great scenery and ambience with the stream running and different levels of view places to hike…read moreand views are spectacular highly recommend coming here

Nice little state park for an extended weekend. Please note that there are no shower facilities or…read moreflush toilets. Vault style only. The park features two camping areas. We stayed in Canyon Ridge, which is non electric. All 50 sites were spacious and clean. The camp host and a few area residents sold firewood, which was a nice surprise The park has a number of hiking trails that are short, but challenging. Many lead to, or start at the Apple River, so there is plenty to keep kids occupied.

This place is great for a hike. Winding trails that cut through lush woods and alongside the river…read more Highly recommend to take a relaxing hike.

Absolutely beautiful great hiking, great camping, we went for years and the people were kind and…read morefriendly.

I was camping in Mississippi Palisade State Park for the weekend with my Girlfriend Lily. I had…read morecontacted Paul a few weeks prior to book a trip while we were there for the weekend. We met Paul at Albany, IL boat ramp where we began our 4-hour outing. He had a great bass boat with a trolling motor, depth finder/navigation, and power poles. He has fished in many tournaments and was well versed with his equipment. We caught dozens of crappie and a good number of catfish! A few bluegills and a bowfin as well. We kept a good number of the crappie and catfish which made for some great meals back at camp! Anyone unfamiliar with the area should give Paul a call!

From the owner: Professional Bass Fishing Guide…read more Captain Paul Malone grew up along the Mississippi River fishing his first tournament at age 15, he has been fishing tournaments ever since. Paul has a passion for fishing and loves to teach and get others involved in the sport. This lead him to earn his Captain's license, and is he is now guiding Lake Okeechobee (Dec/Jan), Sturgeon Bay - Door County area (May/June) and the Mississippi River-Pools 7-14 ( La Crosse, WI - Lansing, IA - Prairie Du Chien, WI -Savanna, IL). If you are looking for an adventure on the water catching trophy large mouth bass, small mouth bass, crappie and walleye, contact Cpt. Paul today! He is more than your average fishing guide. You wont be disappointed.

We had a family reunion here on one of the hottest, stickiest days of the summer. It was one of…read morethose days when an afternoon picnic outside doesn't sound the most appealing and you ask yourself what your family would think of you if you show up in a swimming suit, carrying a bucket of ice water. The shelter we reserved is on the northeast side of the lake (though I question how this qualifies as a lake - more like a pond in my mind) and with a hillside just to the east of it, the shelter was as good as air-conditioned! Hallelujah! There was a cool breeze thanks to the lake and since the shelter was shaded for half of the day, it wasn't until 3pm when the space finally started feeling too warm. The proximity of the shelter was also great as the Monticello Public Pool is right across the road and the kids were able to go enjoy a pool day once they were finished chasing toads around the pond (sorry Freddie the Toady Toad. Also, sorry the kids couldn't decide on a better name).

Our family has been camping at White Pines for well over a decade. We enjoy it because it is clean,…read morequiet, and the camping sites are a good size and the hiking trails are fun. The only thing preventing me from giving five stars is that, during my last visit last weekend, it was obvious the pit toilets were not being cleaned/maintained well. I've used worse, but this was not up to par from my past experiences. I hope this was the exception and not how they are being kept now. Hoping to be back in 2024!

Friends had their nearby destination wedding here, it was lovely. Plenty of space, gorgeous…read moreoutdoors experiences, and the lodge was really beautiful. Camping experience was decent. Many guests camped in a reserved area, and some had cabins. I heard the bathrooms were not that great, but the space itself was nice. The wedding was held a bit down the road from the campgrounds in a lovely canyon. VERY beautiful! The reception was held at the lodge and served buffet style. The prime rib was the spotlight. It's a very quaint spot for weddings. The staff was very friendly and accommodating 6 stars to the staff! The day after the wedding, the lodge has a brunch buffet. The food is decent, but it's pretty pricey. I probably would not personally revisit it just based on the price for what you get, but it's understandable since it's the only dining option nearby as far as I could tell. I would love to visit this spot again for hiking and biking. A nice little getaway in the middle of nowhere Illinois.

Great find and well maintained by the state. Great views! Kayaked on the Mississippi River which…read morewas great but came with some current struggles. The boat launch is right across the road from MP. The hosts were nice. They are only checking in people from 12-4. Find your site and your tag is on the post. There are about 10 walk up sites you can get on FCFS basis. Some electric and some primitive sites. Make sure to select the correct one. Beautiful views are with the hike up the cliffs.

We had a family get together here today and rented the pavilion. For $50, you get a really nice…read morebuilding facility that has a fireplace and several large picnic tables. The public restrooms are in this building however, and you will have people coming and going during your event. It wasn't too busy today so not a problem. There is plenty of open grassy area to play, didn't get enough wind to be able to fly the kites, but we were close! But we definitely had a lot of room to kick the soccer ball, throw the football and run around. The grill worked great, it's 4 feet long and we were able to cook plenty of burgers and hotdog and such for the family. There's also a couple of electrical outlets so we were able to plug-in a couple crockpots for beans and such. There are quite a few mice living in this facility, so just be aware of that, but you are out in the country! There are many hikes and such that leave from this location so you could use this as homebase with other family members being able to go out and take a great hike as well. We had a great day and I have a feeling this is going to become a tradition PS. Bring the bug spray :)

Steve was an amazing guide. Knowledgable, helpful, a great morning of fishing with a handful of…read morekeepers. Was a great outing and definitely will recommend to anyone and will be going again soon. Thanks Steve.

Full disclosure: this is my brother-in-law's business, but when you first talk with Steve you will…read moreimmediately know he treats all his clients like family. We fished on the Mississippi River primarily for walleye because they are fun to catch and excellent to eat. Steve is a professional walleye tournament competitor and has a lifetime of fishing knowledge and experience he shares with his clients to make their fishing trip successful. His boat is a 19-foot Ranger that has every option available to successfully fish any technique required by the conditions. Steve knows where the fish are and what to use. And if the fish aren't biting he always has another method or another spot to try. Steve's entire focus is his clients catching fish and having a fun fishing experience. He makes sure each client's rod is fully rigged and continuously positions the boat to get bait in the right spot. On this day we caught several walleye, some big ones we couldn't keep because they were in the slot (20-27 inches), and enough keepers (15-20 inches) for an excellent fish dinner. Steve filets the fish in seconds once back on the dock and beautiful slabs of tasty meat are ready for cooking. Check out his website and give Steve a call for fishing experience you will want to do over and over.

This was a really nice park. We camped here for 2 nights the first weekend in May. Weather ranged…read morefrom lows in the 40s to highs in the sixties. The campgrounds all have a table, grill, and electricity. There are pit toilets w/potable water w/in an easy walk of every camp-site. They were clean and did not smell. There is one shower facility w/flush toilets and showers for the entire campground. Also clean and well maintained. Privacy at each campsite varied widely from some which were well wooded and could only see a couple of neighbors to those near the playground which were very open. We could hear a train going by nearby at night but it wasn't too loud. There is a lake, a restaurant where you can purchase firewood or rent paddleboats, and a few decent hiking trails. This was a nice park and we would happily camp here again.

A group of us went camping here this past weekend and I thought it was a nice place! It is a pretty…read morequick drive from Chicago, about 2 and a half hours with the usual 290 nightmarish traffic situation. We left at like 9AM on a Saturday and it was like rush hour, wtf. The campsites are spread out fairly well so you aren't too close to your neighbors. We stayed in the 1-25 ring. We had 4 couples and we each rented a campsite, but I almost think you could share a campsite with 4 people total too and it wouldn't be too tight. The lake (Carlton) is gorgeous and they have a little restaurant right on it that was cute and a great location. You can rent canoes, sailboats, paddleboats, etc on the lake. There are a lot of hiking trails as well. The gnats were a little out of control and I don't know if there is anything better at keeping them away, but bugspray didn't really work. They are just kinda irritating. I'd recommend bringing grill grates if you have them to put over the grill because some of them are kinda dirty. Also, they do allow alcohol, which is one of the reasons we picked it, I mean, camping without beer? No way! The bathrooms aren't too bad for camping and they also have a place to shower, we didn't go as we were only there for one night, but they do have showers. It seemed to be well maintained and patrolled. The forest ranger guy came by a few times and he was nice. If you are looking for a quick weekend getaway, this is a great spot to get out of the city for some fresh, pollution free air!

What a great couple that runs this place. We couldn't canoe because the river is well above safe…read morelevels. But they were awesome local guides for us! And they have great prices on really good firewood. Not the junky stuff you get at the hardware store. We will definitely be back to canoe when the river levels drop.

Company shut down early on day of reservation, leaving our party with one too-few canoesread more