It seems appropriate for the largest campground in the Illinois state park system to be located on the largest manmade lake in Illinois. Annually, more than 800,000 visitors come to the park to camp, boat, fish, hunt, picnic, bird watch and to hike over 9 miles of trails in the park, or attend the sailboat regattas held almost every summer weekend. The Illini Campground has 328 Class A campsites with 30 and 50 amp electrical hook-ups, 36 Class C campsites for walk-in tent camping and two rustic rent-a-cabins. Certainly one of the most popular activities at Carlyle Lake is fishing. More than 30 species of fish occur at the lake, including such local favorites as white bass, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, bluegill, carp and buffalo. Bank fishing is allowed anywhere in the park. The Allen Branch area is most often used and offers an accessible fishing pier. A fish cleaning station (also accessible) is located at Apache Boat Ramp.
