OutReserve

Dam East - Mcnair Campground

McNair Group Area shelter
Kaskaskia River Trail
McNair-East Spillway Loop campsites
McNair Campground Map
East Spillway Loop Map

Featured amenities

Showers
Showers

About Dam East - Mcnair Campground

Dam East-McNair Campground is situated on the southern shore of Carlyle Lake, a prime getaway for city-dwellers and families. Located 50 miles east of St. Louis, the area offers the peaceful retreat of a small town combined with the grandeur of Illinois' largest man-made lake.

Number of accommodations: 46

Campground Amenities

  • Beach Access
    Beach Access
  • Potable Water
    Potable Water
  • Showers
    Showers
  • Dump Station
    Dump Station

Sites & Availability

46 Sites Available

Site
Price
🚐 1, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 10, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 11, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 12, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 13, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 14, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 15, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 16, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 17, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 18, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 19, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 2, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 20, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 21, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 22, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 23, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 24, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 25, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 26, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 27, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 28, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 29, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 3, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 30, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 31, Loop: NORTH LOOP
Electric Only
$20.00
/ per night
33, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
34, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
35, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
36, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
37, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
38, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
39, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 4, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
40, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
41, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
42, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
43, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
44, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
45, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
46, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
47, Loop: Spillway
8 guests · Campfire · Pet Friendly
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 5, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 6, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 7, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 8, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night
🚐 9, Loop: SOUTH LOOP
Water & Electric
$20.00
/ per night

Reviews (306)

What Guests Are Saying

Dam East - McNair Campground is praised for its beautiful location, clean and spacious sites, and friendly camp hosts. Many visitors enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, well-maintained facilities, and convenient amenities such as electric and water hookups. However, some concerns were raised about litter from previous campers and occasional noise disturbances, particularly late at night. Overall, guests recommend the campground for its serene environment and excellent outdoor activities.

Review Summary

4.5
306 reviews
5
70.3%
215
4
19.0%
58
3
5.2%
16
2
3.6%
11
1
2.0%
6

KENNETH T

Verified

September 11, 2024 Stayed at: 24, Loop: NORTH LOOP

4

This is a very nice and quiet campground. Very walkable on Carlyle Lake. The biggest negative are the bugs in the bathroom & our campsite 24 wasn't picked up well. The latter I blame more on the campers than the park personnel, but still it should be checked after each person leaves. I realize they are attracted & while I was there the daily cleaners came and all the dead bugs disappeared. I do think they shouldn't drape the shower curtains back because they hold moisture and when I released mine to show a bunch of bugs came flying out. Overall, we had a great stay at this campground and enjoy all 4 USACOE parks at Carlyle. They are well maintained.
PEOPLE>>>>QUIT THROWING YOUR BUTTS ON THE GROUND! WHERE DO YOU THINK IT GOES???

Joshua W

Verified

August 29, 2024 Stayed at: 33, Loop: Spillway

5

We absolutely love camping at Damn East. It is always trash free, clean, and the campers are always very welcoming. Wish they had alittle nicer playground for the kiddo's, but that is very very low on a list of importance.

Thanks for keeping it a great place to camp.

Debra G

Verified

July 25, 2024 Stayed at: 43, Loop: Spillway

5

JT and Mel are awesome camp hosts! Campground is very well maintained!

Debra G

Verified

July 18, 2024 Stayed at: 36, Loop: Spillway

5

JT and Mel and awesome camp hosts!

Amanda W

Verified

July 17, 2024 Stayed at: 29, Loop: NORTH LOOP

5

One of the best camping sites I’ve stayed at! Very welcoming place and I highly recommend staying!

Mary B

Verified

July 16, 2024 Stayed at: 34, Loop: Spillway

4

On our last day a guy came by around 7:30 AM & asked us when we were leaving.
He drove by several times & stared. He & his wife parked their RV in the spot next to ours, waiting for us to leave. Made me very uncomfortable.

Carol E

Verified

July 5, 2024 Stayed at: 31, Loop: NORTH LOOP

5

Dam East Mcnair is a great campground. It's smaller and therefore quieter than Dam West, which we appreciated.
There is a small beach for swimming and we witnessed several folks headed to the lake with their fishing gear. Campsites are shaded and far enough from others to provide some privacy while you would still be able to interact with others if you wanted.

Robert G

Verified

July 3, 2024 Stayed at: 2, Loop: SOUTH LOOP

5

We had site #2 at Dam South. You'll need an extra long hose for the water hookup as you share the water with site #3. I think I used 3-25' hoses. Be sure to have a "y" connector in case site #3 doesn't have one. The site was awesome. Just a few steps to the bathhouse/restrooms and our starlink worked well with a little adjusting. The site was almost level, just needed to add one block to get it perfect. It was very convenient to walk down to the lake. The site is the closest one to the dump station which is also convenient. We would definitely do this site again.

Hobie B

Verified

July 3, 2024 Stayed at: 43, Loop: Spillway

2

Overall campground is nice and clean! Camp host was very friendly. Our only issue was with the lawn workers, they barreled through our campsite with no warning while our dog was on her tie out. After asking them to come back later (they had thrown grass and dirt on us at this point) another man had come barreling through our campsite once again. At this point our campsite had been mowed and both workers had no respect for us whatsoever. Very rude, the owner of the lawn company came to apologize and offer assistance…2 park rangers came out and did absolutely nothing. When asked about park rules and guidelines all they could say was “well they have a job to do.” The issue here is them disturbing our paid for site, proceeding to put a hole in our tent and absolutely nothing has been done. We have called twice and spoken with at least 5 people. Would have recommended a stay here but as of yesterday, camp with the risk of it being ruined and things damaged.

Scott B

Verified

July 2, 2024 Stayed at: 3, Loop: SOUTH LOOP

5

Beautiful clean campground with lots of shade. Spots were not too close to each other and easy to park. Still definitely come back.

Location Dam East - Mcnair Campground

Address:
801 Lake Road
Carlyle, IL, 62231
United States

Latitude & Longitude: 38.6083 / -89.325

Elevation: 136 feet

Policies & Rules

Category About
General

Dam East - McNair is 100% reservable, and available for same day reservations.

General

Dam East Spillway is now its own loop within McNair (Sites 33-47) and is open year-round.

General

Campsites are single capacity; no double capacity or buddy sites are available

General

If the Group Area is not reserved, it will be available on a first-come, first-served basis

General

The Spillway Loop does not have a shower house, or dump station. Campers are able to use the shower and dumpstation at the entrace of McNair throughout the non-peak season. *Shower House may not be open 7 days/week. 

General

No personal checks or cash are accepted at this time. Credit/Debit card only.

General

Camping No-Show - Camping no-show customers who do not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by check out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date will be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit their reservation. If the no-show service fee is greater than the reservation amount, the customer will not be charged any additional service fees.

General

Cancellation Fees - A $10 service fee is withheld from the refund anytime the customer cancels a camping or day use reservation. Depending on when the cancellation is made, it may be considered a late cancellation and additional fees may be forfeited.
A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee.

General

Check-out time is 4 p.m. / Check-in time is 5 p.m.

General

Firewood brought into this facility must be purchased, or collected locally due to invasive insects.

General

Don't Move Firewood: Protect your forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. Visit Dontmovefirewood.org for further information.

General

Click here for a virtual tour of Carlyle Lake

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