Year round Horse Camping & Trail Riding at its best.

Horse Resort ~~ Outfitters Log Cabin Restaurant Home of the Ultimate Trail Ride

Located in the Beautiful Shawnee National Forest.

Campground	Log Cabin Restaurant	General Store & Tack Shop
Forest & Trails	Location, Price, Description, and Registration	Safety and Comfort
Upcoming Events	Owner's Message (click for picture of owner)	Scenic Pictures

Sign My GuestbookView My Guestbook

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Campground

 

Bear Branch (click for picture) features a Rustic Log Cabin Restaurant,
80 campsites with water and electricity, Cabins and Lodging.
Other accommodations and amenities include:

• Shower House (Air-Conditioned) with Laundry Facilities (click for picture)
• Tack Shop and General Store
• Dumpstation
• Recreation Area

• 2 Acre Fishing Pond
• Modern Pole Barn with 40 bedded box stalls

Most campsites have Picket Lines or poles for your rope.

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Log Cabin Restaurant

Enjoy the spectacular view from our rustic hilltop Log Cabin Restaurant.
Open Thursday through Sunday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Breakfast starts at 7:00 a.m.  We offer several great home cooked breakfasts
that are guaranteed to stick with you on the trail.

Dinner times are special times at Bear Branch!
On Friday join us for our famous "all you can eat" Catfish Dinner with
taters, cowboy beans, hush puppies and tasty creamy slaw.

Saturdays offer a "mouth watering, charcoal grilled" Ribeye
or T-bone Steak served with salad,
Bear Branch's great seasoned baked potato, and vegetable.

Sundays feature a "home style" meal with all the fixin's.

Top it all off with a homemade dessert!  If you can't eat dessert here,
take it with you.  It'll be worth it!

 We also offer extended Restaurant hours on
Holiday weekends.  Open all week during April, May, September and October (when reservations permit.).
Best of all - prices are affordable!

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General Store & Tack Shop

Forget Something??  The Tack Shop and General Store features the Bear Branch Clothing
line (hats, shirts and jackets), tack, hay, feed, soda, ice cream, trail snacks,
Shawnee crafts, souvenirs, gifts, firewood, ice, and life's little necessities.
 

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Forest & Trails

Bear Branch is centrally located in the beautiful
Shawnee National Forest just above Lusk Creek
Canyon.  Named after a creek that runs through
the property, Bear Branch offers multiple access to
the most scenic riding and hiking trails in the forest.  We are
within easy riding distance to Indian Kitchen, High
Point, Devil's Back Bone, Natural Rock Bridge, Salt
Peter Cave, Secret Canyon, Peter Cave, Sand Cave,
Jackson Hole, Bell Smith Springs, and Hayes Creek Canyon.
And we're just minutes from the River-to-River Trail.  While you are here,
be sure to save time to visit the breathtaking Garden of the Gods,
Harrah's Riverboat Casino, and the many antique shops located nearby.

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Location & Price

Reservations are recommended.  During peak riding times often demand
far exceeds availability for campsites, stalls and cabins.  Your vacation
reservations are a commitment.  When you make reservations, those units
are taken off the availability list.  Others may decide not to come due
to the lack of available cabins, stalls or sites.  Therefore, a fourteen-day
cancellation notice is necessary for a refund (30-day cancellation for all Holiday weekends.)
We cannot usually re-rent your reservation at the last minute on late cancellations,
including changes due to weather, personal change in plans or personal tragedies.

Note: For Holiday Weekends -- Campers must stay or pay for three nights
of camping (except Easter) and, if applicable, stalls, cabins or lodging.  To guarantee a campsite
for Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and Columbus Day,
Campsites, lodging, cabins, and stalls must be paid in full 30 days prior to arrival.
 

c l i c k ~ Registration Form ~ c l i c k
 
 

 Centrally located in the Shawnee National Forest,

just 16 miles south of Harrisburg on Highway 145

just 35 miles northeast of Paducah, Kentucky.  Exit off I-24, (1st exit in Illinois) go right on Highway 45, go 1/8 miles then left on Highway 145 for 35 miles,

we're just 2 miles north of Eddyville, Illinois.  Sign on Route 145.

All Campers Must Register Prior to Setting up Camp.  The Shawnee National Forest now has marked trails as well as Bridle Fee of $1.00 per horse per day.  Please pick them up upon arrival when you check in.

• Overnight Campers
  Prices Include Water and Electricity. (Monthly and Annual Site Rental Available . . . call for details.)

$29/Night (With Sewer)

(2 Adults per site, $5 per additional Adult on all Campsites)

$24/Night (Without Sewer)

 

• Primitive Camping

$12/Night (Camp around pond) One Unit or Tent per Site

 

Cabins

• The "Rawhide Cabin" (Primitive)

$39 Night/2 Adults - $10 per additional person

Sleeps 5 people, includes breakfast table, heated & air conditioned
with porch swing. No bathroom.

• The Bunk House - (click for a picture)

Sleeps 4 people with small bath, separate bedroom and 2 sets of bunk beds, compact refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker.

$49 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

• The "Trail Boss"

Sleeps 3 people with full bath, breakfast table, full size futon bed with twin bed above, sofa, refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker.

$49 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

 

• The "Trail End" - (click for a picture)

Sleeps 4 people.  Separate bedroom with queen bed also has futon couch/bed, table and chairs, and bath.  Includes refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker.

$56 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

• The "Bears Den" - (click for a picture)

Sleeps 4 people.  Separate bedroom with queen bed also has sleeper sofa, table and stools, and bath.  Includes refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker.

$56 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

• The  "Hideout"

Sleeps 6-8 people, kitchenette, 3 bedrooms (one double bed, two queen beds), sitting area has queen sleeper sofa, and a television.

$62 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

• The "Reata Inn" - (click for a picture)

Sleeps 6 people, full living room, full kitchen with refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and all utensils, king bed, queen bed, queen sleeper sofa, TV/VCR, huge bath and double sinks, sunken tub, with separate shower stall, and has a private deck on back.

$69 Night/2 Adults - $12 per additional person

• Box Stalls

$10/Night - Reserved/Bedded (One Horse per Stall).  Stalls will be clean when you get here, you must clean them before you leave, or pay $12/stall next visit.  There will be a $2.50 additional daily fee for each stall not reserved prior to arrival.  (we supply the wheelbarrow and shavings, bring your own fork).

• Corrals  (100' x 100')

$24/Night - (Limit 8 horses)

• Day Riding

$2/Horse - Please park in grass not on a campsite.

 

• Bridle Fee

$1.00/Horse per day

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Ensuring your Safety and Comfort

By following a few simple codes of convenience,
Bear Branch can continue to offer you and your
family some of the finest and safest
accommodations in the Shawnee National Forest.

• Campers must register and pay before setting up camp.
• Quiet Camp Begins at 11:00 p.m. till 6:00 a.m.
• Dogs Must Be On a Leash in camp at all times.
• Stallions (by Permission Only) Must Be Kept In Stalls.
• No Tree Tying is Permitted ($150 fine if trees are chewed).
• Negative Coggins and Health Certificates for out of state horses.
• No Temporary Pens (except in designated picket areas).
• Horses cannot be tied overnight to trailers at campsites.
• Stalls & picket areas must be cleaned before you leave.
• Sites, stalls, lodging, and cabins must be vacated by 11 a.m. on checkout day (except Sunday - campsites only 3:00 p.m.)
• We are on city water, please help us conserve and keep you camping fees reasonable. (No hosing out trailers.)
• Animals cannot be tied to utility poles with water and electric (horses or dogs).
• You will pay a $25 fee if your animal breaks a water pipe.
• Please do not throw trash - bottles & cans - in fire pits.  They do not burn.
• Please put all trash in dumpster behind the restaurant.
• Shavings are provided for stalls only.  Absolutely NO shavings to be taken for trailers or picket areas.

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A Message from the Owner

"Sixteen years ago after riding in many different places
throughout the United States, I discovered the
Shawnee National Forest and knew it would
someday be my home.  It is truly one of the most
Beautiful Places to Ride in the nation!  Come to
Bear Branch and enjoy the riding vacation of a lifetime"
 

Dick Manders
(click for picture)
Proprietor, Bear Branch Horse Camp & Restaurant,
Artist, and Trail Rider

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~ ~ click to see why Eddyville was Declared Trail Riding Capital of Illinois ~ ~

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Upcoming Events
Phone or E-mail Bear Branch for further info.

• 3-Day Weekend Rides  (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday)

Easter	Labor Day
Memorial Day	Columbus Day
July 4th

   

•   September 16th  Rafter M Fundraiser Ride and Silent Auction

•   November 23th thru November 26th --  Annual Thanksgiving Ride

                                                      Great Family Fun!! (click for a scan of the flyer)
  Reservations Required ~ Ride is open to a limited number Horseback Trail Riding | Horse Trails | Trail Rides in Shawnee National Forest | The Shawnee National Forest Horse Camping ~ ~ Back to the top ~ ~