Country Bend Campground

Here is the current situation. It is spring of 2022, the nights are cool and the days are hot. The weather is finally starting to break and we are ready to get out and enjoy some camping. Only problem is, diesel is currently running $5.40 a gallon. What are we to do? Instead of going on long extravagant trips, we are going to be forced to stay more local. Only heading out only a few hours from St. Louis.

Luckily, there are some amazing campgrounds that will allow us to still get out there and enjoy the family. Country Bend Campground, located in Litchfield, Illinois is on the list of one of the campgrounds we are going to check out.

Country Bend Campground is located about an hour from St. Louis and is right off of Interstate 55. That makes this campsite the perfect place for a base camp, if you are planning on checking out the Gateway Arch National Park. Even if you plan on staying out of the city, can’t say I blame you there, this campground has enough amenities that make it a good location for a weekend getaway for the family as well. In this post, we are going to cover some of those amenities and our camping experience while staying over Memorial Day weekend.

Country Bend Campground Rates

I would like to start with the rates at County Bend Campground. Normally, I try not to say much about the rates of the places we stay. Usually that is because we choose to stay at the upgraded sites that cost a bit more. With that being said, I feel that we paid a lot of money for what we got at Country Bend Campground. They are very proud of what they have! Just under $50/day got us a gravel site, just barely wide enough to hold our camper. It included 50-amp and 30-amp electricity, with water but without sewer hookups.

Speaking of the hookups, they were located on the passenger side of my unit. This required me to use a 50-amp extension cord, just to reach the power post. Water hose? Forget that, I have 100ft of water hose and that left me about 3 inches short of being able to stay hooked up. Not a huge deal, I was able to fill my holding tanks enough to be able to run my pump for the weekend. Like I said, at this price point I just felt a little underwhelmed.

If you are looking to check in early, there is a $5/hour early check in fee. Want to visit with friends? That will be a $5/person fee for anyone that wants to come and visit with you. Wanna stay on a holiday weekend? Another $5/night added onto the bill. How about Halloween, nope that’s $5/night extra as well. All the little extra fees just put a bad taste in my mouth. I understand why they need them, but it makes it feel not as welcoming in my opinion.

Country Bend Campground Campsite

Not to beat a dead horse here, but the hookups are on the wrong side of the camper. Leaving us not to be able to hookup electric and water without extensions. The gravel parking pad was long enough for the camper, coming in at 60’ long. Width wise, it was just wide enough for the camper. Once the slides came out, we actually were into our neighbors’ space and there was no rock for us to stand on. That normally would not be a problem, but the “grass” area of our site, was just mud. Once we opened the door, the entire site was a muddy flooded mess.

Now I will be the first to admit that I am a spoiled camper. I have got use to large paved sites like the ones on Carlyle Lake (Click Here for McNair Campground Post). Even considering me being spoiled, I still felt for the money they could have dumped a load of rock and that would have fixed the issue.

Luckily for us, our neighbors were ok with us putting the nose of our camper into their area so we could come in and out of the camper on the rock and not in the mud. Our neighbors were extremely nice people and was dealing with a lot more mud in their site than we were dealing with. With all that being said, once the site dried out. It was a decent spot and we did end up enjoying it.

A lot of kid activities

Now, lets focus on the positive side of our experience at Country Bend Campground. There is so much for your little campers to enjoy. They just installed a huge jump pillow surrounded with sand. The kids enjoyed bouncing most of the day away and playing with the supplied sand box toys. There are also multiple playgrounds on site that have swings and slides.

The pool is a large, well maintained in ground pool. With a shallow section and a 5 ft deep section. The pool is surrounded with a fence as well as many lounging chairs. When we were at the pool, they had just opened it and it was freezing cold. That did not stop Killian and Jameson from jumping in and going for a swim, at least for 10 minutes or so before they started turning blue.

At the swim house, they offered bags tournament, a water balloon fight, bingo, and karaoke. It was a nice surprise to be able to spend the entire day in the campsite without hearing the kids complain about being bored. All of that not enough to be able to keep you busy? Well there are 2 stocked fishing lakes, one of which has free paddle boats that you can use whenever you like. Country Bend Campground also has golf carts you can rent for a night or a whole weekend. Like I said, there are many activities that are included to keep all of your kids entertained and allow you to make memories that will last a lifetime.

I do want to warn you; our kids came across a lot of older children that were trying to bully them. It seemed that the kids that camp here on a regular basis, are not open to any new camping kids coming on “their turf”. So, I would make sure you go and check on your kids, watch them while they are playing.

Country Bend Campground in a nutshell

All and All I am torn on recommending Country Bend Campground. I did enjoy my time there, and the staff was extremely friendly. There were plenty of things to keep all the kids outside and happy. My only real draw back was the site itself. It was small, muddy, and not set up very well for our rig. I think if I had to give a recommendation I would say Country Bend Campground is a perfect place to stay if you are passing through for one or two nights. I would not recommend staying here for an extended time. There are some other campgrounds in the area, or just up Interstate 55, that will better serve you for a long stay.