Horse camping is the perfect way to enjoy Columbus. If you're an equestrian lover who prefers nature-based adventure, yet still wants comfort, this is the perfect opportunity for you. Finding a place to camp in Indiana with your horse is easier than ever. Search nearby equestrian campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
The camp is located along Tower Ridge Road in the center of the Charles Deam Wilderness area, approximately one mile from Highway 446. The camp also is a trailhead for the Charles C. Deam Wilderness trail system.____
Blackwell is a campground for all types of users. It provides access to the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Trail system with approximately 35 miles of trails. The nearby Hickory Ridge Trail system is also available.
Blackwell is a campground for all types of users. It provides access to the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Trail system with approximately 35 miles of trails. The nearby Hickory Ridge Trail system is also available.
The camp is a large grassy area with gravel parking areas on the east and west end. The trailheads are located on the east and west ends of the camp by the parking areas.__
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.
$20 - $45 / night
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.
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.
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.
RangerThe perfect dispersed site for my way through, quiet and peaceful. Good spot for tent camping , we enjoyed our stay.
Scout
The water was down a bit so the falls were not very large but the trails were really great! It was hot (July) and the wooded hiking trails helped keep us comfortable. On leash Dog friendly was a plus for us too. The only thing I wish there was were more areas to bike but the walking trails were super beautiful so it wasn’t a big disappointment at all. There is no dispersed camping and we didn’t stay overnight but we did go check out the campground area. It’s pretty large and there were loads of spots that would hold our 30ft bus and 17ft cargo trailer. Since we were just there for the day, however, we just parked at the pool as suggested by the gentleman at the gate. It is a huge flat area that gave us lots of solar power while we were out exploring.
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.
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.
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.
Traveler
nice camping here,but they have small area ,i see racoon,cath meow lol but they attack
ScoutFor those of you who don't understand disperse camping this is the perfect site for a tent to camp without anything but what you bring in and take out understand what dispersed camping is and then there won't be any complaints about can't get a camper in or whatever I always see the complaints this is dispersed camping at its best
GuideLots of primitive campsites here. Many have short trails from them to the lake edge, making for some great night fishing with a cozy fire to return to.
TravelerIn January we found a couple of available sites at Spring Mill when trying to plan where we'd go for the eclipse, so we took them and then started looking at what the park had to offer. We started to really look forward to the park as much as the eclipse. The park lived up to expectations. We were able to do a lot of hiking. Our dog was welcome in most areas of the park (pioneer village being the only significant exception). They were planning for a ton of folks to be there for the eclipse, but the numbers were lower than expected. We had the perfect spot for viewing it right across the lane from our campsite, so it didn't really matter how many people came into the park for it.
The only possible negative was that our site wasn't very level for our pop up. We had our leveler with us, so it didn't matter. My wife and I decided that the eclipse was simply the cherry on top of a very good sundae. We loved the park and will likely return again.
ScoutHuge sinkhole that makes for a cool look. Dry area for tent, not big enough for a camper but cool for car camping!
ScoutSolo camped here with my dogs. First time I’ve ever been camping but this spot was really cool. Clean. Secluded and peaceful, though every night at around 5pm I would hear rustling in the leaves, I assumed it was a pack of cayotes and they would leave once I started banging on stuff and primally yelling. Very spooky! Awesome spot, though albeit I don’t have anything to compare it to. But I’m glad I found it!
GuideFree camp ground. Very private. Decent sized space to park for 2-3 vehicles. Trails, plenty of dry wood, away from the roads, no running water or electricity, decent amount of spaces we came in at night and counted about 9 very far spread out camp sights. Good ground to pitch a tent to. There was other camp grounds bigger than the one we stayed at and had several people at them with a big bonfire going but what’s great is when we found our spot we couldn’t see their fire or even hear them! One thing to note is that some of the camp sites are tucked back into the trees a little and can be hard to spot. At night we thought one was open but there was actually someone there and just couldn’t see them from the road so we had to back out and go to the next site (sorry whoever that was lol). It is also a ways off the beaten path for through car camping but honestly if we were ever coming back through this way I would make the hour detour to stop here again!
GuideClifty falls state park in Indiana, a beautiful park, somewhat challenging beautiful hiking trails, could be great, if a little more attention was paid to it on the campsite end. But first I’d like to address the fact that I had to pay the $9 fee to drive I to the park, although having already booked and paid for a campsite. I guess we call that the “Indiana angle”, as I’ve seen it in other Indiana parks but no where else. Having entered, it looked to be a beautiful clean place, but you get the impression all the dirt was swept under the carpet rather than actually picked up. The bathrooms were dated, a little dirty and the showers weee an embarrassment. The push button for water style gave us literally 10 seconds of water, if you’re lucky, before you had to push again. I believe in water conservation too but come on, we pain for this. Bathrooms were clean, but not spotless, maybe it’s in the weekly clean schedule instead of the daily, as we went in October. I question the validity of these reviews sometimes also, as cell signal was rated good for both ATT and Verizon, of which we had both, and both were spotty at best. But the actual park, spectacular hiking, challenging treks, and multiple choices made it worthy of 5 stars. The actual waterfalls were but a trickle in October but the sheer rock walls, steep cliffs and fall colors made for many camera friendly views.
Guide
We enjoyed the stay at site 77. The description of the site did say it had a slight slope so were aware. We tent camped which means our tent was on a slope. Next time we’ll pick a more level site. Bathrooms were clean, just your run of the mill park bathroom with some spider webs. We hiked a pretty easy trail and loved the walk. We saw several sites that we’d love to try when we return. So we’d definitely go back.
TravelerAbsolutely loved my time here. So quiet and peaceful.
Scout
The Rules sheet that is included in some of the pictures indicates that no tent camping is allowed. Someone should update the icons on the page for this site.
GuideIf you are looking for solitude and peace in the forest, you will find it here! I went to the 2nd or 3rd site past the coordinates provided. It was very clean, flat, and had a nice fire pit. The sites are far enough apart that I truly felt like I had the woods all to myself! It stormed all night...that was a little scary, but the misty trees in the morning were magnificent!
GuideThere are a couple walking trails around, as well each site is fairly far apart. It's really quite only seen a handful of cars drive by and I've stayed here for 2 nights, would highly recommend.
GuideThe sites suck not level the shower is new but sucks push. It to die 25 seconds of water that’s like being pissed on the electric situation is poor 30 amp old not maintained the park was put in about 1919 the trails use to be awesome. Now the use to be well groomed trails that were bordered by hand built stone walls have been replaced by half assed wooden decks with steps that were built by Hellen Keller “ridiculous “ They have a 9.00 entry fee on top of the camping fee they cut the grass every day we were there Turing the park into a scalped dust bowel. Again “ridiculous “ they had a few sites that we’re supposed to be persons with disabilities friendly. Their is No sell service. Every one was wondering around looking for service. “ I though that was funny” No WiFi That didn’t bother us. But several folks around us were miffed camp store. Was a joke and was only open maybe Friday Saturday and Sunday. Possibly Maybe. “What ever that means “ the dump station. Is a cluster F#%*¥ was a tight fit for the 3 campers in front of us. Who had 28 ft to 35 ft campers. Just a dirt pull off close to trees with a tight turn to exit. Only one side could be used at a time. Or you would block the campground Exit. So not very well planned out
TravelerWhole site is on a slope except for a small area near the woods. 35' pull behind felt really to big for this one. Would avoid if rain expected. Secluded site with woods nearly completely surrounding.
ScoutVery nice!
ScoutGreat Park! We stayed 2 nights on our first camp of the season. Quiet camp ground with a newer bathhouse that contains single show
TravelerCampground was essentially a parking lot located near an active coal power plant, which offered continuous hum. Otherwise clean.
TravelerStayed here in October. Last trip for the year. We stayed on site 46. Lots of room for the kids to run around without being too bothersome to neighbors. The hiking was great! The tree colors and cliffs were amazing in the bright sun and clear blue skies. The tunnel was fun to walk through. The kids loved the exploration aspect of Brough's tunnel. Close to historic city Madison, which is smaller town full of local shopping and eateries.
Horse camping in Indiana offers a unique blend of scenic trails and well-equipped facilities for equestrians. Whether you're a seasoned rider or a casual camper, you'll find plenty of options to enjoy the great outdoors with your horse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Columbus, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Columbus, IN is Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping with a 4.8-star rating from 13 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Columbus, IN?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 equestrian camping locations near Columbus, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
