23 Best Indiana Camping Spots

By VI Staff on March 17, 2020

Camping in Indiana goes beyond just the tent. The state is full of campground, regional and state parks, and more that offer many more activities than just camping, making them a true destination. There’s waterfalls, forests, horseback riding, historical landmarks, wildlife, hiking, swimming, fishing, and more. Many of the best Indiana camping destinations are less than one hundred miles away from Indianapolis. Indiana offers numerous places, for tent camping, trailer camping, RV camping, and even campgrounds and resorts with cabins for rent.

1.Paynetown Campground

Located just outside of Bloomington and the University of Indiana campus, the Paynetown Campground is located on the shores of Monroe Lake, the largest lake in the state of Indiana. Benefitting from a location just a short walk from the lake, there are numerous outdoor recreation activities possible at the campground and the surrounding recreation area. Such outdoor activities include birdwatching, hiking, watch recreation, picnicking, hunting, fishing, boating, playgrounds for children, an activity center. and much more. The campground includes picnic tables, clean restrooms and showers, and drinking water, as well as campsites that feature hookups for electric, water, and sewer.

IN-446, Bloomington, IN 47401, Phone: 812-837-9546

2.Hardin Ridge Recreation Area

The Hardin Ridge Recreation Area is situated along the lakefront of the largest lake in Indiana, Monroe Lake, and provides countless different ways for campers to get out and have fun in the outdoors. Possible recreation activities here include fishing, boating, and swimming in the day-use area, as well as multiple hiking trails in the Hoosier National Forest. Two hundred spacious, shaded sites make up the campground at the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area, including private, large tent campsites. The campground is open seasonally from April until October and offers modern facilities, such as restrooms, located a short distance from the campsites.

6464 Hardin Ridge Rd, Heltonville, IN 47436, Phone: 812-837-9453

3.Dogwood Springs Campground

The Dogwood Springs Campground is a seasonal campground for RV camping in the small town of Cloverdale, Indiana. The sprawling campground spans across five hundred acres and is open from the month of April through the month of November. Guests can enjoy wildlife viewing, hiking, fishing, and more within the Dogwood Springs deep forest. The grounds include a gated entrance, a playground, winter storage, a dump station, fifteen ponds and lakes, stocked fishing lakes, and shaded, spacious RV campsites. The Dogwood Springs Campground is located about thirty miles from Terre Haute and thirty-five miles from bustling Indianapolis.

8105 IN-243, Cloverdale, IN 46120

4.Lake Waveland

Encompassing more than six hundred acres, Lake Waveland offers plenty of fun and exciting opportunities for visitors on both water and land, such as camping, fishing, swimming, and boating. The campground includes primitive campsites in abundance, with no reservations required, including both lakeside and wooded sites. There are also modern restrooms and shower facilities. The modern campground also offers fifty-four electric sites, as well as water hookups, and amenities include a playground and shower house within a short walk from the campsites and a dump station near the front. There are also cabins available for rent along the lakefront.

11677 S State Rd 47, Waveland, IN 47989, Phone: 765-435-2073

5.Hoosier National Forest

The Hoosier National Forest lies in the south central Indiana hills and offers a wide variety of resources and opportunities for visitors to enjoy. Rural crossroad communities, backcountry trails, and rolling hills make the small, but gorgeous forest a local gem. In addition to the several campgrounds found within the Hoosier National Forest, there are several other activities, such as fishing, water sports, and swimming. Patoka Lake in particular, which is the state’s second largest lake, offers water skiing, swimming, and fishing. Highlights of the forest include the Hemlock Cliffs, the forest’s box canyon that features seasonal gentle waterfalls.

811 Constitution Ave, Bedford, IN 47421, Phone: 812-275-5987

6.Grandpa's Farm Campground

Situated in Eastern Indiana’s rolling countryside, Grandpa's Farm Campground and RV Park provides a family-friendly camping destination that has been a part of the Richmond community for more than fifty years. This family owned and operated campground offers a quiet atmosphere, a rural setting, a gentle river, and pleasant scenery, as well as an array of both indoor and outdoor activities to entertain guests. These activities include hiking, frisbee, horseshoes, shuffleboard, basketball, volleyball, and much more. Amenities include a recreation room, arcade games, billiards, and a heated swimming pool as well. Grandpa's Farm Campground also hosts planned activities.

4244 IN-227 N, Richmond, IN 47374, Phone: 765-962-7907

7.White River Campground

Situated along the west bank of the White River, the picturesque White River Campground provides an ideal destination for a camping getaway weekend near Cicero, Indiana. Guests can explore twenty-six beautiful acres by river or by foot, go hiking or fishing, and view the various wildlife. The campground consists of more than one hundred campsites, including both primitive and modern sites, as well as quiet spots for relaxation, boating, and fishing. Open from mid-April through the end of October, the White River Campground also offers several amenities, such as a playground, picnic tables and shelters, laundry facilities, and restrooms.

11299 E 234th St, Cicero, IN 46034, Phone: 317-770-4430

8.Deam Lake State Recreation Area

The Deam Lake State Recreation Area offers opportunities for a wide variety of outdoor recreation activities, including camping, hunting in designated areas, hiking, picnicking, swimming, boating, and fishing. Named for the first state forester of Indiana, Charles Deam, the lake spans across nearly 200 acres. There a little more than 100 campsites in the recreation area’s family campground. 36 stall campsites and 68 campsites featuring a hitching post can be found as well in the horseman’s campground. The Deam Lake State Recreation Area also offers sixteen camper cabins available for rent, three of which are located in the horsemen’s campground.

1217 Deam Lake Rd, Borden, IN 47106, Phone: 812-246-5421

9.Patoka Lake Campground

The Patoka Lake Campground in Birdseye, Indiana boasts plenty of fun outdoor activities. With the 8,800-acre lake, the grounds cover a total of twenty-six thousand acres. The campground consists of nearly five hundred campsites, 45 of which are primitive sites and 450 are electric campsites with an asphalt surfaced pad. Other features of the Patoka Lake Campground include a trailer dump station, a fish cleaning station, a camp store, hot showers, flush toilets, water, and electricity. There is also the Fisherman Campground and a Youth Tent camping area. A variety of programs are offered at Patoka Lake as well.

3084 N. Dillard Rd, Birdseye, IN 47513, Phone: 812-685-2464

10.Raccoon Lake State Recreation Area

Located near Rockville, Indiana, the Raccoon Lake State Recreation Area offers a large area for outdoor recreation and include the Historic Mansfield Roller Mill. The upper section of the Big Racoon Creek is lined with large rock outcrops and native forest and Raccoon Lake offers plenty of water recreation activities. The Historic Mansfield Roller Mill is an example of an 1880’s flour mill, an unchanged and almost complete example of the time period. Activities here include camping, boating, hiking, fishing, swimming, water skiing, wildlife viewing, and picnicking. Playgrounds, horseshoes, volleyball courts, and basketball courts are available as well.

1588 S Raccoon Parkway, Rockville, IN 47872, Phone: 765-344-1884

11.Mounds State Recreation Area

The Mounds State Recreation Area is situated in Brookville, Indiana, just off of Interstate 69 East. This unique area is home to ten interesting earthworks that were constructed by a group of prehistoric Native Americans in Indiana called the Adena-Hopewell people. The Great Mound, the largest of the earthworks in the Mounds State Recreation Area, is thought to have been built around the year 160 BC. According to archaeological surveys, these unique mounds were used by the Adena-Hopewell as a gathering place for religious ceremonies. Recreational activities in the area include camping, swimming, hiking, boating, and fishing.

14108 State Rte 101, Brookville, IN 47012, Phone: 765-647-2657

12.Turkey Run State Park

Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, Indiana is home to many natural geological wonders, offering several amazing hikes along the park’s famous trails. Located along Indiana State Road 47, Turkey Run provides visitors with opportunities to take in scenic views along Sugar Creek, walk through stands of aged forests, and explore deep ravines. The state park also offers interpretive naturalist services, picnic areas and picnic shelters, more than 200 campsites, cabins, a camp store, youth tent areas, the Turkey Run Inn, a dump station, a swimming pool, playgrounds, tennis courts, escorted horseback rides, a nature center, fishing, and more.

8121 E. Park Rd, Marshall, IN 47859, Phone: 765-597-2635

13.Summit Lake State Park

Summit Lake State Park offers visitors over 2,680 acres, a large lake, good fishing, and expansive views just outside of New Castle, Indiana. Facilities at the state park include two spacious open picnic shelters that are able to be reserved, a beach bathhouse, three boat ramps, and more than 100 electric campsites with water and electric hookups and comfort stations. Summit Lake is a great place for hiking, birdwatching, and observing other wildlife. Boat rentals include canoes, row boats, and paddle boats, and the swimming beach with modern bathhouse is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

5993 N. Messick Rd, New Castle, IN 47362, Phone: 765-766-5873

14.Potato Creek State Park

Located in north central Indiana, Potato Creek State Park can be found around twelve miles away from South Bend. The state park offers a wide variety of facilities and activities for visitors throughout the year, as well as an array of natural habitats, such as diverse wetlands, restored prairies, mature woodlands, old fields, and the large Worster Lake. Guests can hike through rolling fields and down wildflower trails, soak up some sun on the beach during the summer, tube down hills during the winter, go horseback riding down scenic bridle trails, cast a fishing line from the pier, and much more.

25601 State Road 4, North Liberty, IN 46554, Phone: 574-656-8186

15.McCormick's Creek State Park

McCormick's Creek State Park offers visitors a chance to explore scenic waterfalls, flowing creeks, and a limestone canyon within the first state park established in Indiana. Located near Spencer, the hiking trails at the state park feature native wildflowers, spicebush, and diverse forest trees, and include an accessible trail near the nature center and a trail that takes guests through the Wolf Cave Nature Preserve. As for camping, McCormick's Creek State Park offers 190 modern sites with hookups for electric service and modern showers and restrooms, 33 primitive sites with pit toilets, two group camps, and four youth tent areas.

250 McCormick's Creek Park Rd, Spencer, IN 47460, Phone: 812-829-2235

16.Charlestown State Park

Situated in the southern region of Indiana, Charlestown State Park was once a mostly undeveloped section of the expansive Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. The now state park can be accessed easily from Interstate 65, but is still hidden enough away to escape from everything and get out into nature. Along with camping, Charlestown State Park includes several other recreation activities, such as wildlife viewing, fishing, boating, hiking, and biking. The park grounds are characterized by deep ravines and rolling, rugged hills that contribute to the place’s unique qualities. While hiking, visitors can see karst sinkhole topography and Devonian fossil outcrops.

12500 Indiana 62, Charlestown, IN 47111, Phone: 812-256-5600

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17.Brown County State Park

Often called “the Little Smokies,” Brown County in Indiana resembles the scenery of the Smoky Mountains, encompassing almost sixteen thousand acres of fog-shrouded ravines, ridges, and rugged hills. Brown County State Park, the largest park in the state, is an especially popular destination during the autumn months, when the place turns into a wonderland of traditional fall colors with its almost twenty miles of roads lined with trees and several scenic overlook vistas. Mountain biking trails, guided horseback riding, interpretive services, hiking trails, and large campgrounds are part of what makes the park popular throughout the entire year.

Nashville, IN 47448, Phone: 812-988-6406

18.Robinson's Whitewater River

The Robinson's Whitewater River Campground began humbly as just a turnip farm, later turned into a Christian campground and retreat center, and is now possibly one of the country’s most interesting campgrounds. Located along the banks of the Whitewater River, this family-oriented campground offers numerous campsites with full hookups for water and electricity. On-site River Rate provides everything guests may need for canoeing and tubing down the river, and Robinson's Whitewater River Campground also features nature trails, a playground, two stocked fishing ponds, and entertainment throughout the summer. The campground is especially well known for its 4th of July fireworks.

1618 SR 121 South, Connersville, IN 47331, Phone: 765-825-4885

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19.Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Lake Monroe

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Lake Monroe is a family-oriented campground in Bloomington, Indiana that offers an array of camping options and a very wide variety of amenities and activities for guests, such as wagon rides, pedal carts, a jumping pillow in the lake, a splashground and water slides, and two swimming pools. Activities available during the daytime at the park range from Candy Bar Bingo to arts and crafts to relay races to foam parties and much more. Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park also hosts several themed weekends throughout the year, such as Halloween Spooktacular Weekends, Hawaiian Luau, and Chocolate Lovers Weekend.

9396 S Strain Ridge Rd, Bloomington, IN 47401, Phone: 812-824-3322

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20.Michigan City Campground

Conveniently situated less than three miles from both Interstate 80/90 and Interstate 94, the Michigan City Campground is a privately-owned and operated, family-oriented campground. The campground is set upon approximately forty acres about five miles away from Lake Michigan, just ten miles away from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and around fifty miles from Chicago. Open seasonally from the beginning of April through the end of October, the Michigan City Campground is great for fun family camping getaways. Amenities at the campground include wireless internet, laundry facilities, a playground, a fishing pond, a camp store, and a swimming pool.

1601 N US Highway 421, Michigan City, IN 46360, Phone: 219-872-7600

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21.Brown County - Nashville KOA

The Brown County/Nashville KOA campground in scenic Nashville, Indiana offers a beautiful setting for camping, with gentle rolling hills extending out into the distance of Brown County. Situated on top of a forested ridge, there are plenty of amazing views to be had. The back-in RV sites and tent campsites make the most used of the campground’s wooded setting, as well as the walking trail, which is popular among both canine and human campers. The Brown County/Nashville KOA also features camper cabins, a fenced dog park, a pavilion, a basketball court, and a swimming pool.

2248 State Rd 46 E, Nashville, IN 47448, Phone: 812-988-4675

22.Monroe Causeway Campground (B&D)

The Monroe Causeway Campground is a seasonal, family-oriented RV campground in Bloomington, Indiana. As it is the only campground situated close to the Lake Monroe Cutright boat ramp, it attracts many fishing enthusiasts and fans of other water recreation activities. Monroe Causeway Campground, also known as the B&D Causeway Campground, offers a unique forest setting for a RV camping getaway from the beginning of April through the beginning of November. Located adjacent to Indiana’s Lake Monroe, each of the fifty-five sites within the property’s sixteen acres of wooded hills features hookups for water and electricity.

7407 IN-446, Bloomington, IN 47401, Phone: 812-837-9966

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23.Dunewood Campground

Located in northeastern Indiana, the Dunewood Campground can be found within the Indiana Dunes National Park, which preserves fifteen thousand acres of marshes, bogs, dunes, and lakefront on the outskirts of Lake Michigan. The campground itself is the park’s principal camping area with a total of 78 campsites, consisting of 25 walk-in campsites and 53 drive-in campsites. These sites are available to visitors are a first-come, first-served basis from April through October. The Dunewood Campground also includes several amenities, such as fire rings, picnic tables, potable water, showers, and flush toilets. Campers can purchase firewood right outside of the campground.

645 Broadway Ave, Beverly Shores, IN 46301, Phone: 219-395-1882