We camped at one lesser known Illinois DNR campgrounds- the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, IL. Although it’s well-known in the shooting sports world, we’ve found that most people don’t know that it has a huge campground open to the public. There are over 1,000 campsites at the WSRC and it’s some of the cheapest full-hook up camping we’ve found. Our campground guide will fill you in on all you need to know to camp at this unique property.
The World Shooting and Recreational Complex was built in 2006 on 1,600 acres of reclaimed strip mine. It’s the largest shooting sports complex in the world and is home to the ATA’s Grand American World Trapshooting Championships. But even for those who aren’t into shooting sports, it’s a great campground with some of the cheapest full hook up camping we’ve ever seen.
World Shooting and Recreational Complex Campground
IDNR map can be found at: https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/recreation/wsrc/documents/wsrcmap.pdf
The campground at the WSRC is broken down into 8 different areas totalling over 1,000 campsites. All campsites have 50 amp service, and many are full-hook up. The camp areas are:
- North Loop- 169 full hook-up paved sites (currently there is a glitch on exploremoreil and North Loop sites don’t show on the map, but are available in the list of sites)
- South Loop- 171 full hook-up paved sites
- Indigo- 50 full-hook gravel sites
- Massasauga- 300 full hook-up gravel sites
- Coneflower- 64 full hook-up gravel sites
- Ash Campground- 40 electric only sites
- Hickory Campground- 80 electric only sites
- White Oak Campground- 127 electric only sites
We found the North and South Loops to be the nicest campsites. They are paved parking pads and most are pretty roomy with a good amount of grass to play in. The other campgrounds are more parking-lot style campgrounds. We noticed a sign at Coneflower that said it was for monthly camping. I reached out to the DNR and they said it’s one of the few exceptions to the Illinois 14-night stay limit. It’s not available to book online and is first-come first-serve.
South Loop Campsites Drive Through
We recorded a drive-through video to show the layout and size of the South Loop campsites.
Our Campsite
We stayed in Site 1800 in the South Loop. It was a very roomy site. The hookups are easily accessible and really close to the parking pad. We had a picnic table, but no fire pit. We saw that some sites in our loop had fire pits and others didn’t, so we probably could have grabbed one from an empty site if we really wanted. The parking pad was paved and very level, we had very little adjusting to do on our end.
The hook-ups are so close to the parking pad that you really only need a 2 or 3 foot sewer hose here.
WSRC Campground Amenities
Showehouse: Right in front of Hickory Campground is a large shower house. It features 20 private stalls (4 of which are accessible). It wasn’t the cleanest shower house we’ve ever seen, but definitely not the worst either. On our first night staying at the WSRC we spent a little over an hour hanging out in the shower house waiting out a tornado warning.
Dump stations: For campers not taking advantage of full hook-ups, there’s a large dump station with 6 spots. It’s well laid out and looks very easy to navigate and work around people.
Playround: Across the road from the shower house there is a small, but modern playground.
World Shooting and Recreational Complex Camping Reservations
Like all IDNR campgrounds, reservations are made online at https://camp.exploremoreil.com. You can make reservations up to 180 days in advance, but they must be made at least 3 days in advance of arrival. Any sites still open in that 3 day window become walk-in only. IDNR allows you to cancel reservations 3 days in advance to get a refund on your camping fees (but not the $5 reservation fee).
WSRC Camping Costs
The WSRC is some of the cheapest full hook-up camping we’ve found! Premium AA sites are $25/night, except for holidays when rates go up slightly. There are also discounts for seniors and those with disabilities. Standard electric-only Class A sites are $20/night (again, with holiday, senior, and disabled rates available).
Campground Rules
- Check in 11am, checkout 2:59pm
- Max 4 people per site, 2 vehicles
- Pets must be leashed
- No ATVs, UTVs. or golf carts
- Maximum stay is 14 nights
- No swimming
- Quiet hours are 10pm-7am
The World Shooting and Recreational Complex
The shooting complex is massive. It boasts the world’s longest trap line- 3.5 miles long with 120 trap houses. There are also 2 sporting clays courses, 24 skeet fields, and cowboy action shooting. Besides the ATA’s Grand American, there are regularly shooting events going on, as well as public shooting most weekends. Check the event calendar to plan accordingly. During big events like the Grand American you won’t be able to get camping. In our two weeks at the WSRC, we saw the Friends group’s spring silver trapshoot and a cowboy action competition. The complex also includes vendor shops that are open only during big events, none of them were open for the events we saw.
Native Restaurant
The event center building houses a gift shop and Native Restaurant. We ate at Native twice during our stay and the food was really good! During the eclipse they had a DJ and bags tournament going on, and each weekend they had different specials. There is patio seating, but we overheard that they didn’t have enough staff to take orders/food out there.
The Great Outdoors Company
The event center building is also home to a gift shop/pro shop. There are souvenirs available here and a variety of shooting sports related merchandise.
WSRC Lakes and Fishing
The WSRC has 3 lakes available for fishing and boating. The lakes are stocked with large and smallmouth bass, bluegill, readear sunfish, channel catfish, trout, and crappie. There are boat launches available, but make sure you check regulations on each lake since they’re a little different. Derby and RV Lake both allow only electric motors and East Lake has a 10 horsepower limit.
Trapshooting Hall of Fame and Museum
The Trapshooting Hall of Fame and Museum has its own building in the main complex, next to the events center. It’s open during most scheduled events, or you can call to make arrangements to visit. The Hall of Fame was started in 1968 to honor outstanding people in the sport and preserve the history of trapshooting. It moved to the WSRC in 2016. We weren’t expecting too much out of it. Knowing that it was mostly a hall of fame, we figured there’d be framed photos, some signage, and a few artifacts. But we were wrong! It’s actually a great museum with well-curated displays of all kinds. The collection includes things like glass ball and clay pigeon targets from different eras, all kinds of different trap machines used through the years, outfits and mementos from Hall of Famers, awards and trophies, and so much more.
Near the World Shooting Complex
For groceries we recommend the Walmart in Sparta (1410 N Market St, Sparta, IL 62286), which is just a few minutes away from the Complex.
For gas we went to the Circle K across from the Walmart (1205 N Market St, Sparta, IL 62286). We were able to save $0.25/gallon there with Circle K rewards.
For activities, Sparta is less than an hour from Carbondale and about an hour from St.Louis. While staying here we visited Fort de Chartes, Prairie du Rocher, Carbondale, Kaskaskia, and Chester for activities.
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