi
DDump24 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 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 — Waverly Lake

Access

Drive-up

Land

public land

Elevation

627 ft

State

Coordinates

39.57557, -89.98599

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply — around Waverly Lake · public land · IL (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureWaverly Lake (water) · nearby
Nearest townWaverly · ~2.1 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelShell · ~10.1 mi
Propane / LPGAirgas · ~23.0 mi
Dump station~23.7 mi
GroceriesCasey's General Store · ~12.1 mi
PharmacyWalgreens · ~16.8 mi
Hospital / clinicFamily Medical Center of Chatham · ~16.9 mi
HardwareAce Hardware · ~16.9 mi

EV charging — from Waverly Lake · public land · IL — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearest public DC fast charger17.8 mi straight-line E — Divernon, IL Rechargery Relay @ Circle K - W State Route 104 · IONNA · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 4 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
Public DC fast stations within reach16 within 25 mi · 29 within 50 · 227 within 100 · 350 within 150
Nearest listing CHAdeMO21.7 mi — GREEN AUTO FRONT CHARGE 1, Springfield
Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.3 mi — CNB JAX EV CNB - JAX, Jacksonville, IL · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
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 461078 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Nearby restrooms — around Waverly Lake · public land · IL — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

RestroomS-34 Visitor Center · ~23.7 mi NE · NPS
RestroomHS-01C Lincoln Home Privy - Historic, Non-Functional · ~23.8 mi NE · NPS
Highway rest areaCoalfield SB · ~23.9 mi SE
Highway rest areaCoalfield NB · ~24.3 mi SE

Open Waverly Lake elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

How we know this — Waverly Lake

Source

municipal park records

Confidence

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

How it was placed

Source: the City of Waverly's OWN official site, waverlyil.com/parks-and-recreation (read 2026-07-27), verbatim: 'Waverly Lake, located west of Waverly, is available for fishing and camping. A permit is required for use on the lake (i.e. boat, canoe, kayak, paddle board, etc.) for a yearly fee of $25.00 ... Camping is first come, first served and is primative with no services available. No person or persons shall camp overnight on Waverly Lake or marginal land surrounding Waverly Lake for a continuous period of more than four day and nights.' FEE ANALYSIS (mission guardrail 2): the $25/yr permit is explicitly for USE ON the lake (boat/canoe/kayak/paddleboard) = a WATER-CRAFT/activity permit, NOT an entry/access pass to be on the land and NOT a camping fee (same shape as the WI State Trail Pass biking carve-out). Camping itself is stated free, first-come, primitive => FREE, banked, HIGH (city's own official page states the rules with no camping fee). Coordinate 39.575572,-89.985994 = the EAST shoreline node of reservoir polygon OSM way/1343515279 'Waverly Lake' natural=water (api.openstreetmap.org, read 2026-07-27; 47-node polygon, bbox 39.5740..39.5788 / -89.9912..-89.9860). Deliberately NOT the Nominatim reservoir CENTROID 39.5764238,-89.9888109 (that pins in open water -- the CO Lesson-3 trap); town sits E of the lake so the east shore is the accessible, town-facing marginal land where camping happens. Nominatim reverse -> Waverly Lake, Morgan County, IL. fee=0, dispersed=0, camp_type NULL, water='no' (no potable water/electricity), status pending. City Hall 217-435-4611. Ingest 2026-07-27.

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 Waverly Lake

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 — Waverly Lake

Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →Fire rules & restrictions →Gear & rig loadout →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 →