AMBOY — Jamie Rogers remembers the days when he and his siblings would get excited to enjoy the outdoors in a setting away from their family’s suburban Chicago home.

No honking horns or tangles of traffic, just the peace and quiet of their rural respite, punctuated by the sounds of nature: Trees whispering in the wind. Birds chirping their songs. The “ribbits” of frogs that they could catch in the water. That was what Mendota Hills Campground meant to young Jamie and his parents, Mark and Susan Rogers, who began camping there in 1985 — and they never left.

As the family’s fondness for their getaway grew, so did their circle of friends — the fellow campers they met there. The campground became a community, the community became a home, and the home became a business.

The Rogers Family has owned Mendota Hills since 2002, providing a home for campers of all kinds — seasonal dwellers, weekend visitors or just one-off adventurers — offering a place for some R&R, tranquility and fun activities on 130 acres of lots, woods and lakes, and there’s also a church on site as well.

The campground on U.S. Route 52 between Amboy and Sublette, which opened in 1979, has evolved under the Rogers’ ownership to a point where they and their staff have been nationally recognized for their hard work and hospitality; they were honored last year by RV rental company RVshare as “Best Family Friendly Campground in the U.S.”

It’s an industry honor that the Rogers are proud to live up to.

“Most of our campers are from the Chicagoland area, and they have all of their fun over there that they need – the bowling alleys, the movie theaters and all that stuff – so it’s important for them when they come out here to still have a rustic experience,” Jamie said. “When you see kids going out to the creek to catch tadpoles and fish, that’s what they’re going for.”

Jamie became a co-owner of the campground in 2012, and through the years he and his wife Jessica have taken on most of the responsibilities of operating it as his parents take on less work.

While the number of activities and special events on the campground calendar have grown since Jamie and Jessica have taken on a more active role, the campground itself hasn’t — and there’s a reason for that. While the Rogers want to give campers more reasons to enjoy the campground, they don’t want to outgrow that close-knit community feel.

“We’re very intentional on our size,” Jamie said. “We have 130 acres and 200 sites, and it’s intentional in the fact that we’re very community oriented and know pretty much everyone who comes through the door here.”

Each weekend during the season — which runs April 25-Oct. 19 this year — has a theme with corresponding activities: Some of them include a Father’s Day weekend and a Hawaiian Luau weekend in June, Water Wars and Christmas weekends in July, and a rib cook-off and mad scientist weekends in August (a full schedule, and announcements of special events, is available on the campground’s website).

For folks just happy to immerse themselves in nature, the campground’s four lakes offer plenty of ways to do it: paddle boats, paddle boards, kayaks, canoe, row boats, and round Corcl boats are available to rent; one of the lakes offers a beachfront; or guests can just grab a pole and head to the fishin’ holes.

There’s also a disc golf course, which being expanded from three holes to nine this summer, archery, an RC track, and areas for games such as carpet ball and GaGa ball (go to carpetball.org and gagacenter.com/nyc/about/what-is-gaga to learn more about those games). A campground gift shop offers decor, clothes, toys, food, candy and iced coffee and slushies.

Even with the new activities the Rogers have added, tradition still plays an important role at Mendota Hills. One of the events people look forward to each year — since it started in 1979 — is the frog jumping race. People pick frogs that are placed at the center of a large circle and watch them race to the edge; the first four to make it earn ribbons. Another activity is a canoe race, in which two people navigate obstacles: the canoe navigator telling the blindfolded paddler where to row.

Some campers even hold their own events that other campers are welcome to attend, such as hog roasts.

The Rogers have come to know all sorts of campers who enjoy their home away from home, from those who could afford to go anywhere but choose Mendota Hills, to those who look forward to a trip there as their sole vacation. Regardless of what brings them there, the Rogers want the make sure they enjoy their stay.

“For people who can’t do the large trips because their money’s tight, this is the place to go,” Jamie said. “[Anyone] can do this because it’s pretty inexpensive for what you get. If you come in, you’re going to have a good experience and will be treated well. There are families where this is their only vacation they’ll ever take, so we take that seriously and try to keep that in mind. Every weekend, we have to really be on for that moment where that could be their best memory for kids who may not have any other vacations.”

Jamie and Jessica’s children, Sawyer, Oliver, Shiloh and Eden, also do their part at the campground, adding to its family feel. For Jamie, seeing their own kids at the campground is like a walk down memory lane.

Jamie cherishes the childhood memories of the adventures he and his siblings enjoyed there, when they would spend the day roaming the campground, just coming back to their campsite long enough for lunch and dinner, or sometimes going “to other people’s campers to eat,” he said.

Another of his favorite memories is a game his dad had them play: One weekend, one match for the fire; they’d keep the wood coming to keep the fire burning until leaving for home Sunday evening.

“We definitely had it a lot more simpler back then,” Jamie said. “There were very minimal activities and no golf carts out here, so we pretty much hung out at the ponds catching tadpoles and hiking in the trails. The profoundness was in the simpleness in the camping and what was provided. Sometimes we miss that.”

Another change he’s seen is the growing number of people puttering around on golf carts. Growing up, he would see a lot more foot traffic while camping, or the occasional bicycle. These days, carts cruise the campground — it’s a convenience, yes, but it’s also become a way to bring the camping community together.

“Back then, you had your own little group in whatever camping area that you were in, and we did for sure,” Jamie said. “Now, with the golf carts, everybody mingles around when they’re driving around and it’s a much larger social gathering.”

Along with family, friends, fun and fellowship, faith is also part of the camping community, and the Rogers’ lives. Mark and Sue began a bible study at the campground in 1990, which eventually grew into the establishment of The Refuge Church in 2005, located in one of the campground’s buildings.

“When we first started here, it was a special place to camp with our four kids,” Mark said. “After a few years, we started looking at other campgrounds and we went all over the place. But there’s just something special about this place, and after a couple of years we had realized that it was the spirit of God that touched this place.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else. The church is the center of the campground. That’s the way we would like to keep it. The church is the most important part of it.”

John Kalebaugh is the church’s pastor, and his wife Glenda assists him. Services — open to everyone, campers or not — are at 10 a.m. every Sunday throughout the entire year, with some held outside when the weather allows. John, who also is chaplain of the Amboy Fire Department, has established many personal and spiritual relationships with campers who have come to enjoy the opportunity to share their faith, even when they’re away from their usual church.

“A lot of them probably couldn’t tell you who their neighbors are in the suburbs, but they pretty much know everyone at this campground,” John said. “There’s a sense of community that they become a part of, and I think a lot of people are here for the community aspect. Camping, for me, used to be sitting around a fire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, but for a lot of people, it’s about the community that they experience out here.

“The church has become a part of that. I wouldn’t trade this for the greatest cathedral on Earth.”

Glenda also enjoys seeing the campground be a place where memories are made, traditions are passed on, and life lessons are learned

“One of my favorite things is when I see people come back because their parents brought them when they were little, and they want to bring that same experience to their kids,” Glenda said. “We had a group come out here and they brought a bunch of kids from the city. When they came, they all had to give up their phones and they all just had camping time. The kids never experienced that, and they thought that was really cool. They could just play, and just have fun. It’s great when you just see them have a good time together and laugh.”

Drena Deets of Dixon works at the campground during the weekends and is known by many campers as the driver of its taxi-themed golf cart, provided by the church, to provide rides around the complex. She’s come to know many of the families and hears from parents how spending time at the campground has proved to be a profound experience for their children.

“We had some inner-city people who came out and they thanked us afterward because they said their kids never had the freedom just to roam around,” Deets said. “They never felt safe with having their kids be out and about, and it was such a different experience for them.”

Mark and Susan have been a part of Mendota Hills for 40 years, and have enjoyed seeing their children and grandchildren experience the fun and camaraderie they’ve had with people from all walks of life who come to get away from it all for a while.

For them, camping is about more than just disconnecting from the daily grind, it’s about making connections with people.

“We’ve raised our kids here, had our grandchildren here, and having friends come here has been wonderful,” Susan said.Mendota Hills Campground is located at 642 U.S. Route 52 in Amboy.

Find Mendota Hills Campground on Facebook and Instagram (@mendotahillscampground), go to mendotahillscampground.com, email mendotahillscamp@aol.com or call 815-849-5930 for rates, booking or more information.

Services at The Refuge Church at Mendota Hills is open to the public; services are at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Email info@refugechurchcamp.org, go to refugechurchcamp.org or call the campground for more information.