White Pines Forest State Park

My boyfriend’s family have their annual family camping here. They have been going there for 35+ years. It is a very peaceful and clean place. We see a lot of different people come here for different occasions, such as wedding, prom/​homecoming pictorial, weekend getaway, etc.
There are many different things you and your family can do here. They have many pavillions and most of them have a fire place and grill. They also have many playgrounds and volleyball court. They also have 5 different trails you can do. And they have huge fields you can play at. My boyfriend’s family would usually play softball and then go hiking.
They have a nice lodge area and you can also go fishing. Gosh! I can say so many things about this place. But the bottomline is this place is a place for your family, friends, or just a place for serenity.

I have been here many times for day trips and knew this is a great park for a picnic and hike. However, this past week was our first camping trip and it was an equally delightful experience. During the week (not a holiday) the campground is very quiet, I counted only 8 sites out of 100+ occupied. There are two family camping loops, we stayed in Sunny Ridge. The second loop is Cedar Ridge, which is where the one flush toilet and shower building is located. Throughout the rest of the camping areas there are pit toilets. Dogs are allowed, and ours had a great time on their camping trip. The price is also right at $ 10 a night. Personally I think two nights would be the max for us at White Pines as there isn’t that much to do, an ambitious hiker could do all the various trails in a day or two. But it is close to where we live, great for kids, easy with the dogs, I imagine we’ll be back next summer.
Be sure to stop along the way for groceries as there is not a camp store. There is a gift shop at the White Pine Inn, but I don’t think they have groceries. Oregon does have a decent grocery store. Firewood is readily available just outside the park.
Also, Castle Rock State Park is nearby along the Rock River. There are more hiking trails there, picnicking, fishing, and opportunities for canoeing or kayaking. There are no campgrounds at Castle Rock though, so plan to stay at White Pines. If you want an easy, close by, low stress trip from Chicago or Rockford, White Pines and Castle Rock are hidden gems in an otherwise agricultural landscape.

I was not expecting much from the White Pines Forest State Park. On the map it appears much smaller than nearby Castle Rock State Park and having grown up near Starved Rock State Park I’m a bit spoiled when it comes to that sort of thing.
Well my expectations were far exceeded when we visited White Pines Forest State Park. We spent an entire day hiking and walking along its many paths. They have a variety of accessibility and difficulty and there is at least one trail that is handi-​capable friendly. There are creeks that wind their way through various parts of the park and many bridges and stepping stones to cross them. Lots of picnic areas, some with shelters, some with grills. There were plenty of restrooms that were actually clean! Granted we came there just before the Independence Day weekend so they had probably just cleaned them up in prep for the busy holiday weekend.
They also have cabins you can rent and there were fire pits in various places around the cabin areas. I believe there is camping as well. This park is definitely worth a visit!

We just had our wedding celebration here, and the ceremony across the road at the Wedding Canyon. We chose the site because it is mid-​way between where our families live and because I spent summer vacations here with my family. The day, the weekend, could not have been more perfect. We rented nine cabins, gathered around bonfires each night and took early morning hikes each day. We had the rehearsal dinner and the reception lunch at the inn — our wait staff was superb and the meals were tasty. We had the wedding in the canyon — and can’t say enough about the team that helped us plan and carry off the ceremony, including Beth and Bev the Rev.

My wife and I stayed here on Labor Day weekend 2013. It was undoubtedly a very busy weekend, but it was fun and relaxing all the same! Good amenities like clean showers, well mark hiking paths, and good access to nature.

Great place for a weekend away!
If you live in or around Chicago and are looking for a quiet getaway, this is the place! It is a great place for a romantic couple’s retreat or a family trip!
They have camping and cabins. I love staying int he cabins. They are old log cabins with gas-​burning fireplaces. They are so cure and quaint. I try to get here once a year.
I have been coming here since I was little with my entire family. My siblings and I would share the trundle bed. It was perfect for a weekend with family!
There is a TON do here.
During the day, there are hiking trails. They range from easy to difficult and they even have a wheelchair accessible trail! All the trails are clearly marked. You could go with just gym shoes. However, if you go after a rain or in the early spring, I recommend hiking boots. The trails can get muddy from rain or melted snow. You’ll be sure to get dirty! Each trail is different. Some trails have lookout views (which are all beautiful)…some have stepping stones over the river. There is even one with a view of the train! (A very big hit with 4 year old boys!) Each one can be completed by almost anyone!
There are barbecue pits through the grounds. There are also two fords, which a really fun to drive over when the river isn’t too high. (The back two have been shutdown for a while now.)
There is also a tree conservatory area and a playground.
For those rainy days, there is a cute gift shop to check out! It has homemade fudges and candies and a variety of other items from White Pines apparel to games and knickknacks. They also rent DVDs!
At night, there are open firepits to build your own fire and roast s’mores or make dinner. Then, there is always the White Pines Restaurant, which is AMAZING!
Overall, I don’t think I have anything bad to say. It is well maintained, clean, close, and a great place for a weekend (or weekday) stay!

We had an amazing time this weekend at White Pines!
We stayed in one of the sweetheart cabins, #26. I read some other reviews saying that it isn’t the best location as it is located right behind the photo sign and at the end of the trail. Honestly, I think it was the best location! I guess it helps that we were really the only ones in the whole park… it was a ghost town (we loved it!). The only downfall about #26 is that you have to circle back around and drive past all the other cabins in order to get to your parking spot… really not a big deal though.
The cabins are located in White Pines State Park. There are a few trails but honestly, we weren’t blown away by them. The «sleepy hollow» trail was by far the best, it was rated the hardest and had a lot of climbing and some areas where you crossed streams using stepping stones. We stayed at Starved Rock last year so we were spoiled by Matthiessen Park. Again, the trails were empty so no overcrowding (which happens a lot at the aforementioned parks).
Oh, and the pigs… those poor pigs. I am not sure if the wind was traveling just right but we kept hearing grunts and moans and assumed it was coming from the nearby meat plant. I hope those sounds were from the pigs outside in their pen and not from them meeting their demise.
There are also various, public fire pits and luckily no one else was using any so we had our own private fire complete with smores and wine! The gift shop sells fire starters as well as bundles of wood. And there are plastic chairs around the fire pits.
Our cabin was also very clean considering it was a cabin. We loved the fire place and the water in the shower and sink was probably the hottest water I’ve ever felt in my life. The bed was slightly uncomfortable as it was a bit stiff but still nice. I read a few reviews mentioning mice/​insects so I was a bit freaked but luckily we had neither (there was a rodent/​insect plug-​in in one of the outlets). The windows also opened up in the cabin if you wanted fresh air. There was a nice sized mini fridge and a TV with a VCR/​DVD player (I believe they offer movie rentals). We didn’t see the cabin diary until we left but thought that was a really neat idea… we also left our own personal note. Oh, and it appeared to have central AC for those hotter months.
Loved the gift shop! That was probably my favorite part. Tons of stuff that was right up my alley… candles…smelly stuff… fun gifts. Things were reasonably priced and they also gave us 10% off because we were going to dine in the restaurant. There is also a very talkative and chatty parrot in the back.
Now, the restaurant…
The food was absolutely delicious! I kept reading such great reviews and didn’t think the food would be «that good»…but it was! We did make a reservation per the suggestion of others but it wasn’t necessary as the area wasn’t very crowded. If you do go during a busy season, make a reservation as there aren’t many tables. There was also a dinner theater going on so maybe that is where a lot of the people were.
It was a Friday night so my bf had the rib special, I had the chicken fingers. We were also given some bread with honey pecan butter which was amazing. My chicken fingers were great, very crispy and not greasy. I also had a side of mashed potatoes and the veggies of the day and I am so glad that I got both. The ribs were also delicious and the portion was huge, he had to take half a slab to go. We were always provided with refills and never had to ask. Oh, and the chairs at this place were super comfortable. It was like they were molded specifically for my tush… I want one of those chairs!!!
We are thinking about coming back for Labor Day… just so we can eat in the restaurant again!
Oh, and wanted to also mention… no cell service at all. We were able to get a connection in the restaurant but that was about it. True relaxation!

This is a really nice park! The camp ground is really nice I love all the trails! The gift shop is really neat it has alot of old fashioned stuff in it. The restaurant has a great sunday buffet. I love to drive the car in the water through the creek. The cabins are amazing! Theres a great play ground for all the kids to play. Cant say enough!

This is a really wonderful state park. My wife and I stayed in a cabin, built in the 1930s, and it was cozy, quiet, and very romantic. A highlight was the firefly show, with hundreds of glowing bugs. I hadn’t seen them since childhood; there aren’t fireflies in California. Generally the trails are short, well-​maintained, easy to moderate in required skill. The trails could offer better scenic vistas, but otherwise are great. The creek fordings are a major attraction, but get out of your vehicle and really enjoy the cliffs, stream and trails on foot.

This place stinks. To start, we had to waint until 3:45 to check in because no one was at the campost (Check in begins at 3). When we did check in, there was no need. They didn’t give us a tickets to hang on our post or the car. You could just squat.
On Reserve America, the site we picked looked completely secluded. When we arrived, and looked at the actual map, there were sites all around us. Litterally, right on top of us. If you want to camp in the middle of the grass with no trees, then you will love it. If we had stayed, we would’ve pitched our tent right next to a car from the neighboring campsite. This isn’t camping. This is pitching a tent in a field for everyone to see. Although, I wasted money reserving two nights. We said forget this and started to drive back 2hours to Chicago. We then passed Lowden State Park on a detour and decided to stay there. It was a great time!

Simply said, a very nice camp ground and we’ll certainly be coming here again.
The state park’s history dates back to the Civilian Construction Corps (CCC) and it has the same look and feel as any other such place. Personally, I like this look and feel for in my childhood days we spent a good deal of time in parks back in NY which were built by the CCC.
For this visit we stayed at one of the cabins. Cabin number 11 to be exact which was a quad set up. Which means there are a total of four rooms in one cabin, with each having it’s own bedroom & bath. The good thing is if your with several of the people here they have it situated where you can open a door or two so your all connected.
The cabin themselves are nice. We went during the August time frame and it was really hot and humid to which the air-​conditioning worked very well. (yea, I know, not ruffing it by no means.) The bed was conformable and easily sleeps two. There is a trundle, pull out bed underneath large enough for a young adult or two smaller kids. The little refrigerator was not the best… in fact an ice-​cooler will do better. Neither was the TV, which had a limited number of channels and the reception was poor. Which did not bother us for we are not big TV fans, but if you have kids and the weather is bad, it probably will not do the trick. There is a DVD set up, but we didn’t try that.
The bathroom’s were very spacious, although the shower was outdated. Yea, I know, you’r in a cabin, what should you expect. I would agree if it was advertised as such, but they do have some marketing around these cabins and the prices to go with them… so I would expect they could update the bathrooms.
The fire-​pits outside are what I would call community type where there is one pit for each quad cabin. It seems for the single cabins, there are larger fire-​pits for several of the single cabins to share. In the cabin areas I didn’t see any means to cook, so you if you want to cook up some dogs or other food, you’ll want to bring your own set up. Where as on the true camping ground, they were set up with a cooking area at each site.
In conclusion for the cabins, they do the trick and provide a place to sleep and offer shelter form the elements. At night the critters are loud and a nearby train blows it’s whistle all of which adds a nice charm to the experience.
The trails seem nice. We didn’t venture in too far due to the rain and lack of time. But, I saw enough where I’m looking forward to going back and walking them. By chance, on this visit we saw several turkeys! Over on the camping side of the grounds there is a nice stream which you actually can drive across (it’s only around six inches deep) and there seems to be a few rocky areas which may be good for fossil hunting.
On the grounds there is the White Pines Restaurant (see my review on that) along with a gift shop. Surprising the restaurant is very busy and I suspect most of it is local people since there really is not much close by in the way of restaurants. Adding to their business is they seem to get a good number of wedding dinners. However, as for the quality of the food, I give them a two star, but since they are so close and convenient, you find yourself going there. Next time, I’ll bring our portable Coleman grill and cook up some eats. The gift shop has some nice things and I enjoyed browsing thru there. Also, the staff all around was very nice and helpful.
In the end, we really did enjoy our first stay here and we sure do plan on coming back. Hopefully during autumn which is our favorite time to be in the woods.

This is a very nice family oriented campground.
We went in late September and I’m sure this place would be even more fun in the summer. (It was about 50 and raining when we were there.)
We got firewood at the farmhouse across the street for $ 5. It’s not exactly hardwood, so buy more than you think you need, it burns fast.
When we entered the decently wooded park, it reminded me of northern Wisconsin. Nice amount of pines. Lots of green grass, creeks, and an abundance of adirondack chairs staggered around the main areas of the park for sitting. Nice.
There are three «fords» for crossing the creeks with your car. Yes, you drive across the creeks. It’s probably no more than six inches deep but still fun.
The campsite we picked was #007 and was pretty nice. Was on a slope and only had one neighbor, with the back butting up to the woods. It came with a fire pit with grate, and a picnic table. The lots were generally hilly and ranged from being out in a field to under the trees. Generally they were pretty out in the open and not too secluded, but nice.
The trails do connect right from the campground, which is convenient. Most were about a mile long and wove through the woods. Great for taking your dog, which we did. They were hilly but nothing serious.
The campground had mostly families and the boy scout youth camp, which was probably 100 – 200 yards behind our site through the woods. Everyone calmed down by 10:30 or so, and of course the boy scouts did their customary trumpet wake up in the morning.
There was a freight train that did go by throughout the night, and it actually was pretty loud! It didn’t really bother us, but some people might be bothered. That’s camping though.
Overall I liked this place and will be back in the summer. Maybe we will try out the restaurant, which is pretty much in the middle of the camp and reminded me of a Wisconsin supper club.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, they have a huge old school roller rink not even ¼ mile down the street. We did not go in, but it looked legit. They also have go karts down the road the other way probably about a mile down, if that.

We came a few weeks ago and thought this park a pastoral little gem. All the hiking trails can be done within 2 – 4 hours, and the orange-​blazed trail, which winds along a little brook, was particularly fun. Lots of people were fishing on the big creek, and a few families were having picnics.