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Best Tent Camping near Rockville, IN

396 Reviews

Tent campgrounds near Rockville, Indiana offer a mix of primitive and established sites for outdoor enthusiasts. Lake Waveland Park, located approximately 15 miles southwest of Rockville, provides numerous tent camping options with both primitive sites and those with basic amenities. The Rattlesnake campground in Owen Putnam State Forest, situated about 30 miles south, offers more secluded primitive tent camping experiences for those seeking a more rustic setting.

Primitive tent sites at Lake Waveland Park feature picnic tables and fire rings, though fire rings are not always present at every site. The primitive camping area extends beyond the shower house where the road bends left and downhill, with sites indicated by picnic tables rather than formal markings. Most tent sites are first-come, first-served with no reservations required. The grounds are generally well-maintained with regularly mowed grass, though some infrastructure may need updating. Campers should note that Rattlesnake campground in Owen Putnam State Forest offers truly primitive conditions with no drinking water available on site.

The tent camping experience varies between locations, with Lake Waveland offering more amenities while maintaining a natural setting. "The primitive sites are very secluded and quiet but get there fast because spots are first come first serve," noted one visitor about Lake Waveland Park. The campground's spacious layout provides more distance between sites compared to many state parks, creating a sense of privacy even when the campground is busy. Lake Waveland's proximity to Turkey Run and Shades State Parks makes it a convenient base for exploring the region's natural attractions. In contrast, Rattlesnake campground caters exclusively to off-grid campers seeking a more immersive forest experience, with minimal facilities and greater solitude.

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Best Tent Sites Near Rockville, Indiana (4)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Rockville, IN

2 Photos of 4 Rockville Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Rockville, IN

396 Reviews of 4 Rockville Campgrounds

  • E
    Jul. 14, 2022

    Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    Great pool; rough sites and campers

    Pros: Very nice large-size pool with slide, attached playground, green space, and sand-filled soccer pitch all included on the pool grounds. These amenities are great as the pool takes a 15 minute clear-out break about once per hour. There is a concession stand with limited selection, but the benefit is that it takes credit card (and cash). 

    The camp store is not the best we've visited. Very limited supply, but they did keep a stock of bacon in their refrigerator and that made my wife happy. 

    Cons: Typical Indiana State campground. We visited for a weekend and landed in a terrible spot. The grade was severe and despite using all the travel trailer tricks to level my site, I could not get level. We dealt with it, but I noticed 4 or 5 quality spots that sat vacant through the weekend, however, were allegedly reserved. I had terrible anxiety for the entire weekend that we would roll backward into a ravine. 

    We were on an electric side of the park, and the pull-through site across from us was occupied by a tent with a minivan. No judgment here, but they were watching highly taboo movies on a wide screen projector with loud speakers around midnight, well after quiet hours had expired. 

    Verizon and AT&T cell phone service were nil, even with a booster and WiFi pack. Our site was littered with cellophane wrappers and cigarette butts. Clearly the previous campers did not adhere to the "leave no trace" doctrine. 

    DNR was very, very present at the campground, but at many sightings it seemed like they were watching for rule infractions as opposed to upholding the integrity of the park. I know that seems conflicting, but if you visit this park you will understand. 

    Bathrooms were mostly clean. Vault toilets were disgusting, but that's expected for concrete topped port-a-potties.

  • Jennifer T.
    Jul. 31, 2018

    Fowler County Park

    Wonderful Family Campgrounds

    Shaded campground sites at lake's edge on east side of park, 53 electrical hookups including 1 pull-thru, 14 primitive/tent sites. Fire ring and picnic table at each site. Water hydrants nearby. Modern shower houses with rest rooms. Handicapped accessible. Dump station. Pets are welcome but must be kept on leash. Must provide own firewood. Firewood must be purchased from within state. Fishing from campsite. In park, swimming beach (Memorial Day-weekend before school opens in fall), boat ramp, trails, playgrounds, horseshoe pits, pioneer village.

    Campground open May 1 - October 15. Park open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. No reservations. Must check-in between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Night guard on duty. Electrical sites - $20 a night, weekly rate - $120, 2 weeks rate - $200. Primitive sites - $12 a night, weekly rate - $60, 2 weeks rate - $100. Price includes Indiana Sales Tax.

    From I-70, go south on U.S. 41 for 7.2 miles. Turn left onto Oregon Church Road and go .8 mile east to park entrance on left. After entering park, turn right to go to campground.

    Personal Thoughts and Experience: We had a wonderful time. We absolutely loved the pioneer village. it is a must go especially when they are having pioneer days in the fall. There is a mountain bike park close to the campground that is a premier facility. Beginner to advance trails with a practice course. Amazing! My husband competes in the Dyno series and loves to train at the facility then camp at Fowler Park!

  • T
    Aug. 6, 2021

    Shades State Park Campground

    Wooded Sandstone canyon with primitive camping.

    Located north of turkey run state park shades offers all the hiking and scenic terrain with less amenities and less crowds. Sugar creek cuts through the ancient sandstone floor creating canyon walls. The park is connected to a nature preserve that dose allow backpacking but has designated camping within the park separate from the car camping sites, so you can’t set up camp on the trail. The car camping sites, labeled as family camping, are primitive only with vault toilets. There is a shower located in the campsite with flushing toilets. Campsites are close but most have trees separating them for privacy. Avoid sites next to toilets or dumpsters their practically in your site. There’s no cellular signal in the park so heads up. Ice and wood are located for sale at the entrance. If you have little ones there are a few playgrounds located in the park including one in the campsite which is located a short hike in the woods. This park is quite, shaded, rugged at times and the canyon/creek can be breathtaking. Although I would go early or late in the season to avoid Indiana’s humid muggy summer heat.

  • Randy M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 13, 2023

    Happy Campers Campground

    Off the beaten path by a lake

    See all 3

    Approx $35 / day

    Happy Campers Campground

    5.0 (1 reviews)

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    Roam with care

    Remember to enjoy these campgrounds in a sustainable, respectful way. Clean up after yourself, be friendly with others, and don't overstay your welcome :)

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    Got it

    Details

    Call 812-239-6263 for reservation. Plan to arrive before dark.

    5 full hook-up sites, 1 primitive site, and one primitive cabin. On a lake stocked with fish. Port-a-potty and shower house available.

    Location

    Contact

    39.4931, -87.0188

    https://happycamperscampgroundinc.com

    Cell signal

    Verizon LTE

    AT&T LTE

    T-Mobile LTE

    Sprint LTE

    Weather

    Averages

    Forecast

    Jan

    2.57"

    34.6°

    16.8°

    Feb

    2.48"

    39.6°

    20°

    Mar

    3.39"

    50.5°

    28.6°

    Apr

    3.99"

    62.9°

    39.4°

    May

    5.41"

    72.4°

    49.3°

    Jun

    4.67"

    81.1°

    58.7°

    Jul

    5.19"

    84.2°

    61.7°

    Aug

    3.37"

    83.2°

    60.2°

    Sep

    3.73"

    77.3°

    52.3°

    Oct

    3.49"

    65°

    41.2°

    Nov

    3.98"

    52°

    31.8°

    Dec

    3.26"

    38.3°

    20.7°

    Seasonal scales

    Spring

    Summer

    Fall

    Winter

    Crowdedness

    Others between 10 and 50 feet away

    Fullness

    Almost full

    Noise

    Occasional man-made noise (trains, cars, etc...)

    Shade

    Mostly shaded, but still some spots with sunlight

    Cleanliness

    Pristine, no trash at all

    Safety

    Very safe

    Road difficulty

    No problems with any vehicle

    Features and amenities

    Water hookup

    Sewer hookup

    50A Electric

    Showers

    Picnic tables

    Toilets

    Pets allowed

    Wifi

    Fire pits

    randyorsusan

    Great place to stop overnight or for a few days. Can hear the highway; but it's not very loud or intrusive. Camp host/owner is very friendly. Plenty of room for kids or pets to roam and play. Very clean and safe.

  • Mary S.
    Sep. 8, 2018

    Mccormick's Creek State Park Campground

    Beautiful state park but sites are too close/visible to each other

    There is just one thing that keeps me from rating this a 5 star campground. It's the sites!  So....4 stars...but read on for my thoughts on the sites.

    What's up with these sites?

    • If you want to be be able to see what your neighbors are eating and hear their conversations, you'll love the electric sites (1 through 189).

    • If you like to feel like you're alone in the woods, you won't like most of the electric sites. 

    • There is a partial solution. Sites 190-202 have no electricity, but most are fairly private/secluded. Sites 203-222 are additional primitive sites on a loop but they are not at all private; you can see lots of neighboring sites. There's a lot of shade, but you could probably set up solar panels if you require electricity.

    • If you want privacy in the electric section (1-189), I don't have a great recommendation other than you should stay on the outside of the loops. Then you'll only have people beside you rather than beside and across from you.

    Good luck! Stay one night when there aren't many people and scope out sites for your next stay. If you're from the area, this could be a park worth returning to over and over if you are able to stay on a site you enjoy.

    I've included a map of sites 1-189 and photos that show some sites I like and sites I don't like. In my opinion, a site is not one for me if I can see 3 other picnic tables while sitting at the table at my site. If you camp with other families, this would be good because you can make your own 'group' site.

    Something you need to know: Indiana state parks have a $7 entry fee but you'll only pay it once (unlike some states that make you pay every day). It's supposed to be $9 for non-residents, but we were only charged $7. The hang tag for your vehicle will get you in the main entrance for the rest of your stay.

    If you come without a reservation: The registration attendant assigned a site to us but maybe you can choose one. Since it was the day after Labor Day and the park was sparsely populated, there was no one near us. Privacy was not an issue for our stay, but we wouldn't have enjoyed our site on a busy weekend...although there were many sites we would have liked even less.

    The basics: picnic tables, fire rings, dump station, potable water, flush toilets and sinks in the bathrooms, separate shower facility. There are vault toilets closer to sites 190-222. Sites 1-189 have electricity.

    Activities: Nearby swimming pool and playground. There are almost 11 miles of hiking trails. The longest one is 2 miles, but you can combine some trails and wander in the woods for quite a while. You can also wade in McCormick's Creek; the water was low in early September. You can stay busy in this park for quite a while. And if you want to go to Bloomington, it's only about 25 minutes away

  • Shelly S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 26, 2017

    Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    In the woods

    Lieber State Recreation Area, Cloverdale, IN is west down I70 from Indianapolis, 2 miles down RT243. Cagles Mill Lake borders the southwestern side of the area.

    We arrived to a very quiet campground with few campers. Our site was next to the showerhouse, in the trees and had an attached grass trail out the back. All of the campsites boasted two picnic tables and some were very spacious. The sites were electric only and there were water sites positioned strategically throughout the campground.

    The showerhouse was older but maintained. There were also pit toilets throughout the campground( not much to say about typical pit toilets....)

    There were primitive sites in the adjacent campground that did not have much tree cover but appeared to be good size sites to set up in.

  • Mike V.
    Jul. 23, 2016

    Lake Waveland Park

    Waveland Lake and Park, near Waveland, Indiana

    Nice clean park in west-central Indiana that has a lake and a large number of camping sites along with restrooms and showers. The primitive tent camping sites don't require reservations, and each have a picnic table. There are modern campsites that have water and electrical hook-ups, and there are some small cabins that can be rented. The bath house was clean, and the grounds crew does a great job keeping the grass cut. Camp sites seem more spread out here compared to most state parks. Location is fairly close to Sugar Creek and other parks such as Turkey Run and Shades State Park. The lake is popular for fishing.

  • Terri D.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 10, 2017

    Turkey Run State Park Campground

    Nice Big Sites

    I have to say it is always nice to stay at a state park in the off season. There are a couple hundred sites in this park and we were one of about 12 occupants. Even if this park had been full, the sites offer nice space. Sites vary from full shade to wide open out in the sun. Bathrooms are clean, but they are pretty spread out. Most sites offer electricity, but no water or sewer hook-up for RV. Water spigots are pretty spread out too. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. I didn't see any camp hosts that sold firewood when office is closed. Park is located right across the street from the local high school, I thought this was sort of odd.

    We were just passing through for a nights stay, but it looked like there were some nice trails for hiking. The children playgrounds looked nice as well.

  • Sarah S.
    Oct. 18, 2020

    Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    Large tent sites - no cell service

    Nice big campsite for our tents. Flush toilets; bathrooms could use some repairs. Fishing dock and area were clean with portable toilets. Walking trail. Safe area, well lit, and patrolled often. Pool & beach. We rented a pontoon boat which was very nice. Camp store for basic supplies. No cell service at all in camp area. Just a short driving distance to Cataract Falls - which is beautiful with a nice walking trail and covered bridge.

Guide to Rockville

Tent camping opportunities near Rockville, Indiana range from well-maintained park facilities to primitive forest sites. The region sits within the Wabash River Valley watershed, with terrain characterized by rolling hills, oak and hickory forests, and sandstone formations. Most campgrounds in the area are situated between 600-800 feet above sea level, creating moderately cool evening temperatures even during summer camping season.

What to do

Fishing at the lake: Lake Waveland Park features a 250-acre lake stocked with various fish species. "If fishing is your way of relaxing, you should have a good time here," notes Randy A. about Lake Waveland Park.

Family events: Check the seasonal schedule for community gatherings. "Fireworks in July and Halloween for the whole family in October," mentions Nicole B. regarding the activities at Lake Waveland Park throughout the camping season.

Bird watching: The forested areas provide habitat for diverse bird species. "This is a lovely space with lots of birds to observe," according to William David S., who visited the primitive camping areas at Lake Waveland Park.

What campers like

Spaciousness: Many tent camping sites near Rockville offer more room between campsites than typical campgrounds. "Camp sites seem more spread out here compared to most state parks," shares Mike V. about Lake Waveland Park.

Well-maintained grounds: Regular maintenance keeps the camping areas in good condition. "Lake Waveland's grounds crew does a very good job keeping the property in order... and that's no small task, there is a TON of green space on this property!" explains Randy A.

Peaceful environment: The best tent camping near Rockville, Indiana often provides quiet surroundings. "Small but peaceful campground. Well worth the time spent here," Douglas W. comments about his experience at Lake Waveland.

What you should know

Site selection process: Most primitive sites operate on a first-come basis. "I came here for one night and it was o.k. The sites are kind of too close together. The campsite do have fire rings and picnic tables. The site fills up pretty fast so come early. No need to pay because it is first come first serve," explains Kevin T. about Rattlesnake campground.

Site identification: At some locations, sites may not be clearly marked. "The sites aren't marked, but are indicated by picnic table and fire ring, though fire rings are not always present," notes William David S. about the primitive area at Lake Waveland Park.

Water availability: Some primitive camping areas lack drinking water. "Primitive only no drinking water at campgrounds," warns Nicole B. about Rattlesnake campground, emphasizing the need to bring your own water supply.

Tips for camping with families

Beach access: Some campgrounds provide swimming opportunities for children. "They do have a beach," mentions Nicole B. about Attica Family Campground, offering a recreational option beyond the campsite itself.

Site selection for larger groups: When camping with family, look for more spacious areas. "There are dozens of sites here, drive past the shower house where road bends to the left and down hill," advises William David S. about finding the best spots at Lake Waveland Park.

Family-friendly atmosphere: Some locations specifically cater to families with children. "Family friendly!!! Love this place!!!!" enthuses Tracy T. about the environment at Rattlesnake campground in Owen Putnam State Forest.

Tips from RVers

Electrical hookups: RV campers should note the availability of utilities. "As for the modern the best part is sites include water and electric," explains Nicole B. about Covered Bridge State Forest Retreat.

Size limitations: Verify that your RV will fit in available sites. "They need more spots for those long campers. Lots of pop up size sites," warns Nicole B. about Lake Waveland Park, indicating potential space constraints for larger vehicles.

Tree management: Be aware of overhead clearance at wooded campgrounds. "Trees need cut or maintained," notes Nicole B. regarding Lake Waveland Park, suggesting campers should inspect sites carefully before setting up larger rigs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Rockville, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Rockville, IN is Lake Waveland Park with a 4-star rating from 8 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Rockville, IN?

TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Rockville, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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