Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Park 8542 North Lake Road, Lena, IL 61048

",why did I downgrade it from 4 stars to one? 1) They have 4 campground Hosts spots, but only one does actual check-in. If that person is not available, the other 2 or 3 campers won't help you...they are just camping for free. Well, this past weekend I was camping with my granddaughters, and we were down at the turtle pond, where many campers go. One of these "Hosts" followed us down there in her black Polaris 4-wheeler, and sat there staring at us for 5 min. Then she asked my granddaughters what they were catching and they replied "frogs". She went off on them that that was illegal, it was a State Park, and they had to stop. I told her (truthfully) that we hadn't caught anything. She finally went away in a huff. Now mind you, she was not in a uniform, name-tag, or a marked State vehicle. She was outside of the campground that she purports to be a Host at. 2) Last year, the park had 11" of rain and it destroyed parks of the playground. A bridge over the creek sat broken in half for a year. Now, they had removed it, but left the metal mesh wires (that hold in the rocks for erosion control) exposed, and sticking out. This is right in the playground area, and could do serious damage to a kid, of even adult. Hopefully you will be able to see this in the attached picture. There are other, safer, friendlier choices to take my granddaughters to! I have been going here for 47 years and have seen several changes. Replacing the quaint rental, bait shop and snack bar with a full restaurant in a new brick building seemed good, but it is totally closed now. However, a major Illinois State Parks restoration grant transformed this into one of Illinois' best. One activity that there are few pictures of is the moderate hiking afforded through the canyons in this park. The only downside with the campgrounds are the swarms of local gawkers that troll through the sites, rubber-necking at you. The park really needs to require a camping permit for entry to the campground. So, if you don't need concessions, bait, or rentals, be sure to visit. It is a beautiful Park!"

"8/9/23 We chose this place for our annual fishing trip. We were very disappointed. The beach is closed. The fishing pier was closed. The concession stand was closed. There is no bait shop. DNR drained the lake a couple of years ago, so the fish you catch are small. Less than 1 pound. I wish DNR would have put this one on their website before we drove an hour and a half to get there. I believe this will be a nice area in a couple of years. There is also no boat traffic. No canoes, paddle boards. And there is green algae everywhere in the lake."

"This is a hilly, picturesque space where people can spread out to hike, picnic, swim, or look for frogs, dragonflies, and eagles. The park is in a loop with lots of little parking lots, each one with an entirely different view of the lake, and it didn’t feel remotely crowded. Will definitely be back to explore again! There’s so much more to do."

"well maintained, beautiful, peaceful state park with a small beach, clean and lots of toilets, showers! Camping is closed for the season and the leaves have fallen so we really can't tell between sunny or shady spots, but all seem nice with plenty of water sources"

"The lake is beginning to look really good. Only fish and release seems to be allowed as per signs that are posted. Docks were not in the water but new ones are sitting in yhe parking lot at the old concession stand."