Shawnee Hills Glamping

The Most Luxurious Glamping in Shawnee National Forest 

This summer many of our followers found their way to our Instagram via a glamping video. This told me one thing: Post more glamping spots! So I went on the hunt to find more glamping spots in and around Chicago. It has been no small feat! The standard is so high! So we had to find yall the best of the best! 

Over the summer Hiking With Shawn posted about this cool glamping dome in southern Illinois. I was obsessed from the moment I saw it! I messaged the owners asking if we can show the property to our audience because it was so breathtakingly beautiful. Plus we wanted to make our way back down to Shawnee to ride our bikes on a 43 mile trail. I prayed they would say yes! I was praying for some snow to give the video a snow globe feel. Sadly, it did not snow but it did NOT take away from the experience at all. 

Upon arrival we noticed the address is just a little off but you can't miss it if you drive about 1000ft up the road on the right. We arrived at night around 6PM. It was dark outside but the property was extremely well lit with fairy lights strung around the yard and deck. It felt so magical! The sign was a nice added touch too! Here are the GPS coordinates for a more accurate address “cuz ain’t no address to mother nature's crib”: 37.46730° N, 88.66750° W

The Dome is not exactly secluded or deep in the woods. This is perfect because it is very private and quiet but you feel a little at ease because you know there's humanity around. I know some people don't like feeling secluded and remote but still want peace and quiet. Here you will find just that. There's a house across the street and another about an acre away. I would imagine during the summer the trees will allow for more privacy and block some of the houses. It was not a problem for me but I do want to make it known that it is in a rural neighborhood rather than deep in the woods off the beaten path. This place offers plenty of privacy, you won't see or hear any people and no one can see into the dome or the surrounding deck. This place is fully private from peering eyes. There is also no cell signal, I had about 1 bar and Kam had none. But the wifi was extremely fast and reliable. If you have an iphone you can take calls and imessage from wifi. 

Our first impression was wow, this is waaaaay better than they portray online. This dome is super luxurious, sleek and cozy. When you arrive you walk into a kind of mud room, there's a bench, a few hooks for your stuff, and a place for you to take off your shoes. We walked into a small but equipped kitchen. They had a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, dishes, and cookware. They even have a two burner electric hot plate for us to cook on. There's also a grill and firepit outside. My favorite part in this section was the little hot chocolate bar. Fully stocked with marshmallows, coffee, mugs and hot cocoa. 

The dome has plenty of seating, with a table and two chairs to sit down and enjoy your meals. In the center of the dome is a beautiful and extremely comfortable king size bed. We slept so well in this bed! We even had a discussion about how we should ask the owners “what bed is this?” so we can get one for ourselves. It's THAT comfortable. The dome features two more chairs, a cute swinging chair and a cushion chair with a soft footstool. I loved every single part of the decor. I turned the corner again to be wowed with a full size washer and dryer! That sent me because HOW yall fit this? They fit it and it was such an amazing touch because we used it a couple times. Turn again, and you're in this fancy full bath! The small touches really made this place pop to me. Like the essential oil diffuser in the bathroom. The hair ties, cotton swabs and cotton balls were placed so tastefully to add to the lux decor. And of course they have the usual shampoo, soap, and conditioner in the shower. 

As I walked out of the bathroom I noticed kam at the record player. There were about 8-10 records and Purple Rain was one of them. We played it and danced to the vinyl. Funny story: the next day Kam was like “I just realized it’s another side to this vinyl” I hollered i'm like “your millennial is showing”. This fool gonna say “I was wondering where the rest of the songs were!! Like where is doves cry??  Where is purple rain?? It's right here on the other damn side” I cried because my poor man didn't know this!!! I was like “duh, sir”. It was so cute to me.  

But the architecture on this dome is nothing short of amazing! When I say they optimized the space, they did that without it feeling stuffed or overcrowded even with two people. It seems like they started building from the middle of the dome. There's sort of an X shaped divider dividing all the sections so elegantly. 

We had to sit pretty and not mess up the place because we wanted to film our video in the morning under the best light. So we did not touch a thing, besides the record player. We put our swimsuits on because this stay includes a private hot tub! There's clean robes for you to use as well (both long and short). We pulled back the cover to a clean warm hot tub. We used this thing every morning and night. It was our favorite part. No one can see you, the hot tub was strategically placed where it is very private. We enjoyed thousands of stars from the hot tub. We looked below the deck and there was a fire pit and seats for 4 people. The upper deck also had a couch and table to relax on. I bet it be poppin’ out there in the summer. 

We did not notice the true beauty of this place until morning. I woke up to the most amazing sunrise. The best part was the floor to ceiling window that stretches around about a quarter of the dome. I was so surrounded by nature, even though I was inside. The light that came in was immense! The windows added a more bright and luxurious feel to the dome. 

We were able to do everything we wanted here and more! We worked, we chilled, we cooked, ate, showered and slept here without any problems. We legit had EVERYTHING we needed to stay and never leave (you should probably get your own groceries on the way down). I almost forgot to mention: climate control. The domes are fitted with heat, air, electricity, water and plumbing!  So what more can you ask for? 

I can not wait to come back in the summer! When you book make sure you tell them BPO sent you! Check out Shawnee Hills Glamping Here! 

Come back soon to see all the adventures we took in Shawnee National Forest!