Illinois Public Lands
1.2% of Illinois is federal land: 414,772 of its 35,795,200 acres (2024 data). The largest federal land manager in Illinois is the U.S. Forest Service, with 304,723 acres, 0.9% of the state. This guide covers 83 state parks, 2 National Park Service units, 2 national forests, 8 wilderness areas, and 10 national wildlife refuges.
Explore Illinois public lands by type
- Illinois state parks 83 parks, 6 with camping, 17 with swimming
- Illinois national parks 2 National Park Service units
- Illinois national forests Shawnee National Forest, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
- Illinois wilderness areas 8 areas
- Illinois national wildlife refuges 10 national wildlife refuges
Illinois public land map
- National forests
- National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS)
- National wildlife refuges (FWS)
- State parks
- Wilderness areas (dashed)
Land managed by (switch layers on or off)
Land ownership: USGS PAD-US 4.1, dissolved by manager and simplified (parcels under about 2 square km not shown). Unit boundaries simplified. Not for navigation or legal boundaries.
List of all 105 places on this map
State parks (83)
- Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park
- Apple River Canyon State Park
- Argyle Lake State Park
- Beall Woods State Park
- Beaver Dam State Park (Illinois)
- Buffalo Rock State Park
- Buffalo Rock State Park & Effigy Tumuli
- Cache River State Natural Area
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
- Castle Rock State Park (Illinois)
- Cave-in-Rock State Park
- Chain O'Lakes State Park (Illinois)
- Channahon State Park
- Clinton Lake State Recreation Area
- Delabar State Park
- Dixon Springs State Park
- Donnelley/Depue State Park
- Eagle Creek State Park (Illinois)
- Eagle Creek State Recreation Area
- Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area
- Ferne Clyffe State Park
- Fort Massac State Park
- Fox Ridge State Park
- Frank Holten State Recreation Area
- Franklin Creek State Natural Area
- Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area
- Gebhard Woods State Park
- Giant City State Park
- Golconda Marina State Recreation Area
- Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area
- Harry "Babe" Woodyard State Natural Area
- Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park
- Horseshoe Lake State Park
- Illini State Park
- Illinois Beach State Park
- Illinois Caverns State Natural Area
- James "Pate" Philip State Park
- Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park
- Johnson-Sauk Trail State Recreation Area
- Jubilee College State Park
- Kankakee River State Park
- Kickapoo State Recreation Area
- Kidd Lake State Natural Area
- Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park
- Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Recreation Area
- Lake Murphysboro State Park
- Lewis and Clark State Historic Site
- Lincoln Trail State Park
- Lowden State Park
- Matthiessen State Park
- Mississippi Palisades State Park
- Moraine Hills State Park
- Moraine View State Recreation Area
- Morrison-Rockwood State Park
- Nauvoo State Park
- Pere Marquette State Park
- Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area
- Prairie Ridge State Natural Area
- Prophetstown State Recreation Area
- Pyramid State Recreation Area
- Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area
- Randolph County State Recreation Area
- Red Hills State Park
- Rock Cut State Park
- Rock Island Trail State Park (Illinois)
- Sangchris Lake State Recreation Area
- Shabbona Lake State Park
- Siloam Springs State Park
- South Shore State Park
- Spitler Woods State Natural Area
- Starved Rock State Park
- Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area
- Volo Bog State Natural Area
- Walnut Point State Park
- Washington County State Recreation Area
- Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
- Weinberg-King State Park
- Weldon Springs State Park
- Weldon Springs State Recreation Area
- White Pines Forest State Park
- William G. Stratton State Park
- William W. Powers State Recreation Area
- Wolf Creek State Park
National parks, recreation areas and monuments (NPS) (2)
National forests (2)
Wilderness areas (8)
National wildlife refuges (FWS) (10)
- Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
- Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
- Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
- Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge
- Great River National Wildlife Refuge
- Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge
- Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge
- Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge
- Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge
- Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge
Who manages Illinois's land
| Agency | Acres | Share of Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Land Management | 20 | 0% |
| U.S. Forest Service | 304,723 | 0.9% |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 90,726 | 0.3% |
| National Park Service | 39 | 0% |
| Department of Defense | 19,264 | 0.1% |
| All federal land | 414,772 | 1.2% |
Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), 2024 data, checked 2026-09-30.
Camping on Illinois public land
National forest
Free dispersed camping is also allowed on Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie .
State parks
6 of Illinois's state parks have developed campgrounds on record; compare them in the Illinois state parks table.
Common questions
- 1.2% of Illinois is federal land: 414,772 of its 35,795,200 acres (2024 data).
- 20 acres, less than 0.1% of the state (2024 data).
- The largest federal land manager in Illinois is the U.S. Forest Service, with 304,723 acres, 0.9% of the state.
- This guide lists 83 Illinois state parks and recreation areas, 6 of them with camping on record.
- congress.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
- blm.gov (accessed 2026-09-30)
The sentences on this page are generated by software from the sourced records above, not written by hand. How this content is made.