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This recreation area is part of Monroe Lake
The Charles C. Deam Wilderness offers 36 miles of trails for hiking, backpacking, and horse riding through scenic hardwood forest and varied terrain with views of nearby Monroe Lake. The area was designated a wilderness in 1982 and encompasses nearly 12,953 acres of the Hoosier National Forest. Wilderness designation places this area in a special legal status (subject to the 1964 Wilderness Act). It is managed to preserve a natural condition and provide opportunities for solitude. Since its designation as a wilderness, visitor use in the area increased to a point that significant damage was occurring. Special restrictions are in place to protect the wilderness character. Visitors to this special place are asked to follow these restrictions to lessen your impact and share responsibility in preserving this unique natural resource.
$25 - $55 / night
This campground loop is a shady campground with 40 tent and trailer sites. About half of the sites are electric. This area includes a playground for children. There are eight walk-in sites on this campground loop. ACTIVITIES Camping: This is one of six shady campground loops in the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area. It includes 39 sites, about 3/4 of which are electric. Pine Loop is generally open in the summer months but is closed in winter months, though other loops will be open. A maximum of 2 vehicles and 8 people are allowed per site. Recreational Vehicles: This is one of six shady campground loops in the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area. It includes 31 sites appropriate for RVs, about 3/4 of which are electric. Pine Loop is generally open in the summer months but is closed in winter months, though other loops will be open. A maximum of 2 vehicles and 8 people are allowed per site. Wildlife Viewing: Each of the six shady campground loops in the Hardin Ridge Recreation Area provide ample opportunities to see wildlife. While staying in the campground you share the birds and animal's home and are likely to see them come right up to your campsite.
Listed on Rachael Ray Magazine's "8 of America's Coolest Campgrounds" This listing is for tent, car, or small RV camping- We currently do not rent the tree house since it is my home. I may rent it out in the future and I will have a cabin available later in the year We are on a solar powered, off the grid 60 acre homestead that has 54 acres of wooded land and 6 acres of groomed land. Come explore our land and relax in the"Tree Web", see the 2 story tree house that I live in, have fun on the tire swing, or just sit and enjoy all that nature has to offer. You can explore our interesting topography that has close to 100 foot of elevation changes, our(mostly) dry creek system that starts with 2 springs that drain into 3 sinkholes or walk 3 miles of trails (if you follow each trail from end to end). Camping can be in the Black Walnut Grove, in an open field or a shady grove. We like to interact with people or you can keep to yourself and have a quiet getaway in the woods. We love groups- Host your event here or have a group gathering with all your friends and family. We have spaces large enough to host hundreds of people. \- 3.5 miles to Marengo Cave \- 7 miles to the Blue River(canoes, rafting and swimming) \- 30 minutes to Pataka Lake- 37 miles west of Louisville \- 13 miles north of Interstate 64
$40 - $65 / night
Due to safety concerns from recent flooding, the Hoosier National Forest’s Springs Valley Campground in Orange County is closed effective 05/11/2017. The vault restroom facilities and boat ramp at Springs Valley Recreation Area will remain open for public use. The 141-acre lake, once known as Tucker Lake, surrounded by scenic hardwood forests features primitive camping with vault toilets. No drinking water is available. A boat ramp and picnic facilities are also available. No fees are charged. Visitors to this area should be aware of a vandalism problem in this area and people are asked to report any suspicious activity or damage. For a downloadable flier with information and a map of this area click here.
Guide
The site we stayed in was lovely. It was backed up to the edge of the woods which made for a lovely view. Driving through the campground it looks like there are some sites pretty close together but ours wasn’t too bad. I would say pay particular attention to the size of the site you’re booking as some were pretty small. Also, some sites were fairly sloped as well. This site was a slight slope and overall I would book it again. We have a full size truck with a small travel trailer that fit perfectly. Camp store was stocked nicely. Staff was friendly. The campground itself was very quiet and you could enjoy being out in nature. The site was walking distance from showers/bathroom. The park as a whole is beautiful and there’s a trailhead that’s walking distance from the campsite that leads down a beautiful trail to a lake.
Guide
Open areas with pit toilets and water available. Shade and sunny locations. Pick a spot and set up with hammock-large rvs spots. No fee, no reservations, no problems. Officers from federal, state, and local patrol. Cell service by various providers is 1-2 bars. Highly recommend.
Guide
This is a nice campground. We went on a weekend in July and it was as pretty busy, as to be expected. Because of that, we didn’t visit the beach area, however my in laws did and they said it was nice. They swam and kayaked. Staff is friendly. Facilities are pretty clean, nothing to write home about. Didn’t use the showers. My sons enjoyed the nature center. This is the closest state park to us, so I’m sure we will be back. Be sure to stop in town for ice cream.
Traveler
A staple of our state here in Indiana. Unfortunately due to some storm damage, trails were rerouted or straight up inaccessible.
Great places to find and set up camp. We even discovered a few extra hidden sites just by being forced off trails due to the damage.
Every dispersed camper should add the hikes to the lake to their checklist.
ScoutCool place
Traveler
It’s a horse camp but we were able to camp here. There were also two vehicle campers across the way. It was peaceful. It was a ways down a winding gravel road, maybe 20 minutes on that road.
Guide
Very long secluded road. Took a bit to find the first spot to camp, once we found it the other spots weren’t too far past.
Scout
Quiet. Friendly helpful staf.
RangerThe perfect dispersed site for my way through, quiet and peaceful. Good spot for tent camping , we enjoyed our stay.
Guide
Spacious sites. Beautiful forest. Quiet, but only 5 minutes small town with gas stations, grocery, etc. Not many amenities. Only pit toilets and water spigots. Firewood was not available during our visit. No reservations. First come first serve, but even on a "busy" Saturday in July less than 1/3 of the sites were full. Two "loops" one in a pine forest below the small lake and one at the lake/up the hill. Multiple playgrounds. Great trails to hike. Cool CCC construction. Highly recommend.
Guide
This is a great family campground with excellent amenities, clean sites and grounds, beautiful surroundings, multiple cabins, pavilions, and a welcoming host office. We would love to visit and stay again. Do not let the short rural entry drive deter you. Yes it's hilly and curvy but take it slow and careful I promise it's worth it. Free firewood is just a bonus. Get a shady spot and enjoy the stay.
RangerWe went up in June 2024. There are several spots that are in the shade, but some of them are permanent campers. There is a fishing lake and a small river to fish in or wade and swim in. There is a miniature village for the kids along with 20 playgrounds in the campground. Golf carts are available to rent, and I feel are a necessity to get around this large park. There are also large fields to play in. Didn’t use the bath house. The general store has ice and a few souvenirs. There is cell service (AT&T and Verizon) There is also free wood. They have really cool spiral steps that lead up to a walk bridge. They also have a donkey and goats to pet. Altogether a really nice and clean park. Will definitely go again.
TravelerWe really liked the set up of this campsite. The fire rings were spread apart amidst a green hill. There was some shade available around the edges. Plenty of room to spread out from your neighbors; it wasn’t too busy when we were there (a Thursday). Camp accesses two trailheads directly. There were two bathrooms, a place for garbage, and potable water. Screech owls and active birds made it an exciting evening.
Scout
Stayed two nights, tent camping. It was a great time meeting new people and exploring the surrounding area.
Traveler
We were so fortunate to have found The Retreat at Hickory Hills and stay there for a month! There’s two pools, a pickle ball court, a basketball half court, farm animals, golf cart trails, kayak/canoe/row boats, exploring creeks, fishing, a dog park, several playgrounds, Gaga ball, tether ball, volleyball, frisbee golf and several weekend activities for everyone. Saturday mornings were our favorite where we could get biscuits and gravy, coffee and the kids had craft time. It’s definitely worth bringing mountain bikes or renting their golf carts to explore their golf cart trails! We went out on these several times and it never got old! Staff and campers were welcoming and friendly. We still haven’t stopped talking about how CLEAN they keep everything. The sites were large and they’re still expanding and adding more sites. There’s a seasonal campers area and an overnight or monthly area. We stayed in the overnight/monthly area. It was peaceful and relaxing throughout the week and lively during the weekend. It was a wonderful balance!! We’ll definitely be back.
ScoutThe bathrooms are dirty, showers are full of hair, the toilets are dirty, staff can be rude, not a lot to do besides walk/drive around, not a very fun park if u was to bring ur kids to it, there’s not much to see. I wouldn’t waste ur take time comming here and instead go to a better park that’s much better
Guide
We have been coming here every year since 2016. Most of the sites are shady. Our favorite site is 72. It is close to a water hookup if you need to top off your fresh water tank, shady, and not too close to other sites. They added a new shower house close by in 2022 or 2023.
TravelerBeautiful secluded site that is pretty far off of the road, but not too far. There was no traffic or other people in site. I have a promaster conversion and had no trouble making it to this site, however the road was gravel and steep at times. I have lived in Indiana for ever and have made many trips this way, but I never knew sites like this existed.
Scout
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LegendFirst off- Brown County is a lovely park. This review is only for the campground.
The only time we ever camped here was in 2003 when we had 3 kids & a popup. New to the park I thought the Racoon Ridge Loop looked good & picked site 121. Bad mistake! We stayed 3 nights & every night we had a weird thing happen. The worst was the bat that found it's way into the popup one night. None of it was in any way Brown County's fault, but we never went back.
We were staying at Paynetown recently & decided to visit Brown County & the campground. The mirror tag helped with this. We visited on a Saturday morning in late June. The whole campground was full & it was jumpin'!
We skipped Buffalo Ridge. Raccoon Ridge is the smallest loop. Close sites. Our former site 121 has a pit toilet right next to it now. There's several sites along the main road, also very close to each other & right on the road.
I thought that Taylor Ridge was the best loop based on my memories from 2003. It's really a long warren of close sites, some with terrible inclines.
I was able to write down a few sites I thought would work- Sites with no one close by: 193/194/266.
265 was the only pull thru I saw, but there may be others.
End of loop: 317/318
Ridge view from your site: 310/311/312/313/314
Random sites that looked ok: 179/188/215/223/225/242/259/260/265/277/280/287/422- these sites are just what I eyeballed while the husband was cruising down the main road.
We decided we were never going to camp here again. The sites are too close together. There's too many people crammed in a small space. If you go be aware that summer weekends & leaf peeper season will be very busy. The middle of the week or shoulder season would probably be your best bet for a more relaxing experience.
Legend
This is a State Forest campground near Nashville, Indiana. Primitive camping. Pit toilets only. This is by Yellowwood Lake, so boating & fishing opportunities.
All these sites are first come, first serve. No reservations.
There's a Forest Office with area information & a small display.
There's several trails of varying length.
Believe it or not- gold panning is a thing here! You need a permit.
They rent boats at the Forest Office. Electric motor only.
There's several camping loops. There's a horse camp also.
The boat ramp is near the horse camp loop.
We didn't go down the Red Pine Loop, but did check out White Oak/Redbud& Black Gum.
Hickory loop is right off the road & the sites are visible from the road. They looked nicely spaced.
White oak loop had several nice sites. Redbud is close to a building they call a camp store. It may have been many years ago, but not open now.
Several picnic spots by the lake. The best site in Redbud would be 39. Large site with some shade. I would also say 38, but site 37 is directly behind it. This is the camp host spot, so occupied. These sites are near the pit toilets.
The best spot in Black Gum would be site 75. Large site at the end of the loop & right by the lake.
If you go back to Hwy 46 where the road split on your way in, follow the sign to the dam. Just a large earthen dam, but there's trail heads here. There's the Scarce O' Fat Trail which has been mentioned on the Facebook Indiana Hiking page.
$13 per night regular camping.$16 per night for horseman's.
Legend
We did a drive through to check out the campground. It was $8 for day use, self pay.
This is a beautiful campground. There's 4 loops with 30 & 50 amp. 2 loops with no electric.
Well spaced all tucked into the trees on a ridge. Also some carry in sites.
If we tented camped still I'd be in heaven!
You can reserve sites, or some are first come first served.
Shower/restroom with pit toilets scattered around.
3 trails. A beach, picnic areas& a boat launch.
This seems less popular than Paynetown, but a lot quieter!!
Legend
This is a SRA on the shores of Lake Monroe by Bloomington Indiana. This is a boating/fishing park. We went on a hot weekend the 4rth weekend in June & it was completely full.
There's only 3 short trails. The longest is 1.25 miles. Not a hiking park.
There's a visitor center off State Road 446. This is NOT a nature center! Just a place to pick up some information.
The marina & boat launch get the most use. There's also a beach.
There's a large Class B campground closer to the marina. There's some pit toilets & one flush toilet building. No showers. No electricity.
There's a large dump station.
The electric campground has 227 sites. 3 are handicap accessible. There's also 27 pull throughs. Many have lake access due to camper made trails to the lake.
We had site 137 which was a good site due to the fact we had no one on the left. There was a woods view.
Many of these sites have a bad incline & people were putting their rigs sideways on the site close to the road. Our site was no exception, but we were able to make it work. This site also had afternoon sun.
Restrooms/showers were state park clean. I was impressed with the hard working staff trying their best to give us a clean bathroom!
The best sites in the campground are 171/172& 153/154. These have a lot of sun, but a stellar view of the lake.
132-137 have a trail to the lake. Very bad inclines though.
120-124 have trails to the lake & are in the woods.
103 is a large site& fairly even with lots of shade.
The sites from 180-227 are asphalt with concrete pads. The rest of the campground is gravel.
There's 4 carry in campsites for tents that looked very nice. Campsites in the E area have access to a sandy peninsula that was very popular for swimmers.
This is known in Indiana as a party park. There's some truth to that. It's VERY noisy & busy on a summer weekend. If you like a quieter experience come Monday through Wed. or wait until the off season.
TravelerThis is the third time we have stayed here.
Guide
This was my first time at a campsite, so I don't have other sites to compare to. Overall, my experience was great. Clean area with lots of amenities. They stack free firewood at your campsite to burn. I'm military, so the gunfire, canon fire, and helicopters didn't bother me at all. Those things don't happen all the time though.
Traveler
nice camping here,but they have small area ,i see racoon,cath meow lol but they attack
Traveler
We stayed pretty much on our site. Generally, we aim to do a bit of exploring, but we used their camping as a rendezvous. I was slightly disappointed by the site selections being mostly on a slant, but we did find one on the overfill site that suited our needs and we ended up loving it. I do plan on returning specifically to update a better review on the available views.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Avoca, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Avoca, IN is Paynetown Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 29 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 21 tent camping locations near Avoca, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
