where meets LUXURY NATURE

Camp Aramoni delivers a boutique camping experience

By Julie Barichello u

Photos

by Matt Hass Photography

The walls breathe at Camp Aramoni.

The boutique campground is home to 11 safari-style tents manufactured in South Africa by Bushtec Safari. Inside the tents – each the size of a small cabin – the canvas walls gently swell and exhale in time with the breeze.

Camp Aramoni is a marriage of luxury and nature where guests can sleep with the sounds, scents and sensations of the outdoors while enjoying the conveniences of an upscale hotel. Guests can open netted windows, lie on an Avocado-brand mattress and watch a chandelier sway overhead.

“When guests stay with us, we try to provide a level of service they wouldn’t normally have at a campground,” said Stephanie Bias, general manager of Camp Aramoni. When guests book a tent, they don’t have to pack any gear or food. “Just pack your overnight bag, and we do the rest.”

There’s nothing primitive about the camping experience on the grounds nestled against the Vermilion River. Every tent has wifi access, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, a mini fridge, a safe and provided toiletries. Mini bars also will be available this season. Breakfast and dinner at The Barn, an on-site dining hall, are included in the room fee.

“We also offer room service,” Bias said. “When you stay with us, you can text our staff at any time. If you want a drink brought to your room, or extra towels, or anything, we’re available 24/7. When guests are here, it is important to us that we’re at their service and they can contact us whenever they need to.”

Despite the luxury, the grounds still boast a rural charm. Camp Aramoni is in the unincorporated community of Lowell, a locality so small it doesn’t have its own ZIP code but instead piggybacks on nearby Tonica’s ZIP code.

The glamping, or “glamorous camping,” site is the innovation of Stephanie’s mother, Jennifer Bias. After their family took a glamping trip at a farm in northern Illinois, Jennifer was inspired to build a luxury campground in her home region of Starved Rock Country.

818 N. 2219 Road, Tonica www.camparamoni.com info@camparamoni.com

TO BOOK A TENT AT CAMP ARAMONI, visit www.camparamoni. com. The 2023 camping season is open through Nov. 13. Room rates start at $450 on weekdays and $550 on Fridays and Saturdays. A two-night minimum stay is required.

Friday, Aug. 18

Saturday, Aug. 19

Sunday, Aug. 20

Mega bands available at RMU, Rochelle City Hall, Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, Colonial Flower Shoppe, Quinn Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, Colonial Flower Shoppe, Quinn’s Jewelry, and ALM Fine Cabinetry

Friday, August 18, 2023

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Sunday, August 20, 2023

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Camp Aramoni is alongside the Vermilion River, which originally was known as the Aramoni River. The word Aramoni is from the MiamiIllinois Native American lexicon and describes the red clay people of their nation used to decorate their bodies. The Ristokrat Clay Products Company later excavated clay on the grounds for brickmaking.

“We’re a family-owned business,” Stephanie Bias said. “My family found the property in 2017. … My mom’s cousin lives next door. She was talking about how fun it would be to have a glamp ground, and [her cousin] said, ‘You know, there’s a hundred acres that’s been for sale for 40 years. You should come out and look at it.’”

The 96-acre property is the site of the former Ristokrat Clay Products Company, a brickyard where workers handled about 12,000 bricks a day from 1870 to 1981. The meadow where the tents stand is where the company used to excavate clay for the bricks.

“When the brickyard closed in 1981, the EPA came in and filled the pit,” Bias said. “This meadow was out here for 40 years untouched.”

The location offered prime woods and a meadow alongside the river a short distance from the rapids –

Vermillion River Rafting company is based less than a minute’s drive up the road. However, the property required a substantial cleanup operation. Over the years, the grounds had collected various debris, such as 400 tires in need of proper disposal.

Despite the detritus, Jennifer Bias visualized the land’s potential. From 2017 to 2021, the Bias family reformed the site into a nature haven where guests can hike trails, canoe on a pond, ride bicycles and even take fishing lessons on a stocked pond with provided gear and bait. The campgrounds conducted a soft opening in 2021 and opened for its first full season in 2022.

Remnants of the brick industry still stand at Bricks & Stones, Camp Aramoni’s event venue next door to the campground. The facility used to house Ristokrat’s blacksmith shop but has been converted into a popular

Each tent’s name and interior design is inspired by native Illinois wildflowers. This is the Flora & Fauna tent.