Tent Camping Columbus, IN

Looking for the best tent campgrounds near Columbus? Find the best tent camping sites near Columbus. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.

Best Tent Sites Near Columbus, IN (15)

Showing results 1-10 of 15 campgrounds

Recent Tent Reviews in Columbus

465 Reviews of 15 Columbus Campgrounds


  • Betsy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest
    Nov. 1, 2024

    Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest

    Large, open, and very clean

    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.

  • Noah Y.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Charles C. Deam Wilderness
    Oct. 18, 2024

    Charles C. Deam Wilderness

    Great for casual/experienced camping and hiking

    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.

  • patti J.
    Camper-submitted photo from Heartland Resort
    Sep. 7, 2024

    Heartland Resort

    Staff were helpful

    This would most likely be a last resort for us.  Went to our campsite only to find someone else using it.  Not what you need after driving 400-500 miles.  Had to go back to the office and ultimately took a different site after dirty looks from the poachers.

    Then the staff told us there was music that night after we told them we just wanted a peaceful nights sleep so we moved to another site further away from the jam session. Whew a lot of work to be here.  Cannot recall being impresses with the bathrooms/showers.

  • FThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Jackson Washington State Forest
    Jul. 21, 2024

    Jackson Washington State Forest

    Great primitive campground

    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.

  • Josie W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest
    Jul. 12, 2024

    Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest

    Spacious Camping

    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.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Camp Buckwood
    Jul. 8, 2024

    Camp Buckwood

    Very Nice and Freindly

    Stayed two nights, tent camping. It was a great time meeting new people and exploring the surrounding area.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hickory Hills Camp Resort
    Jul. 8, 2024

    Hickory Hills Camp Resort

    Perfect RV Resort south of Indianapolis

    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.

  • AThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping
    Jul. 3, 2024

    Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping

    Secluded in the woods

    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.

  • Cynthia K.
    Camper-submitted photo from Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
    Jun. 28, 2024

    Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park

    Meh

     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.

  • Cynthia K.
    Camper-submitted photo from Hardin Ridge
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Hardin Ridge

    National Forest

     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!!

  • Cynthia K.
    Camper-submitted photo from Paynetown Campground
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Paynetown Campground

    Crazy busy on a summer weekend

     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.

  • Matt M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Indiana State Fairgrounds Campground
    Jun. 25, 2024

    Indiana State Fairgrounds Campground

    Not what we were expecting!

    We traveled to Indianapolis for the Olympic Swimming Time Trials. Stayed here 2 nights with our 2 grand-daughters. The area we stayed was directly adjacent to a bike path. It was separated by a fence and there was a gate right next to our site. The gate was locked however the gates were far enough apart that someone could get between them. Our first night, someone actually did this and walked right behind our site.

    The shower house was in serious need of some improvements! Old, dark, leaky pipes. 

    The area was OVERLY well lit, to the point we were hanging sleeping bags over the windows to try and make it somewhat dark inside the camper! 

    Getting to the sites took some figuring out also. We entered at the main gate to the fairgrounds and there were no signs directing us to the sites. Had to use GPS with satellite view to figure our way there. 

    For comparison, we've stayed at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and this is a night and day difference. Iowa Fairgrounds sites are $20 less per night, very nice shower facilities and plenty of room between sites. 

    We would stay here again but we'd need to exhaust all other options first.

    BTW, the price listed is wrong. We paid $50/night.

  • Holdun R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Camp Atterbury Campground
    Jun. 17, 2024

    Camp Atterbury Campground

    Great 1st experience

    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.

  • rickie F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Oak Ridge Morgan-Monroe State Forest
    Jun. 10, 2024

    Oak Ridge Morgan-Monroe State Forest

    Beautiful as it should be.

    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.

  • Jonathan P.
    Camper-submitted photo from Woods Campground
    Jun. 8, 2024

    Woods Campground

    Horrible

    The owner came up hot headed and very upset. I don’t know if they were having a bad day. The place looks like trash and has a very poor layout

  • james W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping
    Jun. 6, 2024

    Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping

    Real dispersed camping

    For 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

  • Ima C.
    Camper-submitted photo from Scottsburg/Raintree Lake KOA
    May. 14, 2024

    Scottsburg/Raintree Lake KOA

    Repeat Visit

    This was a repeat visit. Just as perfect as the first time. Lake was beautiful and staff are always so helpful. They even have an on-site RV Tech that works for them who helped us fix our hot water heater. Very professional young man. We also enjoyed live music at the pavilion, and PIZZA from their new café, it was fabulous. They even have Boba tea.

  • Brett B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Yellowwood State Forest
    Apr. 29, 2024

    Yellowwood State Forest

    Great Camping & Fishing Combo

    Lots 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.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hardin Ridge
    Apr. 14, 2024

    Hardin Ridge

    Hoosier National Forest

    This place is deluxe. Sites are spacious. Good space between campsites. Restrooms are clean. Well maintained facility

    Staff are very friendly and helpful

  • Bob C.
    Camper-submitted photo from Spring Mill State Park
    Apr. 13, 2024

    Spring Mill State Park

    Perfect location for the 2024 eclipse

    In 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.



Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular tent campsite near Columbus, IN?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Columbus, IN is Paynetown Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 29 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find tent camping near Columbus, IN?

    TheDyrt.com has all 15 tent camping locations near Columbus, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.