Best Tent Camping near Borden, IN
Searching for a tent campsite near Borden? Finding a place to camp in Indiana with your tent has never been easier. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Indiana tent camping excursion.
Searching for a tent campsite near Borden? Finding a place to camp in Indiana with your tent has never been easier. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Indiana tent camping excursion.
Jefferson Memorial Forest features a campground for tent camping and can accommodate both families and groups. Although the Forest is only minutes from Metro Louisville, camping here seems like a much more remote camping experience. Located within the Horine Reservation, the campground is in the uplands of the Forest and has good separation between individual campsites. Seven family campsites and four group campsites are available. Latrines and water are near to all the sites.
$15 - $30 / night
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
$20 / night
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.
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.
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.
Obannon Overall, this is a nice state park to camp in. Staff was very friendly. They have ice and wood. My kids enjoyed the nature center, pioneer village, and one of the easy trails.
We stayed in 220. It was nice to be right by the playground and bathrooms (which is what we wanted). Some spots near the back would be nice and secluded like the 180s and 190s and they’re still not too far from the bathrooms and playground. The better playground is in loop A.
I will say, I didn’t see any staff members cleaning up trash, getting campsites ready, or anything the 2 days we were there. Even though we went in November, it was a nice weekend and wasn’t dead, so I was surprised I didn’t see anyone cleaning. Wasn’t the cleanest state campground we’ve been at in Indiana. Certainly wasn’t awful though either.
My biggest gripe was they were hosting a huge cycling group. Like the whole loop A. We were all the way back in C. They held a concert that went on from like 8-11 pm. Being in a pop up, it was so loud and never ending. Made it difficult for my kids to sleep. If they’re going to hold (or allow) events like these, it should be posted on their website. Even with our sound machine, we still couldn’t block it out. I realize quiet hours aren’t until 11, but to me there’s a difference.
There is also hardly any signage and spots are difficult to find. No arrows about which way to go, signs saying which loop you’re in, and spots are only marked on the electrical boxes.
Overall, may stay again and try out the pool since we’re not too far from home, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay here.
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.
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.
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.
Cool place
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.
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.
Quiet. Friendly helpful staf.
The perfect dispersed site for my way through, quiet and peaceful. Good spot for tent camping , we enjoyed our stay.
My family visited Louisville South at the beginning of June for an extended family trip.
Pros- Lots of activities for kids. Nice pool, great playground, bounce pad. Bike rental. Decent (not spectacular) hiking trails. The RV sites with patio were very nice, but could be bigger.
Cons- some (not all) of the staff. One lady in particular was always rude, and didn’t like answering questions. There was a security light for the bounce pad that was on all night long, and thoroughly illuminated the adjacent tent sites. My brother’s family of 6 did not sleep well. This is something that is easily corrected by installing a shade over one edge of the light, but the staff didn’t seem to care.
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.
Excellent campground. Clean and quiet. Can get busy but sites are not tight but spread out and plenty of space. Fine gravel sites with well kept grounds, shower house, and attentive host. We want to return and visit more Bourbon Trail Distilleries.
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.
We 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.
Had the typical state park experience. Bathrooms are decent, a little dated but oh well. The weekends in the middle middle of the season are typically busy. Plan your site well, many lack a level spot for tents and have a lot of slope near the pull off.
We 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.
The 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
Besides picking the only weekend where the camp had plumbing issues… my 4 year old daughter and I loved this place. This was my first time camping in Indiana and it did not let me down! The rangers were very nice and was pleased to answer any of my questions, the lake and bathrooms were clean and the place was nice and quiet. I’ll be back again.
The campground is easy to navigate. The ranger met us on the way in and was super-friendly. Our site was small bit not cramped, and there was a picnic table and fire pit. Plenty of space between each site. Neighbors were quiet and friendly. Will camp here again!
Beautiful 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.
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First 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.
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!!
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.
This is the third time we have stayed here.
We timed this 0ne Right! Found Hoosier National Park website wasn't available, we arrived seeking 1st come 1st served... and got it! 👍 Thank You, LORD!
Frequently Asked Questions
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