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Whether you visit for an afternoon or stay a few days, you will leave Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Recreation Area with many happy memories. Located in Stephenson County just west of Route 73 on Lake Road, the park is 6 miles south of the Illinois-Wisconsin state line and 3 miles north of Lena.
Highlighted by a 40-acre lake and all the recreational opportunities there, the park also offers multi-use trails, picnic areas, and RV, tent, equestrian and youth group campgrounds.
Developed as part of a statewide plan to provide Illinois citizens with recreational opportunities close to home, the park was started with a land acquisition program in 1948 and dedicated as a 715-acre state recreation area 10 years later.
Lake Le-Aqua-Na’s name is the result of a contest sponsored by the Stephenson County Sportsman’s Club, one of the park’s many sponsors. The name is a combination of the town of Lena and the Latin word for water, aqua.
The campground is clean. Paved roads . Most sites are large . Many sites to choose from. Can't beat the price compared to private camp grounds. Wish there were water hookups . Double dump station, no fear of line waiting to use. Was able to change sites easy after talking to host. Definitely would come back.
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
,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.
