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Featured Attraction
Rend Lake

Rend Lake

Life flows in many forms at Rend Lake, an inviting, invigorating font of activity. Whatever floats your boat and stirs your soul - camping, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, golfing, skiing, or simply sight-seeing - can be found in this unbound oasis.

  • Welcome Center Driving Directions
  • Address: 11231 Marcum Branch Road; P.O. Box 907 Benton, Illinois
  • Contact Information: 618.439.4321
Rend Lake

Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rend Lake is the second-largest man-made lake in Illinois, with 19,000 acres of water and 162 miles of shoreline. The diverse, sprawling complex includes six major recreation areas featuring campgrounds, beaches, picnic and public wildlife areas.

Among the gems of the Rend Lake complex is Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park. Maintained by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the park encompasses some 3,300 acres, providing an ideal setting for fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming, camping, hiking, and picnicking. A bridle trail, horse stable, and a sailboat basin are on the west side of the peninsula. The Park has received national recognition for its quality dog field trial grounds used in regional and national championship trials.

Rend Lake features several boat ramps and a full-service marina. Anglers will find perhaps the finest crappie fishing in Illinois, as well as abundant populations of largemouth bass, white bass, bluegill, and a variety of catfish.

Rend Lake Shooting Complex & Hunting Preserve

Rend Lake Shooting Complex & Hunting Preserve

Franklin County aims to please, and it's certainly evident at the Rend Lake Shooting Complex! Shooters of all skill levels set their sites on this state-of-the-art complex, considered one of the premier shooting facilities in the Midwest.

  • Address: Near Wayne Fitzgerral State Park, Illinois
  • Phone: 618.629.2368
Macedonia Game Preserve

Macedonia Game Preserve

With seven and a half months of dove, deer, turkey, and released game bird hunting, Macedonia features virtually non-stop action. The facility comprises some 1,000 acres of planted and managed fields, woods, and fencerows.

  • Address: 23428 State Highway 14, Macedonia, IL
  • Phone: 618.728.4328
Boating & Fishing

Boating & Fishing

Boat enthusiasts can launch their craft from any of the 27 ramps located around Rend Lake to enjoy some of the finest recreational boating anywhere. Those hooked on fishing will find an abundance of crappie, large-mouth bass, white bass, bluegill, and a variety of catfish.

  • Visitor's Center: 618.439.7430
  • Marina: 618.724.7651
Hiking & Biking

Hiking & Biking

Ample opportunity to ramble and roam waits for you. Explore numerous nature trails, wildlife viewing stations and more than 13 miles of continuous bike trails. With growing demand and planned expansions ongoing, the trails provide return visitors with new scenery and quests year after year.

  • Phone: 618.439.7430
Fun Park

Rend Lake Fun Park

Rend Lake Fun Park is the place to go for family fun. Ride the Go Karts and enjoy the fastest fun around, play a round of Mini Golf, take some swings in the Batting Cages, or send the kids for a ride in the Kiddie Boats. Rend Lake Fun Park is located about 2 miles west of the lake on 154.

  • Phone: 618.625.5080
Horseback Riding

Horseback Riding

A 9-mile bridle trail encircles the wildlife/field trail area, and opportunities to see and photograph wildlife abound. The trail is open to all equestrians for most of the year but is closed during the hunting and designated field trial seasons. Rend Lake Stables offers one hour and half hour guided trail rides, lessons, workshops and more.

  • Visitor's Center: 618.439.7430
  • Stable: 618.629.2260
Camping & Picnicking

Camping & Picnicking

Over 150 picnic sites make Rend Lake the perfect spot for a outdoor feast and family fun. Many include shelters, tables, fireplaces and playground apparatus! Rend Lake also hosts a wide variety of camp site options. Most boast access to electrical hookups, sanitary facilities, shower houses and playgrounds. A total of 510 Class A campsites (22 are walk-in tent sites) are spread through four campgrounds operated by the Corps of Engineers. Another 263 campsites (40 are tent sites), located in Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, are managed by the Department of Natural Resources.


  • US Army Corps of Engineers / Campground Reservation: 877.444.6777
  • Department of Natural Resources / Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreational Area: 618.629.2320