A forested campground near fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. RV fit varies by site.
Dam East McNair Campground sits on the southern shore of Carlyle Lake, Illinois' largest man-made lake, about 50 miles east of St. Louis.











Length limits vary by campsite.
Showers on site. Dump station on site.
Availability on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 47 sites.
| Site | Fr 13 | Sa 14 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44 standard electric | ✓ | ✓ | $20 |
| 33 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 34 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 35 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 36 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 37 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 38 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 39 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 40 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 41 standard electric |
Hookups (individual campsites): 46 electric individual sites · group site listed separately (1 electric).
801 LAKE ROAD
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Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.
Themes from recent written reviews on Recreation.gov. Quotes are verbatim.
“The thibk I noticed and appreciated the most, was the absolute QUIET!”
Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (282 reviews, ★ 5.0). Not written or edited by us.
“Quiet little campground. Shower house / bathrooms are spotless . Host in very nice & helpful”
“We loved our stay! Such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, we arrived after dark, and had a really hard time getting to the right campground. Better address would be super helpful!”
| R |
| R |
| $20 |
| 42 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 43 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 45 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 46 standard electric | ✓ | R | $20 |
| 47 standard electric | R | R | $20 |
| 22 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 2 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 14 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 4 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 24 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 25 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 27 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 23 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 1 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 5 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 29 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 17 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 9 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 8 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 12 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 26 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 21 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 20 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 16 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 18 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 30 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 10 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 31 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 11 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
| 28 standard electric | C | C | $20 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights3 sites open for every nightAn idea to start from, built from this campground's listing and real tours nearby. Times, openings and prices change, so check each before you go.
Rentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 75 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.

Travel trailer · 16 ft · sleeps 4 · 59 mi from campground
$80/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 36 ft · sleeps 10 · 73 mi from campground
$124/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 29 ft · sleeps 8 · 76 mi from campground
$120/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available
View rentalPaid experiences on Viator. Distances are from this campground when the tour lists its own start point.

Illinois area · 1 hr · from $27/person

Illinois area · 50 min · from $20/person

Illinois area · 1 hr · from $25/person
stays up to 14 nights (Recreation.gov rules).
Share of site-nights open, booked and closed on Recreation.gov for the next months, checked Nov 7. Months further out may not be released for booking yet.
| Month | Open | Booked | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2026 | 17% | 15% | 68% |
| Dec 2026 | 31% | 1% | 68% |
| Jan 2027 | 32% | 0% | 68% |
| Feb 2027 | 32% | 0% | 68% |
| Mar 2027 | 32% | 0% | 68% |
| Apr 2027 | 87% | 10% | 2% |
| May 2027 | 85% | 15% | 0% |
Seasonal loop closures in this window: NORTH LOOP (Nov 2026, Dec 2026, Jan 2027, Feb 2027, Mar 2027, Apr 2027); SOUTH LOOP (Nov 2026, Dec 2026, Jan 2027, Feb 2027, Mar 2027, Apr 2027); McNair Group Area C (Nov 2026, Dec 2026, Jan 2027, Feb 2027, Mar 2027, Apr 2027).
For May weekends, book about 171 days ahead. Three in four May Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 97 days or less before arrival. Past timing is guidance, not a guarantee of what is open now.
| Arrival month | Fri/Sat arrivals: half booked at least | A quarter at least | Other days: half booked at least | A quarter at least |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | — | — | 0 days ahead | 5 days ahead |
| February | 2 days ahead | 15 days ahead | 1 days ahead | 4 days ahead |
| March | 23 days ahead | 52 days ahead | 6 days ahead | 34 days ahead |
| April | 53 days ahead | 125 days ahead | 36 days ahead | 101 days ahead |
| May | 97 days ahead | 171 days ahead | 60 days ahead | 152 days ahead |
| June | 90 days ahead | 155 days ahead | 54 days ahead | 162 days ahead |
| July | 55 days ahead | 142 days ahead | 36 days ahead | 152 days ahead |
| August | 42 days ahead | 117 days ahead | 26 days ahead | 142 days ahead |
| September | 46 days ahead | 115 days ahead | 30 days ahead | 121 days ahead |
| October | 75 days ahead | 146 days ahead | 9 days ahead | 103 days ahead |
| November | 10 days ahead | 28 days ahead | 4 days ahead | 20 days ahead |
| December | 0 days ahead | 1 days ahead | 0 days ahead | 4 days ahead |
Months with fewer than 30 reservations of that kind are left blank. Sites where nearly every booking was made the day of arrival (pay on arrival) are left out. Closed seasons, windows not yet released for booking, and currently unavailable nights are separate from this history.
Based on Recreation.gov reservations, FY2015–2025 (10,926 reservations in the years scored). Counts reservations made, not nights actually camped: cancellations aren't in the data, and nights a site was closed count as not booked. FY2020–21 (COVID) are left out of the scores.
46 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7 · 1 group site listed separately. Rates are the listed nightly rates.
Tent or RV, with power
46 sites · $20/night
Loops: SOUTH LOOP (20), Spillway loop (15), NORTH LOOP (11)
1 open Nov 13–Nov 15
1 site · $125/night
Loops: McNair Group Area C (1)
0 open Nov 13–Nov 15