Lehman’s Lakeside RV Resort – Marengo, IL

We made the mistake of staying for two weeks and paid $187 for the electric. Yes, we have had rude service but have to stay there during off season to be near family. It is the worse campground we have experienced in the country and with their long term renters its atmosphere is more like that of a trailer park. The rates are outrageous also. We just stayed on the ocean in Florida for just $10 more a night. During the off season we stay at the forest preserve in Elgin, much cheaper, friendly, and beautiful.

There was a time many years ago when camping (been RVing for over 17 years for work, 365 days a year) you did not have to hook up to the electric Co. but then there came those who thought that the electric coming out of the RV Park plug was FREE! We can just run electric heaters and it’s FREE! Let me tell you something… the belly of your camper requires the furnace to heat it and keep the water lines from freezing. Dah! Furthermore I stayed in this campground and was treated very well, no complaints whatever. Now pay close attention here those of you who are staying long term… nothing is for FREE! Treat the campground as if it were your very own property, clean up after yourselves, do not keep your dogs outside when you are not home or late at night. Have a little respect for others, you neighbors. You want mail? Go to the nearest Post Office and tell them you will be getting mail there “General Delivery”… they will hold it for you. WOW! How hard is that? As for propane, if the campground is too expensive… get off your lazy duff, load your tanks into your truck and drive to the Flying “J” just across the line in Wisconsin and fill them… I did! Oh! my electric bill was never more than $150.00/month and I stayed there thru the winter of 02. So get off this bull dung of blaming others for your inability to be creative. Think! Respect others and treat the campground as if it were your own… you might be suprised how well you will be received and treated. I have stayed in campgrounds from Pennsylvania to California and from Michigan to Florida. I go by their rules, respect their property, and have had an enjoyable experience in all. The only ones which have been a few were because the owners were lax and let people get away with breaking the rules which in turn caused me to have to see their filth, trash piled up around their camper… or the dog outside barking or playing their radio loud late at night and late night parting. Give me a break! I work 10-12 hour days, expect to came back to my RV and relax, not have to put up with arrogant, disrespectful tenants. Oh… in a lot of the campgrounds up north you can call the local gas company and they will bring out a 250 gallon tank and hook it up to your RV. I’ve done this many time, works out great, they come out and refill it about every two to three weeks. Check with the campground first. They may know who to call. In a nut shell, it comes down to RESPECT! RESPECT! RESPECT! Treat others as you want to be treated. From full time RVer, a 35’ hitchhiker, and a 06 F350, white… from Alabama. If you see me pulling in, stop and say Hi Not hard to see. Pulling tandem, motorcycle trailer behind the 5th wheel. Good luck RVing to all.

We stayed two years on a seasonal. Our site flooded after any rain.The swimming pool never happened. We left. Had enough of hanging out in a corn field. Moved all to the Castle Rock Area. Made some great friends but they are ready to leave also.

This is a comment on the review by Ashley. I am currently at the campground and am familar with their circumstances. In the first place, their dog was a large dog being left outside all day unattended when they were at work. The dog dug holes and they refused to clean up after him. All monthlies are required to weed eat their campsite around their trailer where the park mowers cannot reach. The weedeater is available at the office at no charge. Some sites are metered by ComEd and the electric at those sites is actually cheaper. The rest of the sites have meters belonging to the park and they do pay a higher rate. The water here is well water and has a lot of iron so yes, your shower, etc does get yellow. As for the management being rude, I cannot say, only people will treat you as you treat them and every park must have rules that must be followed or what a mess it would be. It just seems that some people don’t believe the rules are meant for them.

We are currently staying at this campground, we have not received our first electric bill yet, but I do know that we are being charged $450 a month to stay here, and we’re not even close to the lake, we’re parked beside a cornfield and a huge garage. On top of that, we are also being required to weedeat around our camper. About a week after we got here, management came to our door and was very rude because we had not weedeated yet. I’m not sure why they’re so concerned about it not being done for one week, but yet there are cigarette butts and dog poop all over this campground, plus the fact that the ponds here are disgusting. They don’t look like they’ve ever been cleaned, and I would never let my children get into that disgusting water. So, anyway, we told management we would weedeat the next day, since it was about 8:30 pm when he complained to us. He said that was unacceptable and he wanted it done right then, he said we would have to rent a weedeater from the office that night, but only had 30 minutes to have it finished and returned since the office closes at 9 pm. And we were also told by management that we aren’t allowed to keep our dog outside, even though he was tied to a chain right beside our door, he’s a very gentle dog, we’ve never had any problems with him growling, barking, or biting. However, when I walk my dog everyday, I see several other people who leave there dogs outside unattended. We have also had problems with the water supply here, the water smells horrible, and it is milky, and has a little bit of a yellow tint to it. We obviously don’t drink the water or use it when cooking, but I honestly don’t even feel comfortable showering in it, or giving my 6 month old son a bath in it. When we take a fresh load of laundry out of the dryer, they smell bad because of the water they were washed in, no matter how much detergent or how many dryer sheets we use. And when you try to do the dishes, the odor from the water is so bad that you can smell it throughout our camper. We are also being required to pay the electric company, and no, this is not the plan that is designed for extended stay, we travel because of my husband’s job, so we will only be here for about 2 more weeks, and the owners/management are aware of that. I have had 3 separate experiences where management was very rude to my husband and I. We thought about moving to another campground, but decided against it, because we have a second camper that is in storage right now, and we didn’t see the point in going through the trouble of moving both campers if we’re only going to be in Marengo for about 2 more weeks anyway. So until we are relocated, I guess we’ll just try to stay clear of the rude employees who manage this campground…we were very unimpressed with the campground, and will not be staying here if we ever happen to be back in this area.

This park has different rate plans ANNOMOUS must have chosen the plan that was designed for extended stay. That plan requires paying electric bills directly to the power company thru the power companys meters. Does anyone really think you cannot use $400. if you try to heat with electric thinking the park will have to pay for it. SURPRISE!