Did You Know You Can Camp In The Cook County Forest Preserves?

WILLOW SPRINGS — The Cook County Forest Preserves wants Chicagoans to know they don’t have to travel all the way to Michigan or Wisconsin to immerse themselves in nature this summer.

The forest preserves’ five campgrounds offer a little bit of everything: kayaking, stargazing, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, birdwatching and an indoor climbing wall — all just a short trip from the city.

“Whatever your interests might be, chances are there’s a way you can enjoy them at the forest preserves,” said Stacina Stagner, communications manager for Cook County Forest Preserves.

In 2015, the forest preserves opened campgrounds at Bullfrog Lake in Willow Springs, Dan Beard in Northbrook, Camp Reinberg in Palatine, Shabbona Woods in South Holland and Camp Sullivan in Tinley Park. While some of the campgrounds had previously been used by groups like the Boy Scouts and the Izaak Walton League, Stagner said the forest preserves wanted to open them up to individuals and families so more people could experience all the nature Cook County has to offer.

“These lands belong to the people of Cook County, and so we want folks to know that this space is here for them,” she said.

Collectively, the forest preserves’ five campgrounds have almost 100 tent sites and more than 30 cabins. For Cook County residents, tent sites are $24-$40 per night, depending on the time of year and day of the week. Cabins are $46-$135. There are still tent sites that are available this weekend. You can book a site here.

City In A Campground

Chicagoans started camping in Cook County forests shortly after the preserves were founded in the early 1900s.

Jacqui Ulrich, director of the forest preserves’ conservation and experiential programs department, said people used to drive out to the preserves in the summer and spend the night to escape the heat of the city.

However, camping in the preserves was restricted to several youth campsites in the ’30s.

Glenn Schneider, co-founder and executive director of bike camping group Out Our Front Door, said he remembers going to Boy Scout camps at Camp Sullivan as a kid.

Schneider, who grew up in Mount Greenwood, said his early experiences at the preserves instilled in him a love of nature and adventure. After graduating from the University of Illinois Chicago, Schneider left the city to travel, solo camping in California, farming in Mexico and teaching English in Colombia along the way.

But after a few years, Schneider started missing his hometown.

“I love this place so much,” he said. “I realized I needed to figure out a way to find adventure here and fall in love with the nature of my home.”

Shortly after returning to the city, Schneider and his friend took a bike camping trip to Chain O’ Lakes State Park. When he returned, Schneider realized he wanted to share the love he had for Chicago nature with others, he said. He and a few friends put together their first group bike camping trip in 2015.

Out Our Front Door has grown over the past decade. Last year, the group got 500 people out bike camping, and Schneider said they plan on doing 24 overnight trips this year.

Schneider said it was “great timing” that the forest preserves’ campsites opened up right around the time Out Our Front Door started. The group organizes multiple rides to the forest preserve sites every year, including their annual Flock Off the Block, a 100-person ride to Camp Sullivan at the end of August that includes starting points throughout the city.

“Living in a big city, sometimes you feel like you have to go so far to be in nature,” Schneider said. “But, we’re a city in a garden and we’ve got to keep reminding ourselves that.”

More than a decade in, Stagner said the forest preserve’s campgrounds can still be a bit of a “hidden gem.”

“You’d be surprised how much we hear that people didn’t know that there’s camping in Cook County,” she said. “I think there’s a bit of a juxtaposition when people think about how densely populated the county is.”

Campground use has steadily grown from about 13,450 visitors in 2015 to over 83,000 in 2025, according to the forest preserves.

Forest preserves officials have tried to make camping as accessible as possible with a free Camping 101 course that goes over the basics, an overnight Camping Leadership Immersion Course and gear rentals.

Schneider has participated in the Camping Leadership Immersion Course twice and said Out Our Front Door regularly rents gear from the forest preserves.

The campgrounds also have ADA-accessible RV and tent sites, ADA-accessible cabins and cabins with heat and air-conditioning.

Stagner said getting “as many people as possible” outside and into nature has always been a central part of the forest preserves’ mission.

While protecting Cook County’s natural lands is important for stormwater retention and removing pollutants from the air, it can be hard for residents to “care about something they can’t appreciate,” Stagner said.

“Sure, there’s a ton of benefits to having this natural land even if it was inaccessible, but it’s important that folks have an opportunity to engage with it, to learn about it and to have fun with it,” she said. “Being amongst nature is core to who we are as human beings.”

You can learn more about camping at the preserves here.