Review of Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood, Illinois

Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood, Illinois is probably the best place to camp in Illinois. First of all, it is located about three hours from Chicago. I have been to a lot of campgrounds in the Chicago area, but none have the beautiful scenery along with the huge number of activities that Kickapoo has. This is a perfect camping vacation just waiting to happen.

The most appealing attraction that the state park has is the water recreation that is available. The park has twenty-two different lakes, some of which are perfectly clear because new trees and vegetation have pulled the organic material out of the lakes. Around the water, the scenery is great, green with many trees. However, it is what you do in the water that is fun. There is fishing available, which we did and failed. Still, we saw others catching some big fish in the lakes and even some of the smaller ponds. We also went boating in Clear Pond in a canoe. The name portrays the clarity of the water and the size. I am used to canoeing in water that is murky where I would be weary to touch it. This was really cool to be on water that was so clean in appearance. To go canoeing, you can rent one there near Clear Pond. Interestingly, I also saw signs at Kickapoo indicating that scuba diving was available in the water. This makes sense though because the water was really clear. I have never seen this before in any campground, but we couldn't do it because you have to be certified as a scuba diver first. So if you're interested, make sure to take certification papers.

After lots of fun on the water, we headed to our nice campsite. The park is pretty large and has nearly two hundred sites available. However, I don't think you can reserve many of them. We didn't have to make a reservation, but we went during the week, when campgrounds aren't nearly as busy. I would call in advance to make sure there is space available on the weekends. Our campsite was a little bumpy, but the shade was good, and we had electricity available. The sites are pretty well separated from each other where we were, which made conditions more comfortable. There are also showers available at the park, and the bathrooms are adequate.