0
Pull-thru
USACECarlyle Lake · Illinois
Dam West Spillway
Overview Dam West Spillway is situated on the southern shore of Carlyle Lake, a prime getaway for city-dwellers and families.
Sites1all reservable
Elev.440ft
Comf.Mar-Nov9 months
Max rigtents
Electricnonesites
From Springfield2h14real road time
The honest read
Synthesized from
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
At 440 ft, Dam West Spillway has a 9-month comfortable window (Mar-Nov). Winter nights average around 27°F, so the shoulder seasons turn cold fast. All 1 sites are reservable in advance, so plan ahead. Popular weekends book out. Within about 4 miles: 2 peaks, lake or river access.
The campground at a glance
01 · CHARACTER
Reads strongest on shade and reservability. Softest on quiet.
Six axes, each scored relative to every other federal campground in the region: quiet (miles to a major road), cool (elevation), roomy (average site spacing), shade, RV-fit (longest rig), and how reservable it is. All six come from data, nothing hand-tuned.
When to go
02 · CLIMATE
avg highavg lowfrost-freedriest · Sep
Mar-Nov
Comfortable window: nights stay above 35°F, days below 90°F.
66%
Of summer weekend-days are dry.
Apr 8
Last spring frost; first fall frost Nov 6.
71°F
Average July low.
Getting there
03 · ACCESS
01
Springfield
110 mi
2h14
02
Chicago
275 mi
5h09
By drive time
Routed road time (OSRM). Nearest major highway 0.1 mi away.
Picking your site
04 · 1 SITES
0
Walk-in
0
50-amp
0
Accessible
0
Prime
1
Sites
What's within four miles
05 · TRAILS · PEAKS · WATER
Trails & Peaks
Trail segments
134
Peaks
2
Water & Access
Lake / river access
yes
To nearest major road
0.1 mi
Method
We synthesize public data layers: RIDB and Recreation.gov facility and site records, Open-Meteo climate normals, OpenStreetMap roads, trails, and water, OSRM drive times, and USGS elevation. We take no bookings, no ads, and no paid placements. Independence is the entire point.