Camping

A convenient way to enjoy the outdoors in the sunshine or under the stars.

Family Camping

The family campground is located at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville.

The campground features 60 wooded and semiwooded sites suitable for tents, trailers and motor homes. Each site is within easy walking distance of latrines, running water, and trash and recycling containers and includes a gravel parking pad, fire ring and picnic table. Restrooms with showers, sites with electric hookups, and a dump station for recreational vehicles with self-contained waste systems are available; sewage or water hookups are not.

Days of Operation

• May – September
• Friday and Saturday nights (additional nights during holiday weeks)

Downloadable Map

• Blackwell Family Campground Map

Camping Permit Fees (per night per site)

 

Campsite	Fee
With electricity	DuPage Residents: $20 Nonresidents: $30
Without electricity	DuPage Residents: $15 Nonresidents: $25
Firewood is $5 per bundle cash only.  (To slow spread emerald ash borer infestations, outside firewood is not allowed.)
Senior citizens are entitled to one free permit for one consecutive Friday and Saturday night stay at the campground per household per calendar year.

 

Camping Permit Purchase Locations

 

On Site Reservations
Family Campground   Blackwell in Warrenville	Cash Only
One-night or weekend permits available 1-7 p.m. for same night stay. Extend stay permits available before noon on last day of existing permit. Onsite permits purchased through campground attendant. Subject to availability.

Advance Reservations
Visitor Services   District Headquarters  3S580 Naperville Rd.  Wheaton, IL 60189  (630) 933-7248  Weekdays 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.	In Person: Cash, Check or Credit Card By Mail: Check or Credit Card By Fax or Phone: Credit Card Only
Advance reservations are available up to three business days prior to stay.
Family Campground Permit Application

 

Youth-Group Camping

Five campgrounds — semiprimitive areas just for tents — and one cabin are set aside for use by youth groups, which the Forest Preserve District defines as recognized, nonprofit organizations. The areas are open year-round. Only members of these groups, with their accompanying leaders, may camp in these areas. Greene Valley and Blackwell youth-group campgrounds have ADA-compliant sites.

Youth-Group Camping Permit Fees (per night per site)

Forest Preserve	Site (capacity)	DuPage Resident	Non -resident	Map
Blackwell in Warrenville	Sites 1-12 (25)	$25	$30
Churchill Woods in Glen Ellyn	Site 1 (25) Site 2 (50)	$25 $50	$30 $60
Greene Valley in Naperville	Site 1 (100) Sites 2-9 (25) Site 10 (75)	$100 $25 $75	$120 $30 $90
Herrick Lake in Wheaton	Youth Cabin (26)	$50	$60
Pratt's Wayne Woods in Wayne	Sites 1-2 (25)	$25	$30
Waterfall Glen in Darien	Sites 1-2 (25)	$25	$30
Camping permits and adult supervision of one leader over 21 years of age for every 10 children are mandatory.
Each site has picnic tables and a fire ring; only the cabin has electricity. All areas have latrines, trash and recycling containers, firewood, and water pumps.

 

Youth-Group Camping Reservations
Visitor Services District Headquarters 3S580 Naperville Rd. Wheaton, IL 60189 (630) 933-7248 Weekdays 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.	In Person: Cash, Check or Credit Card By  Mail: Check or Credit Card By Fax or Phone: Credit Card Only
Advance reservations are available up to three business days prior to stay.
Youth-Group Campground Permit Application

 

Family and Youth-Group Campground Rules and Regulations

• In an emergency, call 911.
• Permit holders must be 21 or older and remain on site all night.
• Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in all forest preserves and campgrounds.
• Forest preserves open one hour after sunrise and close one hour after sunset. Campers at the Blackwell Family Campground cannot check in or return to their campsites when Blackwell Forest Preserve is closed.
• Family campers must arrive between 1 and 7 p.m. on the first reserved day and must leave by noon on the last reserved day. 
• Youth-group campers should schedule their arrival time when they apply for their permit. They must check in by their stated arrival time and leave by noon on the last reserved day.
• A camper may reserve only one permit in his or her name for any given date.
• Youth-group campsites include firewood. Family campers can buy firewood for $5 a bundle from the campground attendant. To slow the spread of the emerald ash borer, outside firewood is not allowed.
• Family campsites accommodate up to eight people, two tents and one vehicle, per site.
• Family campers and youth groups can change reservations up to two weeks in advance, but changes are subject to a $5 fee.
• The District is not responsible for cancellations due to weather conditions, and permits are nonrefundable.
• Campers are restricted to the immediate areas of the campground after normal preserve hours, except in an emergency.
• Guests may visit campers at the family campground during normal preserve hours.
• Cutting or collecting live or dead wood is prohibited.
• Ground fires must remain within the designated fire rings, and campers must extinguish all fires before leaving their sites.
• Campers must keep their sites clean and dispose of trash in the appropriate garbage or recycling containers.
• Trenching around tents, attaching clotheslines or lanterns to trees, or otherwise disrupting the natural environment is prohibited.
• Campers may use radios, stereos and other sound-amplification devices only at volumes that do not disturb neighboring campers and only between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. The use of gasoline or diesel engines or generators is also restricted to these hours.
• Campers must keep their pets leashed and quiet, remain with them at all times, and clean up all pet waste.