Central Illinois has a new spot for ‘glamping’

SPRING BAY, Ill. (WMBD) — What used to be a gravel pit is now Central Illinois’ newest camping ground.

Sankoty Lakes in Spring Bay is open to the public and taking reservations.

Janessa Birkland, general manager at Sankoty Lakes, said they broke ground with their company back in 2019. However, because of the pandemic, they were unable to open in 2020 and this season is their grand opening.

Here, the tents are designed for “glamping,” or glamourous camping.

“The camping really is different from anywhere else around here,” said Birkland. “We have our tents; they are canvas but they are also heated and cooled. So you can stay in them year-round. So you have the feeling of you’re outside camping but you also have the luxury of being inside and being warm.”

The other main attraction is the fishing at Sankoty Lakes. Birkland said they built a one-mile-long trout stream near the tents.

“Our lakes and our streams are stocked with fish that you don’t normally find in the Midwest, so we have some amazing fishing as well,” Birkland said.

Birkland said family members and friends tested the “glamping” tents before opening to the public.

Since they announced their opening for the season, Birkland said the reservations are coming in full force.

“Bookings have been coming in like crazy,” Birkland said. “I know that [Wednesday] the website kind of crashed a little bit from the traffic on it. So we are back up, everything’s coming through. I’m getting alerts by the minute of bookings coming in. So it’s really exciting.”