Best Glamping near Chrisney, IN

Ranger Review: Primus at Harmonie State Park

I recently visited Harmonie State Park near New Harmony, In. https://indianastateparks.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=IN&parkId=570048 Just a heads up when camping in Indiana there is a fee to visit the State Parks. I always carry cash for that , laundry and in some states bathroom use. So, the number one thing that stuck out to me about this campground was the shade. For the most part it’s level (floodplain...I saw no standing water) And all the sites are nicely shaded (we are talking full growth) and good size. The sites are electric only, no water, no sewer. There are centrally located water hydrants and a dump station on the way out of the campground. The campground wasn’t very full when we visited, but there is a plethora of activities to enjoy. An Olympic size pool which back in the day my kids woulda loved. Hiking paths (very wide), one right by the campground and a connector trail to the mountain bike trail area. There’s also a bike section on the paved roads. You could spend a comfortable week here and not be bored.

Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I get to occasionally try out outdoor products while camping and this trip I brought along some Primus “kitchen gear” https://primus.us/ . Primus is known for its camping stoves , the kitchen accessories are pretty sweet too. I have the Trailsporks , a long spoon , a spatula for grilling , campfire plates and a campfire knife. These are very sturdy made accessories and pack in my kit without taking up a lot of space. There are a lot of options on the site to fit your packing needs too, from family fireside to fastpacking . I’m building my fireside kitchen kit .

This is a small state park in an out of the way part of the state. Located in Southwest Indiana, about 40 miles from Evansville. 

This is a typical Indiana State Park. Some sites are pretty close together, some are spacious. There's electricity, but water is shared. Some sites have 50 amp, so when you're looking to reserve, check that out. IMO, the best site is site 39. It's at the end of the row, with somewhat secluded. It's a walk to the bathroom, but worth it. Site 22 is also a good site at the end of a row & has a trail from the site to the small pond. 

Be sure to watch for the grade also. Some of the sites had a noticeable incline. 

Bathrooms are pretty dismal. They smelled bad too. They need to start replacing these old, worn out comfort stations with something from this century! The nature center is in the campground & is pretty small. We enjoyed it though.

The camp store is in the park office& is ridiculous. Bring everything you need, cause you won't find it there!

8 trails the longest is 2.5 miles, the shortest.25 miles. There's also mountain bike trails & a 4 mile horse trail.

I was really surprised that in my 30 years of living in Indiana, I had never been to Marengo Cave. It's both great for kids and adults. The people are super friendly and there are two different parts to explore. The dripslide caverns and the crystal palace cavern. There are extra activities for the kids such as mining and a nice gift shop for any rock lover out there. I highly recommend and they had cabins to camp in as well.

We camp here every time we come to Indiana. We have camped there in a truck camper, and now we tent camp with our Jeep. The sites are large, and there are fire rings available. There are vault toilets and a fresh water pump not far from them. The only time this camp is full is when a trail ride is going on, then it fills up fast. It is only five miles from Paoli, and there is a Walmart there if you need supplies..

 I have tried to contact corporate and been ignored.. We  stayed at the Rudolph campsite in Santa Claus Indiana like I stated before we would like a refund for one night and one night of the golf cart as we wound up leaving.  the toilet seat was cracked, which pinched me and one of my Children left marks, there were also mouse droppings in the drawer where the silverware was and stains on the sheets. I have pictures of all this and since nobody has contacting us, I will give it until Monday morning and then I will have my attorney contact them with all the pictures since they don’t want to do anything about this and then I will also be posting with the Better Business Bureau and attaching all the pictures.

Celina Recreation Area is located in Hoosier National Forest near Branchville, IN off IN37. My drive in took me first through the rolling hills of upper Kentucky farmland, than across the Ohio River into Cannelton, IN where I found a sweet Winery named Blue Heron with excellent views and an awesome host/owner. There is a wine trail through the lower Indiana area that might interest you (Hoosier Wine Trail) if that’s your kinda sightseeing . 

Tell City is where you might want to stop and get your supplies, there’s the usual fast food, gas stations and Wally World. The area Ranger Station is also in Tell City but it is closed on the weekends.

We took IN37 which runs down the middle more or less of Hoosier NF. There is a zip-line “Eagles Wings” and a Citgo fuel stop enroute to the Celina RA.

Once you turn into the Recreation Area Celina Lake and the two campgrounds (North Face Loop and South Slope Loop) are to the left, Indian Lake is straight. 

Indian Lake is accessed by a basic boat ramp with parking only. I liked the fact that there are several parking pull offs along the road to the ramp to park and access the Two Lakes Trail which meanders around both lakes covering about 15 miles in all. The trail is moderate, technical but not too steep, a good workout. You can disperse camp for 5$ a night as long as you are 300 ft off the trail. 

Celina Lake boat ramp has more to offer. There is a pit toilet and small picnic area in a small shaded grassy area between the parking area and boat ramp access road. 

The parking area is handicap accessible with a small fishing pier that can be reached directly from the handicap parking spot. 

The Rickenbaugh Historic family home and cemetery are located in the far side of the boat ramp with a kiosk and 1 mile Interpretive trail that tells the story of the area.

We enjoyed the trails which is where we spent most of our time, sight seeing and communing with the crazy number of ticks present and hitching rides. 

The boat dock was pretty busy though quiet due to the electric motor restriction. 

The lake is good size, you could paddle to an area and disperse camp to fish or just enjoy the area. 

The two campgrounds were well maintained with helpful live in hosts. North is Basic and South is RV with electric hook up. The dump station is south on IN37 near Tipsaw Lake. Both offer good shade and privacy. They were very peaceful . I liked North more then South the North sites were further apart offering the most privacy and quiet.

This is my kids favorite campground and we always have a great time! Enjoy putt-putt, playgrounds, paddle boats, volleyball, swimming, game rooms, and water slides right next to Holiday World Amusement Park. There are always a lot of fun activities, and we love watching the golf cart parades and all the decorations on them, especially during holiday weekends. If you camp with kids, this is a top spot to visit! Shuttle over to Holiday World for a day, and then spend a day around the campground for a great long weekend!

This is a pretty good campground but it’s butted up to Holiday World. A little noise from that can get on your nerves if you want to listen to the great outdoors. But if you’re looking for a campground by a theme park this is right up your alley.

awesome, clean, family friendly, full of activity’s one of our favorite campgrounds hands down.

We chose this campground due to its proximity to Holiday World and its family friendly atmosphere.

The Bad: We took our 5 and 3 year old daughters for their first camp out with the plan to do Holiday World the next day. This place has golf carts zipping all over all hours of the day and night. Apparently it is the thing to do to decorate golf carts with bright lights, blairing music, and megaphones. They even has a golf cart parade that went from 8:30-10:40pm and included thrown candy that ran about 30 feet from our tent! There was no privacy between sites, constant noise, and trash all over the ground! As an advocate for leave no trace camping, I was completely disgusted with the amount of trash on the ground at our camp site.

The Good (there was some): The shuttle to Holiday World was great, the staff were friendly, they have a great mini golf course that the girls loved, a top notch playground, and scheduled kuds activities (many are free). they also have a pool and water slides, but i cant comment on those as we did not try them.

At the end of the day, we had a great trip. but if i were to stay here again it would have to be a more secluded camp site without the constant buzz of golf carts. And I sure hope the amount of trash we saw was a fluke.

Such a wonderful family oriented campground with excellent amenities. Pets are allowed and the sites are gravel or concrete. Relax at the pool, enjoy mini golf, playing at the game room, mining for gems, or shooting some hoops. There is also a shuttle that will take you to Holiday World. Don’t have an RV? Not an issue, choose a cabin, cottage, or stay in one of the rental RVs. They offer restrooms, showers, heat, kitchens and a lot more.

Perfect for families. Lots to do, clean facilities, friendly staff. We will be back!

Very nice campground. Had the whole place to our selves a couple of nights. Concrete level sites. Pond to fish in and huge dog run, but not to close to a large number of sites. Definitely will be back. 

Sites are close together. 33-P is terrible. Took me an hour and an engineering degree to get it leveled safely.

Our spot was great and didn’t require much leveling. We did get a deluxe spot. However we only got the spot because at the others were sold out. Many of the other Spots were on hills and right on top of each other. Driving in and out was a bit challenging mainly because a lot of people parked their vehicles/golf carts at the edge of the road or partly on it. Just about everyone we encountered was nice and friendly.

This is a great location near the lake, dog park and community center and has excellent internet access.

If you're looking for a nice quiet peaceful campground, this is not it! It's a fun, family centered, campground. There is SO much to do just within the campground itself (for all ages) People rent the golf carts and decorate them with various themes. Clean camp ground, nice people one thing I didn't like was that you had to pay extra for the water slides and play area with in the campground. If my boys have anything to say about it we will definitely be back.

As soon as we exited the highway we were struggling to see though the immense cloud of smoke that was building bigger denser as we approached the park. We quickly learned that this was from all of the camp fires in the park, it was then we realized that this park was a small city.
The Pro’s - they have every amenity you can think of for everyone including the family dog. The park is located in a cute town with a deep Christmas theme. You will meet a lot of people most of which were great. Bathrooms and other related areas were very clean and well maintained. Daily trash pick up. AT&T cell signal was good.
The Con’s - There are people every where and it appeared that many of them did not know they were in a family camp while consumed beer after beer cussing at there friends and family while playing there inappropriate music very loud (I’m not saying I think they shouldn’t be able to do this its just seemed out of place in a town themed after Christmas, and in a park called Rudolph lake with a heavy focus on families. I think the park can do a better job of controlling this). The electrical at our site was not working properly and we had to run off of a 110 plug we found. The smoke at night was a little hard on the lungs. There is Wifi but it was virtually un-usable.