Indiana Dunes State Park Campground

Indiana Dunes State park campground is one of our favorites. The beach, the trails, bike trails. There is everything to do here, it does not disappoint. Well the weekend traffic can be a bummer.

The lake and dunes are spectacular and live up to the hype. The 3 dune challenge is not really a challenge if you are moderately healthy but it is fun and scenic! The cool soft sand feels fantastic, definitely best hiked barefoot. The campground itself is pretty typical of a state park- decent spacing, level sites and well kept. It is electric only but that didn't really bother us- we just showed up with the water tank full and other tanks empty and enjoyed ourselves. Our site was right between the playground and beach trailhead, but still private. The best sites are the ones on the outside from the beach trail to the nature center. These are up against the dunes and have some shade. The middle sites are more exposed and much less private. The campground was pretty full but had a nice communal family feel to it. The beach and dunes are the star of this show, but the campground is a good supporting actor.

This is actually our second visit here. It’s only 20 minutes from our home, so we expect to come back many times. It’s a unique location about .5 miles from the actual beach and there’s a path/boardwalk that takes you right there. This is one of the few state parks that has a year-round heated bathroom with shower, so even with our popup camper we were able to take advantage of the decent weather for our first trip of the year. Sites are decent sized and have asphalt driveways with concrete pads. Sites are electric only, but there’s several water fills, even in winter. Very popular campground so you do have to book well in advance during regular season. Be aware that because it shares an entrance to the state park beach, entering on a summer Saturday or summer Sunday can take upwards of 45 minutes or more.

We enjoyed riding ebikes on the trails. Lunch at the beach front (Lake Michigan) was good and great views. Clean br/shower houses. Would recommend

Recommend e-bike as some hills. Camp ground is clean and feels safe. Beach is nice, but no swimming in lake unless lifeguards on duty. They also don't allow floats b/c it blocks view of swimmers. Small store w/most essentials. Recommend Aldi's stop in town (only 1 other grocery store).

Great place to stay clean quiet

very clean safe relaxing

Only stayed one night. The concrete pad was large and included the fire pit and the picnic table. For someone in a wheelchair, that makes a huge difference. There was enough space between the sites so that you didn’t feel like you were on top of your neighbor. I would definitely come again.

Beautiful, huge, shady sites! Beautiful walkway to beach. Adequate bathrooms.

Disappointing. Campsites are way too close to one another. If they shoved any more people in there they would have to call it a slum.

The walk to the beach was cool, but you can get that in the National park.

They will charge you 2 fees for a reservation and another fee just for your car. $12 for a car for out of state. Doesn’t matter if you just paid it in another part of the state for a different park. I’m surprised they don’t charge a quarter for the water, a dollar for toilet use, and another fee to see the beach. Since when did parks get so greedy?

Great family camping

We’ve always had great experiences staying at state parks. They are well-maintained and managed by happy employees. Indiana Dunes State Park is no exception.

The park features lots of greenery. The restrooms were cleaned regularly, although by the end of the day they were a little rough after so many sandy visitors. The employees were out daily maintaining the grounds. As an aside, remember to secure your trash before going to bed! Raccoons frequent the park.

We never had to unhook our truck during the five days. We were able to bike everywhere, including into town. The people working at the Pavilion were super friendly! We enjoyed having a drink at the rooftop bar overlooking Lake Michigan. Be sure to hike the 3-dunes challenge and visit the nature center!

This is a great park. We will be back.

We reserved a spot in the outer circle. We like having woods on one side. Nice campground camping….parking pad, fire ring, picnic table. Good amount of space between spots. Nice bathrooms & showers. We have a rooftop tent and we’re very happy. Loved the hike over “Mt. Tom” to the gorgeous beach and warmish lake for a swim. We choose the State Park vs. National Park so we could hike to the beach.

This is a nice park with good infrastructure. The spacing was ok, but not a lot of privacy. The campground although nearly full was relatively calm and quiet. Unlike the craziness of other Indiana state parks I have visited. The bathrooms were good….a solid B+ on par with other Indiana state parks. There is a trail directly to the beach, but the beach was insanely crowded. I left within five minutes of arriving there. I opted instead to drive the national park and hike out to Mt. Baldy beach which was delightfully uncrowded. I took my first swim in one of the Great Lakes!

We stayed two nights in mid-May, at site number 72. Area was gorgeous, well maintained, shady and quiet. Tons of hiking trails in very close proximity to the campground! There is electricity on site, but no water or sewage at each site. However there is a water fill station and a dump station. So just come prepared. Also, they have a very strict no alcohol policy. Not that that stopped people, but don't go walking around with a beer bottle! We would definitely return.

Beautiful campground and very spacious sites. Campers sit on concrete pads but the rest is grass and dirt. Nice tables and fire pit.

If you’re willing to pay a little more to camp, this is a great campsite for you! Well kept grounds, clean bathrooms and showers, open year round, SUPER close to the National park. I personally prefer driving a bit out of my way to find cheaper and more secluded campgrounds/places to stay, so a total of $73 for a three night stay was not my favorite thing about this site. However, the proximity to the National park and the Chicago made it worth it for me. As a solo female traveler, I never felt unsafe.

Great location right next to various hikes, close to the main road for work and to visit other cities. It was very quiet due to the winter conditions, but the people there were friendly and safe. Beautiful location!

Clean park. Lots of things to do wish we were there for longer than an overnight. There are lots of trails to explore.

Was rainy, but still enjoyed walking the beach. Staff extremely pleasant & helpful. Pavilion services was closed for construction. There is an area on the Beach where you can walk your dogs.

Enjoyed this campground, love the dunes trails, pretty challenging, gorgeous beach, large campsites. Very sandy though, but it is the Dunes after all, so it’s expected!

We arrived on a busy July evening without reservations to find a single-nigth cancellation already paid for by a camper who left early. Our luck! We spent the afternoon on the lakeside and drove back to the site to set up for the evening. Our site had a picnic area/firepit a short walk away from the parking area, which is great for tent camping, but less suitable for our camper van. Nonetheless, friendly staff, clean bathrooms, and lots of privacy make this gem worth booking.

The park is clean, quiet, has a camp store, and average shower and restrooms. The beach is a short half mile walk away, and the 3 dunes challenge hike trailhead is here. We were only able to get one night here, and the next place we stayed at in the area was a big letdown.

Campground quiet and bathroom and showers very clean. Our site was close to the trails leading to the dunes. Loved watching the waves on Lake Michigan and climbing the sand dunes.

Very busy place but no issues with neighbors or noise. The beach is the big draw obviously. We'd return for sure.

Wonderful park ! Bath house’s are clean and nice. All sites have concrete pads mostly level. Great trails. Very nice beach. Quite camping but always booked! Book months ahead of you want to get in this great campground !

This is a perfectly nice park, but aimed at the rv and trailer crowd. Not many tents or vans. Spaces are close together with families set up for weekend holidays. Nice enough facilities near the park. Clean bathrooms and nice playgrounds for the kids but nothing special overall.

The Indiana Dunes area is beautiful and this campground is a great location for exploring both the state and national park. The pit toilets near our site were not kept clean and they were smelly. The showers were also not clean, but the water was hot. The fire ring at our site was in bad shape and in an odd location. There was garbage left in and near the fire ring ( foil and corn cobs) from the previous campers.