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Family Camping

Permit Required

    The family campground at Blackwell in Warrenville has more than 60 wooded and semiwooded sites, including sites for tents, trailers, and motor homes.

    Sites are available Friday and Saturday nights May through Columbus Day weekend with added nights around the holidays.

    All sites have electricity but none have sewage or water hookups. Each site has a gravel parking pad, fire ring, and picnic table and is close to portable toilets, running water, and trash and recycling containers. There's a shower house with flush toilets, and for recreational vehicles there's a water-fill station plus a dump station for RVs with self-contained waste systems. Outside firewood is not allowed, but you can buy firewood for $7 a bundle with cash or credit card at the campground office.

    tent at the Blackwell Family Campground

    Reservations

    In Advance

    You can book  reservations up to a year in advance but must do so at least three business days in advance.

    You can get permits online 24/7 using a desktop computer (scroll down for purchasing options) or through Visitor Services at 630-933-7248 or 3S580 Naperville Road in Wheaton Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (To book extended nights around holiday weekends, you must call Visitor Services.) To reserve by mail or fax, download an application in English (PDF) or Spanish (PDF).

    Fees are nonrefundable regardless of why you cancel (even for weather) but you can change your reservation one time up to one week in advance through Visitor Services for an additional $5. People 65 or older, active U.S. military personnel, and honorably discharged U.S. veterans are eligible for one free permit for one consecutive two-night stay each calendar year. If this is the first time you’re requesting a free permit, you need to provide proof of your age (driver's license or birth certificate) or military-service status (active status or a DD-214 Member 4 form).

    Same-Day Reservations

    If a site's available, you can reserve it at the campground office between 1 and 7 p.m. for use that night with cash or credit card. If you're camping and want to extend your stay and your site's available, just reserve it before noon on your original checkout date.

    DuPage Resident

    Nightly Reservation
    $20/night
    Reserve

    Nonresident

    Nightly Reservation
    $35/night
    Reserve

    Rules & Regulations

    For everyone’s safety and enjoyment, you must follow these rules and regulations, which the Forest Preserve District may change at any time.

    • Your group's permit holder must be 21 or older and remain on-site for the duration of your stay.
    • You cannot have more than eight people, two tents and one vehicle at your site.
    • You must arrive at the campground between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the first reserved day and leave by noon on the last reserved day.
    • You cannot bring alcoholic beverages into the forest preserve or campground; they are strictly prohibited.
    • The forest preserve is open from one hour after sunrise until one hour after sunset. Your group must remain in the campground when the forest preserve is closed. You must be back in the campground by one hour after sunset when the campground and forest preserve gates are locked. Guests are only allowed at your site when the forest preserve is open.
    • Do not trench around tents, attach clotheslines or lanterns to trees, or otherwise disrupt the natural environment.
    • Do not bring outside firewood or cut or collect live or dead wood. You can purchase firewood for $7 a bundle at the campground office.
    • Keep ground fires within designated fire rings. Extinguish fires and make sure they’re cold to the touch before you leave your site.
    • Keep your site clean and dispose of trash in the appropriate garbage or recycling containers. After you pack up, make sure your campsite looks as it did when you arrived.
    • If you’re using stereos or similar equipment, only do so between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and only at volumes that do not disturb other campers. Use gasoline or diesel engines or generators only during these times as well. Keep all noise to a minimum after 10 p.m.
    • If you bring pets, stay with them at all times and do not tie them to any trees, plants, buildings or equipment.
    • Always keep them leashed and quiet, and pick up any pet waste.

    As a permit holder you agree to abide by these rules and regulations as well as all Forest Preserve District ordinances and administrative orders and state statutes. You also understand that the Forest Preserve District may fine you or revoke your permit without refunding your permit fee if you supply false information on your application or fail to comply with any rules, regulations, ordinances, orders, or statutes.