Old Joliet Prison

We did a flashlight self guided night tour of the old prison. It was very spooky just being within the walls, and wandering around the cell blocks. There are signs near many building explaining their history and use, and tour guides throughout the facility to answer any questions you might have. I brought an EMF reader which was very active in the north segregation/death row building, and inside the cells in the west cell block. This place is definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in history or the paranormal...or both!

We did the nighttime self-guided tour and it was a pretty interesting experience! Being inside the historic prison at night was pretty eerie but we really liked it. You’re able to walk the grounds and enter certain buildings that they aren’t currently repairing. We went into the old death row and that was cool to see and learn about. There were guides at all of the buildings that asked if you had any questions or wanted to know any information which we thought was nice. The flash lights they gave us weren’t very bright so I was glad I brought my own. We also brought N95 face masks due to all of the mold and asbestos in the buildings and this turned out to be a great call. As expected due to the websites information, we saw lots of mold and other things that probably aren’t great to be inhaled so if you have respiratory issues, highly would recommend bring some sort of mask to protect yourself. Other than that, this place was a nice place to check out. There is tons of history in these walls so if you like learning about old places, this is a good spot for it! I would like to see what it looks like in the daytime and be able to read the signs around the grounds.

You can spend a couple hours exploring the prison grounds and many indoor areas too. Fascinating site with buildings in various states of long ago renovation and repurposing and now in decay. Good signage. This place has to be a treasure for photography. Pay at the end of the parking lot on the side in a visitor center. Bring or buy water and use the only restroom with running water. Then walk up to Collins and to the east gate for entry. Wear clothes to walk over some imperfect surfaces. Explore all the places.

We went for one of their flashlight tours at night. It was really fun to see the prison from the inside and be able to walk through some of the different locations, cafeteria, fire house, and west cell block. They also had people along the way to tell you about the history if you were interested. We thought it would be a little darker as many of the spots had lights on, which I am sure is to cover anyone getting hurt. We had just hoped our flashlights would be the only light. With that being said there were still some spots that were very dark. It didn't feel overly crowded, although there were people around us most times. We had also hoped to be able to explore more of the prison but it did seem there was a fair amount of construction and as the place is abandoned I am sure some of it isn't safe to walk. Overall, we were happy with our experience and hope to come back for the paranormal overnight stay.

Nice historical building to walk around. Lots of buildings were open to tour, including the jail cells & solitary. We spent about an hour and a half looking around on our self guided tour. If you're in the area, it is an interesting place to visit.

We went on the self guided tour. It was really interesting with lots of history to read about. I wish it was a bit more cleaned up and the graffiti removed, but I know it's a work in progress. Well worth it if you're in the area.

Not what I expected. What I was hoping for was a prison which was closed and then in that state turned into a tourist attraction. Such object would be a valuable tour destination. Instead, the prison was abandoned, vandalised and deteriorated as any abandoned structure would. While some unique elements survived (some cells still have bunk beds, sinks and toilets, there is some machinery in the powerhouse), a lot of the prison is unavailable (you can enter only ground floor of most of the buildings) and most of the structures are mostly empty (probably due to looting and vandalism). If you have never done UrbEx, you might still find the visit interesting but don't have your expectations too high.

Want to get completely spooked out? Come here during the day and wind up in the cell blocks alone. So scary! Tour is great! Well worth $20