Best Tent Camping near Bloomington, IN

Tent Camping Reviews near Bloomington, IN

535 Reviews of 15 Bloomington Campgrounds

• 

  Jim L.

  Traveler

  Aug. 31, 2017

  Hardin Ridge

  Hospitable Woods Experience

  This campground is nestled on a ridge above Indiana's Lake Monroe. The wooded sites include a fire-ring, a pole for your lantern and generous flat graveled areas to pitch your tent, as well as a couple of picnic tables per site. There are pleanty of RV sites with electric hookup available as well. Each area of the campground has a knowlegeable courteous full time host, and ice is available at the main gate. Foraging for wood is allowed which is a definite bonus in this era of emerald ash-borer awareness and wood import restrictions. The plentiful raccoons seem almost tame, yet keep a safe distance from campers if you allow them to. There is a small beach to beat the summer heat, and nearby showerhouses (even in the non-electric sites) are kept clean with adequately warm water. There is a small interpretive hike with approximately 300 feet of elevation change situated near the ampitheater that can be completed in a couple of hours.

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• N

  Nick S.

  Guide

  Jul. 20, 2016

  Paynetown Campground

  Paynetown State Recreation Area

  Paynetown SRA is right on Lake Monroe about 10 minutes from Bloomington, IN. Campsites have a gravel parking pad, picnic table, fire-ring, and electrical hookups. Restrooms & showers were about average... not great/not bad. A private company rents kayaks, jet skis, boats, and paddleboards from the camp-store in the SRA. There are beaches, a nature center, & playgrounds, so it seems very family friendly. There's a cool little pizza place right down the road too. This is the perfect place to camp for a weekend of fun on Lake Monroe. It's also only about 20 minutes from Lake Lemon.

• E

  Eric S.

  Traveler

  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.

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• 

  Jennifer T.

  Guide

  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!

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• D

  Darren L.

  Ranger

  Jul. 17, 2019

  Charles C. Deam Wilderness

  A couple nights on the sycamore trail

  Wonderful place. Excellent trail following a nice little stream along the one side. Being in a national forest dispersed camping is allowed if you follow leave no trace principals, but I stayed in a couple of the official sites. The official sites all had rock fire rings and bushcraft furniture.

  The one negative was I did have to pack out previous campers trash along with my own. Being close to the college there was evidence that less than mature campers may frequent the area. That being said once on trail I didn’t see another soul past a couple hundred feet of the trail head and only heard a pair of hikers on the trail pass my camp site as I ate my breakfast the one morning.

  A wonderful backpacking area!

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• 

  Mary S.

  Legend

  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

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• 

  Randy M.

  Traveler

  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)

  Directions

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  Add to trip

  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.

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• 

  Daisy C.

  Traveler

  Jun. 5, 2020

  Yellowwood State Forest

  Quiet, Peaceful, and Primitive

  Yellowwood state forest campground does not accept reservations. It is first come, first served. Drive up, select your site, and then go to the park office to pay using a self-pay envelope. Bring exact change(cash). Current prices are listed on the Indiana DNR website. The park office does have firewood for sale, but only during open hours, which are limited. There is no camp store, no playgrounds, and no pool. Swimming is not allowed in Yellowwood lake. Each site has a fire ring with grill grate and picnic table. There are four campground loops and a horseman’s campground. Campgrounds have vault toilets and drinking water access. I do not know if water is turned on year-round. There are no modern restrooms. Sites are wooded and fairly level. All sites are primitive. We have only tent camped at Yellowwood, so I can’t say what size travel trailers would fit in the sites. Yellowwood road changes over to gravel once you enter the state forest. It is well maintained. You can also access the forest by Jackson Creek road, but you’re on gravel for longer, and I seem to remember it being a bit rougher. We have camped at Yellowwood several times between 2011-2018. The only time we have ever seen the campground busy is over big holiday weekends like Labor Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July. Otherwise use is light. We have several times been one of two or three campers in the loop. Several trails are nearby in the state forest, including the Tecumseh Trail. Horse trails are also available. Yellowwood lake is adjacent to the campground and there is a boat ramp, but there are limitations on boating(motor size). Check with the DNR website. Camp here if you like quiet, peaceful camping. You won’t run into a bunch of loud partiers.

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• G

  Ginger T.

  Traveler

  Jun. 28, 2019

  Oak Ridge Camping Area — Morgan-Monroe State Forest

  Quiet, just right!

  I’ve camped here several times and have always enjoyed it. When tent camping and want something quiet and a place with great trails, this is a good place to go. Even though it’s hot outside today, there’s lots of shade and a breeze. At this campground, there are two areas of pit toilets, and a big outdoor sink. Fire wood and maps can be obtained just up the road at the new Morgan Monroe headquarters. A self pay station is set up there. You select your site, set up, then go pay. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and plenty of room for tenting with most sites big enough for a trailer. There’s a playground at the entrance of Mason Ridge campground and a fire tower.

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