Stokes Sand & Gravel

Based in Rockford, Illinois, Stokes Sand & Gravel supplies sand and gravel and fill and excavation services to homeowners, landscapers and contractors across the area. Google lists the business under 2 categories — Sand & gravel supplier, Excavating contractor — which points to a broader inventory than a single-product yard carries.

The business holds a 4.5-star Google rating from 31 reviews. That tracks close to the Illinois average of 4.5 across the 658 suppliers we list statewide.

What Stokes Sand & Gravel supplies

Aggregate yards carry crushed stone, pea gravel, road base, mason sand, concrete sand and structural fill. Material is graded by particle size, and the correct grade depends entirely on whether you are building a compacted base, a drainage layer or a walking surface.

Road base (often called crusher run or 21AA) compacts hard and is the right choice under pavers or driveways. Clean washed stone such as #57 drains freely and is used for French drains and trench backfill. Pea gravel looks good underfoot but migrates and needs edging to stay put.

Excavating outfits frequently sell and haul fill dirt, topsoil and aggregate alongside their site work. For larger volumes they are often cheaper than a retail yard because they are already running trucks.

How much material you need

Sand and gravel is sold by the ton. Aggregate is sold by weight, not volume — one cubic yard of crushed stone runs roughly 1.4 tons.

As a rough guide: 1 ton covers about 100 sq ft at 2 in; 5 tons covers about 500 sq ft at 2 in; 20 tons covers about 2,000 sq ft at 2 in.

Have length, width and target depth ready when you phone. Yard staff convert those into tons far more reliably than a generic online calculator, and they know how their own material settles.

Ordering and delivery

Ask about delivery minimums and trip charges up front — for smaller orders these often matter more to the final bill than the headline per-ton price.

Check where the truck can actually dump. Tandem trucks need overhead clearance and firm ground, and most drivers will not reverse across a soft lawn or a new driveway. If access is tight, ask whether they run a smaller truck or can leave the load at the kerb.

Ratings and reputation

Of the 31 reviews on file, 21 are five-star (68%) and 7 are four-star. 1 review sits at one or two stars, and those are worth reading directly — complaints at material yards usually concern delivery timing or short loads rather than the product itself.

Among the suppliers we list across Illinois, this rating places Stokes Sand & Gravel in the top 63%.

Across the 25 suppliers we list in Rockford, the average rating is 4.5.

Review volume matters as much as the score. A 4.5 drawn from 31 reviews is a reasonable sample for a local yard.

Hours and visiting the yard

Stokes Sand & Gravel is open 6 days a week, closed on Sunday. The yard opens as early as 7 AM and runs until 3:30 PM, early enough to load before a normal work day begins.

Saturday opening makes this a practical option for weekend projects — a real advantage, since plenty of bulk yards shut for the weekend and leave homeowners unable to collect material outside working hours.

Loading is weather-dependent whatever the posted hours say. Heavy rain turns yards to mud and makes wet material heavier and harder to spread, so call the same morning if conditions look poor.

Best time to buy in Illinois

In Illinois, the buying window is compressed. Yards get busiest from the first thaw through early June, and again briefly in autumn. Ordering sand and gravel in early spring often means waiting in a queue and paying peak rates, so booking delivery before the rush — or in late autumn for spring work — usually gets both a better price and a firmer delivery date. Many yards in colder states reduce hours or close outright through deep winter, so confirm seasonal availability before planning a January or February project.

Other suppliers nearby

There are 6 other suppliers we list within a short drive, the closest being Meridian Nursery Inc. in Rockford, roughly 1.3 miles away. 52 suppliers sit within a 25-mile radius of this yard.

If this yard is short on what you need, the suppliers listed below carry overlapping inventory and will often deliver into the same area.

Buying sand and gravel in Rockford

We list 25 bulk suppliers in Rockford and 658 across Illinois, spread over 229 cities and towns.

Bulk material pricing is intensely local. Trucking is a large share of the delivered cost, which is why a nearby yard usually beats a cheaper one further out once the full quote lands.