Chicago McCormick Place Marshalling Yard

$45/night is a little steep for boondocking but there is not another place anywhere close to downtown. Easy access lakeside trail. Bikes will get you to the river in 10-15 min. 
Came here for St Pattys in 2024 and couldn't find a hotel room for less than $200 a night so it was a great deal to me. Returning this year for St Pattys and going to a trade show at McCormick place. Super convenient and cheap when you are staying for a whole week. 
I wish other downtown convention centers did the same. 

If you want to stay in Chicago this is the only game in town. The marshaling yard is located near Solider Field and is very close to downtown. You need to be self contained as their are no services. This is a large very busy 24 hour trucking yard with heavily used rail next to the yard. Thr RV'S stay at the north end of the yard. Their is security but I would not leave anything out. If you can put up with the noise this is a great place to stay. Have stayed here twice and will do so again. We stayed in a 34' Class A. 

Very quiet parking lot with clean air conditioned bathroom close by.   24 hour security.  Easy to get to from the highway.  There is a train track but they are not noisy --we couldn't hear them in our converted van.   1 mile from Lakeshore bike trail and another mile or two to navy pier.    Great place to stay.   I would definitely do it again next time I visit Chicago

Definitely call ahead to confirm availability. Paid $35 cash only. Parked right across from the main office.

There were 2 other Class C’s, a few trucks, otherwise was completely empty. 

We popped out slides and ran gen, no issues.

Security roams the lot on golf cart about every 20 minutes so we felt very safe.

As others have mentioned, it’s VERY loud at night. Not so much trucks entering/exiting, rather the freight trains that roll by at all hours of night. 

Less than a mile from lakeside bike tail which we took to get into the city. Beautiful views of Chicago. It’s only about a 3 mile bike ride downtown 

This Marshalling Yard is definitely a boondocking area, but it is in a perfect place for visiting Chicago.  Definitely bring your bikes, because the yard is right next to the bike path into downtown Chicago.  There are no hookups,  but they do provide decent,  clean port-a-potties.  The area is completely fenced, so security is not a problem.   I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in an RV visiting Chicago (since there are no other campgrounds anywhere near downtown Chicago).

Park the camper here, and bicycle into town and see the sights.

We decided to park at the McCormick Place Lot B for our Chicago stay.  We made our on-line reservations and followed everyone’s advice for getting into the lot…no problem!  It’s very easy to get to and parked.  However, the problem came at the entrance station when the gate attendant called his boss and charged us an extra $23 per day.  Evidently, you are required to pay separately for your RV and your tow vehicle – therefore instead of the $35 per day we already paid with our reservation, we ended up paying an additional $23 per day at the gate.  That is a grand total of $58 per day to boondock in parking lot between an expressway and a busy set of railroad tracks.

Groggy and dazed from our drive into the city and not wanting to forfeit the $35 per day we already paid, I proffered my credit card to pay the difference.  Once we got parked in our assigned spot and I had time to think through the gate interaction, I started to get angry.  After talking to some other RVers in the lot (Class A motorhomes with toads who paid only the $35), I was pretty hot and decided to make a phone call and ask some questions.  After getting the run-around from the guy on the phone, I went to the office to talk to the manager.  

Interrupting five employees from sitting on their butts and thumbing their cell phones, I stated my case and wanted to know if there was a mistake?  No, there was not a mistake.  Evidently, the policy is that a tow vehicle and trailer are counted as two separate vehicles and therefore require two charges.  I mentioned that everyone we’ve ever talked to have only paid one fee for an RV (regardless of tow vehicle or toad).  They responded that there must have been a mistake by the cashier at the gate.  Some more back-and-forth with the Head Clown and I eventually gave up and I walked out unsatisfied and angry.  We planned on adding days to the back-end of our reservation, but won’t now…we’ll move to a county park a little further out and except the commute.

Everyone else has already discussed the positives of this location and they are all true.  We had no problem finding a level spot to park and it is an easy walk to the Metra Station at McCormick Place.  Although, while this is a wonderfully convenient place to stay during your visit to Chicago (two Metra stops to the Museum Campus stop and three to Millennium Park), I’m not sure the $58 per night cost is worth it.  May be we were just super-unlucky.  Maybe they changed their policy the day we arrived.  Maybe we just got ripped off…but this was our experience.  

Bottom line:  If you get the right cashier at the gate and they only charge the $35, then it’s a great place to stay when visiting Chicago.  But, if you don’t get lucky and get the guys we had, then I’m not sure $58 per night is worth the convenience...

The up side this is really close to Chicago and it reasonably safe and cheap. $35/night credit cards accepted  ($80/night for special events) No set check in or out.  No limits on generator usage. Good satellite and over the reception. 

The down side is this is a busy noisy  24 hour trucking yard next to a busy rail line and highway. Their are no utilities, facilities or wifi so you really have to be self contained. 

Bottom line, we had a great time and would stay again. We stayed in a a 34' motorhome. 

Nothing romantic, but very OK if you want to visit Chicago downtown. It is a parking lot with lot of trucks. At night there is no noise. We felt Save. And it is 10 minutes ride from downtown 

Stayed here 3 nights while visiting some sights and family. Only place close to Chicago where you can safely park a big rig. Security was friendly and patrolled all the time. Lots of trucks, but no different than staying at a Flying J, rest area or Walmart. Lots of trains go by but we are used to that as well. Close to bike trails, and public transportation. 20 min. walk to car rental as well. We will stay here again if we come back with the RV. 
Stayed: 10/18/2016 - 10/21/2016

Stayed here 3 nights while visiting some sights and family. Only place close to Chicago where you can safely park a big rig. Security was friendly and patrolled all the time. Lots of trucks, but no different than staying at a Flying J, rest area or Walmart. Lots of trains go by but we are used to that as well. Close to bike trails, and public transportation. 20 min. walk to car rental as well. We will stay here again if we come back with the RV. 
Stayed: 10/18/2016 - 10/21/2016

No hookups. Asphalt parking lot shared with trucks.  Grassy area by road for dogs.  Very clean bathrooms,  no showers.  Walk to subway to go anywhere in Chicago or call taxi or uber who will pick you up at your rig.  Just like being at a Wal-Mart.  Very nice attendants. $35 for 24 hours. 

Just a big lot filled with trucks and busses. $35 to park but that's it! No features at all. Don't know who did this profile but he screwed up big.