White Pines Inn

We stayed in the Whispering Pines cabin a couple weekends ago. We enjoyed it very much, we just wished the weather was more cooperative. Loved that we were by the creek and that the cabin had its own fire pit for a bonfire. Beds were super comfortable and enjoyed the gas fireplace on the cold mornings! Loved the homemade soaps in the bathrooms. Friendly staff at the restaurant and the gift shop! Food was very good, especially the breakfast buffet on Sunday!
A couple minor things… the large bathroom in the Whispering Pines cabin needs an exhaust fan. Would like to see the large bathroom updated with more of a modern/​spa feel. The shower head needs to be replaced. Towels are very thin, they should be replaced as well.
We will definitely be back once the weather stays warm!

(This is a review for the cabins, not the food)
I rented out a quad cabin for a weekend getaway with some friends and it was a great time!
Pros: Right next to the forest preserve, a bit away from town, the one I rented had a fireplace and a firepit out back.
Cons: Found a few cockroaches inside and the heater was a little on the fritz (alternated between very hot and very cold at night) but… It’s a cabin by a forest preserve… What do you expect? :P
I would definitely recommend this for anyone who digs the outdoors and is looking for a nice relaxing time.

I chaperoned a group of 20 seniors here to see an afternoon dinner theater show in October: «Sunshine on My Shoulder”-A Tribute to John Denver.
Everyone had a great time and really enjoyed themselves.
White Pines has beautiful and clean grounds to walk and hike. Although the group I chaperoned couldn’t take advantage of this because of physical limitations, I was able to walk some of the trails and was very impressed.
Our dining experience was good. We had a buffet lunch and there was something for everyone. It definitely wasn’t overly healthy by any means, but a good sampling of ‘country’ cooking. Wait staff was very, very friendly and well experienced at catering to large groups of people, particularly seniors.
The gift shop was awesome. Who doesn’t love a great gift shop? Everything from fresh homemade breads and chocolates (made locally) to sweatshirts, ornaments and magnets. There’s something for everyone here, too. As far as state park gift shops go, White Pines’ is top notch. This also seemed to be the place to check in and out of your cabin.
I peeked inside a vacant cabin and can’t say I was overly impressed. The interior looked very old and dated, but if you’re at White Pines to enjoy the great outdoors, I guess the interior of the cabins doesn’t really matter.
They have some great specials during the winter months for couples and families. Definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a weekend getaway. The lunch/​dinner shows are fun.
⁴⁄₅ because the dining room seating was very tight. I’m pleased to say that the show appeared sold-​out, but that wasn’t without getting cozy to the person seated next to you.
⁴⁄₅ White Pines doesn’t have a lot of signage along the roadway. We pulled into the park and I asked our bus driver to stop so I could ask some park goers where the main lodge was. To my knowledge there wasn’t a sign with directions telling you where the lodge, restaurant and cabins were.
White Pines is a beautifully peaceful place. Would love to come back again. Well worth the money.

My family and I went to White Pines State Park to have a fun and unusual Thanksgiving this year. We ate at the Inn restaurant twice, for breakfast and for the Thanksgiving dinner buffet. Both experiences were terrific. Friendly, efficient staff and a great value for the price. Coffee and water are constantly refilled. Everyone gets seated quickly for their huge Thanksgiving buffet, but we weren’t rushed to get out once we were done. Give it a try!

Had an amazing weekend! The hiking trails were easy to follow and really relaxing. The front desk staff and restaurant employees were super friendly and inviting. The breakfast buffet was really good had many options. As for the cabin we stayed in, it was super clean! We will absolutely be back next September season! Great place to getaway for the weekend.

After several passive aggressive e-​mails, I was eventually partially reimbursed for the disgusting condition of my cabin. The manager insists that the «bride and groom» were responsible for my cabin assignment, which I find absolutely ridiculous. I booked my reservation over the phone with the White Pines Inn and specifically asked for a single cabin, so any changes to my reservation should have been cleared with me first, no matter who made them. The manager also forwarded me several private e-​mails from the bride regarding the cabins, which I’m sure is a breach of confidentiality and was completely unprofessional. Future brides and grooms reading these reviews should think twice before dealing with this place.

We stayed 3 nights in one of the one-​bedroom cabins recently. White Pine State Park is a beautiful park that has not changed over the past 40 years and that’s a VERY GOOD THING. It is as beautiful as I remember it as a young Boy Scout.
The cabins are very cozy and the food at the inn is down home cooking at its best. We started every day with a delicious breakfast in the dining room and were supercharged for the rest of the day.
Why only 4 stars?
1) The freight trains all night make it hard to sleep. (TIP: bring rubber ear plugs)
2) Housekeeping needs to do a more thorough job. Floors not swept adequately and they can’t seem to spare another small cube of the spruce soap. I’m not a cheapskate. We leave $ 5 on the night stand every AM. Come on people, a little consideration?
Other than that, White Pines is a wonderful place to get away from it all.

I love White Pines. My family and I use to make a point of coming out once a year in the summer to stay at their charming log cabins and hike their state park’s beautiful, albeit very easy, trails. I took a 10 year+ hiatus from coming here and was so nostalgic coming back! it was everything I remember plus more. I loved it as a kid, but I feel I appreciated it even more as an adult! The hiking, camp fires, charming little inn restaurant for breakfast! I’m just forever in love.
Here are a few pro tips if you’re planning on staying:
* BRING BUG SPRAY AND JEANS! You are hiking in the woods, after all!
* Bring a bathing suit for lake ladonna down the road!
* Bring sticks, marshmallows, and stuff to make smores! — There’s a little dollar general about a 5 minute walk away in case you forget!
* Bring indoor and outdoor games! It’s always fun to play with your friends/​family at night by the campfire! Bags, boardgames, flashlights for hide and seek in the dark, etc!
* Do not leave without doing the go carts down the road and checking out Jay’s drive-​through in town!
* Rent the original Total Recall during your stay because — ARNOLD!
* Call ahead and get an appointment to go horseback riding at White Pines Ranch! It’s super cheap and well worth! Ask for Holden!
If you forget something, the gift shop surely has it and it’s a 1 minute walk away!
Most Importantly:
Do not eat dinner at the Inn! Seriously. although I love WP Inn: their breakfast is ok but their dinner is just bad… BAD. Try the Blackhawk Steakpit or Alfano’s (Sp?) Italian place down the road — Soo good, though much more expensive!
Final Verdict:
I love love love White Pines Cabins! Sooooo amazing!

Haven’t eaten here yet but will today. The cabin last night was clean (with a slight musty smell — which I was surprised about)/but otherwise good and spacious. Folks zaround a fire pit when we arrived and we sat with them and chatted for a bit. lovely evening at a beautiful, natural state park.

We recently stayed in one of the cabins and tried the restaurant for dinner.
The food was absolutely delicious! I kept reading such great reviews and didn’t think the food would be «that good»…but it was! We did make a reservation per the suggestion of others but it wasn’t necessary as the area wasn’t very crowded. If you do go during a busy season, make a reservation as there aren’t many tables. There was also a dinner theater going on so maybe that is where a lot of the people were.
It was a Friday night so my bf had the rib special, I had the chicken fingers. We were also given some bread with honey pecan butter which was amazing. My chicken fingers were great, very crispy and not greasy. I also had a side of mashed potatoes and the veggies of the day and I am so glad that I got both. The ribs were also delicious and the portion was huge, he had to take half a slab to go. We were always provided with refills and never had to ask. Oh, and the chairs at this place were super comfortable. It was like they were molded specifically for my tush… I want one of those chairs!!!
We are thinking about coming back for Labor Day… just so we can eat in the restaurant again!

We stayed overnight at the White Pines Inn in a log cabin with gas fireplace and TV with seven channels. There was no cell phone service and no wifi so we stayed outside and made a campfire and listened to howling coyotes and barking birds and faraway passing trains.
I got sick from the changes in temperature and by the end of the fire when Etta shined a headlamp on me I had snot running down my face and my left hand completely covered in marshmellow stuff.

My wife and I enjoyed an outstanding stay here in a cabin, and enjoyed dinner at the restaurant. Staff very friendly. Prices very reasonable. Portions large. The challenge we had was the limited vegetarian options, let alone vegan. We managed with salad, onion rings, pasta, some cheesey things. Overall, food is very competent American. Nothing really outstanding among the non-​meat options, but no serious objections. The main attraction is the setting, which is a really wonderful state park.

Pros:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Price
Staff
Cleanliness
Did I Mention Dinner too?
Cons:
SO FAR AWAY
For you gamers, if you were «Link» in the lost forest… north, west, south, then west
First off, this review is long overdue…
A Hidden Gem among this forest, which btw is also a great place to visit as well.
OK, so here it goes. I was out in Mount Morris for a BEAUTIFUL WEDDING and all the guests stayed out by the Inn for the weekend.
So being a snob from the second city, I wasn’t really expecting anything spectacular and that was my problem. Literally eating my words with each bite I had taken. I should have known better. Many great places I have eaten in my life were always so far away from the city itself.
I was so impressed how everything was meticulously made and thought out, that every time I plunged my fork into the next serving of food, I felt somewhat guilty with pleasures and pleasures.
The prices are so reasonable and the portions are plenty. I crawled away filled up but not full to the point where my belly was going to burst.
The staff was amazing and I learned a few things about the chef and the owners…
(insert sad emoticon here)
My only real issue with the place is that… IT IS SO FAR AWAY, but well worth a drive for some good eating.
This is a place I would recommend if you are out in the area or if you are adventurous enough to take that drive, I would go check it out.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Breakfast:
Baked-​In Buttermilk Pancakes
Lunch: I need to go back for their lunch
Dinner:
Chef’s Choice Pork Tenderloin in Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Steak and Wild Mushrooms
Butcher Block Burger & Fries
Dessert
Pine Creek Peach Cobbler

While staying at one of the cabins on the grounds here, we ate dinner twice, lunch once and breakfast once.
Overall, not much to write home about really. The décor is nice and the wait staff are very friendly. The food is okay, but not fantastic either, however the prices are reasonable.
For one of the meals we had the buffet and this was a disappointment. The salad portion was limited in terms of what items they had available. The meats were very dry, especially the beef and the rolls were going stale sense they were sitting out too long.
On another meal, I had the fish and my wife had the chicken. This was actually pretty good, although it did take a long time to come out to the table which was surprising since these were the specials of the day. Nevertheless, the meals were good. The fish was good and not overcooked. The chicken was very moist. The gravy on the mash potatoes was a beef flavored gravy, and since we were having chicken & fish, I would have expected a white, creamy gravy and not a beef gravy.
The breakfast was a bit disappointing in that the sausage they severed up seemed to be turkey and not pork. I got blueberry pancakes and they were a bit rubbery. My wife’s biscuits and gravy was okay, very creamy but using turkey sausage kinda killed it for me.
I would come here again, only because it is extremely convenient when your visiting the cabins, for there is nothing close by. As an alternative, when we stay at the cabin next time, I’ll probably bring along our coleman grill and cook up some eats.
An unexpected plus is they do have free WiFi, which was really nice considering that in that area the phone/​data connection is just about non-​existant.

The food at the Inn is pretty good. I highly suggest that if you are staying there, you stop in for breakfast. Best breakfast I’ve had at a restaurant. Dinner and lunch are ok…
If you’re going just for the cabins, or even to walk around the park, White Pines is a great get away from the city. Very relaxing, but the trains can sometimes be a bit loud in the evenings.