The Moraine View State Recreation Area is a state park operated by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) of the U.S. state of Illinois. The 1,687 acre (6.7 km2) recreation area is located near Le Roy, Illinois.The predecessor of Moraine View, the McLean County Conservation Area, traces its history to 1959. The park was renamed Moraine View State Park in 1975, then Moraine View State Recreation Area in 1995. It is managed for active recreation, including camping, hiking, swimming, boating, hunting and fishing. Camping available includes Class A sites with electricity and nearby modern toilet and shower facilities, to group camps and primitive backpacking sites. Hunters use the park for whitetail deer, pheasant, and wild turkey.Moraine View was one of eleven state parks slated to close indefinitely on November 1, 2008 due to budget cuts by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. It reopened to the public on February 26, 2009.Dawson LakeThe centerpiece of Moraine View is the 158 acre Dawson Lake, an artificial reservoir built in 1962-1963. Fish stocked in the lake by the DNR include largemouth bass, bluegill, sunfish, bullhead, crappie, channel catfish, walleye, yellow perch and northern pike.
