“steep, thickly wooded ridges”
Fox Ridge State Park, a 2,064 acre park 8 miles south of Charleston in east-central Illinois, is known for its steep, thickly wooded ridges, broad, lush valleys and miles of rugged, scenic hiking trails.In sharp contrast to the flat prairieland of most of this section of Illinois, the Coles County park is set amidst rolling hills along the forested bluffs of the Embarras ("Ambraw") River.Fox Ridge State Park is a great place to visit at any time of year. In winter, the snow-softened ridges are alive with birds and animals. In the spring, a panoramic blanket of multi-hued wildflowers and flowering trees celebrate the resurgence of growth. By summer the dense vegetation and new generation of wildlife are thriving in the sun, and autumn brings its brilliant display of color as nature enhances the woodlands with yellows, reds, purples and oranges. Arrowheads and artifacts uncovered in this area indicate habitation by prehistoric Native American cultures. Early historic tribes included the Piankashaw and the Illinois, both of whom were pushed out when the Kickapoo migrated into the region from Wisconsin in the late 1600s. European settlers in the area originally were centered around the Embarras River, which provided their main source of transportation, fishing, trapping, and, of course, water. Before the development of the railroad, much of the economy of the area also depended on the river, with flat boats carring livestock and manufacturing materials downstream to the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers and on to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.
Reviews of Fox Ridge State Park
7 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on August 25, 2022AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on November 07, 2020If you can't enjoy nature at Fox Ridge, you're doing it wrong. There are oodles of scenic trails, some more challenging than others. Enjoy the water, enjoy the hills, have a picnic or play a game of baseball. You can't be bored if you can make it out there.
Ekectric 50 amps. No water or sewer. Campsite showers are old and need to be redone.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 43
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We stayed during the week. By looking at reservations it’s busy with locals on the weekend. We fit our 33 ft camper with 21 ft tow vehicle end to end in the site fine. Pads are old, some leveling work required. Quiet, heavily wooded and lots of wild life. Dump station available, water avail for filling tanks only, not any dedicated to sites. 50 amp power worked fine and was clean.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 6
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
My family of three stayed here for a few nights in November. The camp overall is pretty the sites were easy to back into and level for the most part. The site has electrical hook ups, but no water hook ups at each site. However there is a water hook up as you enter the campsite and a few water Spicket’s around the campsites to fill up water jugs. There was a small park for kids to play at that was nice however it did smell like dog poop. But that’s not necessarily the parks fault more so the owners of the animals. They have firewood available to purchase. Dump station was easy to access leaving the park. There is a shower room near the front of the park and another public bathroom around the park. There are several paths to bike, walk, hike, etc.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 8
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
Stayed one night, site 26. Arrived around 9P CST. Easy self registration process. Sites are all reserve only except for 20-32 which are First Come, First Serve. They can be purchased for multiple nights but cannot be reserved ahead of time.
Spots are all electric. Some are 50A some are 30A. No sites have dedicated water but there are spigots all over the loops. Maybe 50ft max from any one spot to a spigot.
Each site has an ADA accessible picnic table, a fire cooking pit, and a large pole cemented into a tire. We’re not sure what it’s for but some people have bird feeders hanging from them.
Does have vault toilets near the back loop and a true bathhouse closer to the main loop. Vaults have a spigot outside.
Cell coverage was very spotty with Verizon. Typical 1/4 bars but some areas did deliver 2/4.
If coverage is a must, please check out your site prior to paying to ensure the coverage meets your needs.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 26
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Stayed one week in Site 20. Cell coverage is spotty but managed to get two bars in some places. Slow but enough for most things.
There is a vault toilet and a bathhouse. Spigots are dotted throughout the campground and each site has an ADA picnic table.
Camp hosts at the time of visit were Jim and Alice. Very helpful couple, old, very sweet. They do patrol the grounds often but aren’t invasive.
The park here is phenomenal. Many great trails to choose from and gorgeous scenery. I recommend checking out the butterfly habitat as well.
5/5 will stay again.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 20
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This place is great. Quiet and very private. Lots of great trails to hike and roads to ride bikes. About my favorite and we’ve been to places all over the country.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 12
Site Number: -
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Fox Ridge State Park
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 12
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Max Length
- 40 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 45
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Pull Through
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground
Nearby Hotels
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