Looking for tent camping near Decatur? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Decatur, Indiana's most popular destinations.
Each site is in a wooded, shaded area with a flat area on the ground to place a large tent. Each site has its own fire ring and a small wooden table. There is cut firewood in several locations in the woods for all to use, and ample twigs etc on the ground for kindling (do not cut any trees or branches off trees). There are maintained trails with river access for kayaks. There is a single bathroom with flush toilet and sink with running water that is a short walk away. There is an outdoor shower at bathroom, with a water hose available as well. Foster Park is a short bike ride away where you will find greenway trails that run throughout Fort Wayne (ride your bike to downtown!!)
Link to Trails Maps
fwtrails.org
Need to rent a bike or kayak:
fwoutfitters.com/#
$18 - $25 / night
Traveler
There is a Waterpark, pool, and hot tub at this campground you can access for an additional price. I camped in a tent next to the cabin that my sister rented so I'm not sure about the tent sites that are available. There are ALOT of full time campers here so I was under the impression that a good site will be hard to find here, but the bathrooms were good and there were things to do so I will try this place out again.
Traveler
I really enjoyed camping here!! We camped in a tent had a fire went hiking found little waterfalls and there is another part that allows horses!!
Traveler
They have lots of hiking, biking, and boating. They have cabins, rob hook ups, and tent camping.
Traveler
Second time out love this place has a swimming pool and splash pad for the kids and lots of parks and horseshoe pits bike rentals and put put golf but everything is closed from covid definitely my favorite place to camp primitive or electric tent camp
Guide
Although it states in the app free dispersed camping. Doesn't always mean just that. The cheapest campsite at primitive camping is $12 bucks. (Tent sites) For more, you can get electric hookup sites galore that all include a fire ring picnic table and a pretty leveled out spot.
TravelerCampground at Chain O Lakes State Park is a moderately wooded campground with standard sites. Some camping sites are more private than others and caters to RVs since many of sites are not level. They have a primitive loop with flat sites which makes for great tent camping. The beach is a fun activity for the kids and there are several lakes linked together via narrow creeks which can used by canoes and kayaks.
Ranger
We stayed here for free for 10 days as a part of a promotion that came with the purchase of our rig. Not sure about normal pricing though, as this campground is owned by Venture Out Resorts and they are a timeshare company (we had to sit for a hour long "pitch" to get our free days). They have 50amp, full hookup, pull through sites (and we saw 40+ ft rigs there) to tent camping to cabin rentals. The campground was clean (shower houses always looked great) and grounds were maintained. Amenities include an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna (close at 10p), but we did not partake because it was so overridden by children, chlorine, and no open windows - didn't seem worth any effort whatsoever in the July heat. The amenities we did checkout (close nightly at 8p) included their new 18 hole mini golf course, small arcade (4 games and pinball was broken 😢), loaner bikes, and water toys (we liked the paddle bikes). The company recently bought the property, so you can see what they inherited vs what it will probably eventually be like based off their sister properties (they recently added the putt putt and a big jungle gym) so it could evolve more as time passes. Regardless, in its current state as active 30 somethings, we were pretty bored. No hiking, significant highway noise, yes a couple big ponds, but a truck stop and truck storage is behind both - so no views. Most of the campers we saw were elderly or had young kids. I'd say if you fall into a category where you want to sit beside your rig all day or want your kids entertained (playgrounds, kids programming - it was luau week so they had a Moana movie night and other kid activities), go on and book a longer stay. If you're only looking for a spot to stay overnight by the highway, do it! It is simple to pull in and have full hookups to take advantage of but a 10 day stay is too long if you're paying. Other things to know: Walmart, Aldi, Lowes, and several automotive chain stores are at max 5 min away, which made grabbing some needed supplies super easy. That said truck stop above was very convenient to get into to fuel up our rig too. Fun fact: Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum is also a max 5 min drive away if you want to get your inner astronaut fix.
Traveler
Cash only self check in on sight. Very small campground. About 20 electric and 20 tent. Level gravel lots. Not any hiking really, mostly fishing and boating. Nearby town for supplies.
Guide
As far as Indiana parks goes, this is a hidden gem. We have camped here many times. Even the trails we frequent always seem new because each season offers a different kind of beauty.
TravelerMet up with 18 other skoolies our first Indiana meet. Met great people had a fantastic time. Great park kids swam, showers are clean. Electric at sites but water isn’t but very close by.
Scout
This is one of the best parks we have been to in Indiana. We Volunteer all over our the USA at State Parks and National Forest. So we know what to look for. Friendly people to answer questions plenty to do. And affordable.
Traveler
Escaped to this little place on the outskirts of Fort Wayne, Indiana and it was absolutely worth it. Everyone was nice including the neighboring campers. Most importantly, everything was kept very clean. We loved the fact that fur babies are allowed in. However, they are not allowed in the water or near the beach. Next time we will have to try the zip-lines! We definitely will be repeat campers❤️.
TravelerGreat camping experience! The bathrooms are in great shape as well as the showers. The camp store is nice with many useful items. Lots seem to be well kept. The best thing about chain o lakes in my opinion is the fish cleaning station. I've been to a handful of Indiana State Parks and have yet to see one of these stations. Makes a fisherman's life so much easier!
Traveler
They really need to focus on how to keep tent campers coming back instead of focusing on the seasonal campers. No grass. Tiny spots. Not enough restrooms. Not enough showers. Sad part is, there is only one restroom and it is 9 times out of 10, too disgusting to use. We will continue coming back once a year, but wish it was nice enough to come back even more than that. The fireworks were amazing though!
ScoutDirty restrooms. Dirty lake. You have to pay extra to use the slide. Camp sites have been cut in half. Only 1 bathhouse/restrooms all the eay in the front at the beach. On the 2nf day we did find a porta potty in the back but it was nasty and everyone refused to use it. Manager was rude when i could not fit my car, tent (10x20), table and fire ring on out site. Told me o had to move my tent 1 foot over after it was already set up and loaded with beds. She left and I pulled it down and restaked just in time for her to vome and look disappointed that i had followed her order to pull it down and said i did not have to do that. The site was mostly dirt very little to no grass. When it rained we had nothing but mud. Hay rides on the weekend were late and the man driving it went way to fast down the back hill making you feel you were about to fall out. Employees childrwn throwing water on the people riding the hay ride. Someone went around fogging for mosquitos and allowed the children to run and play in the fog. Karaoke lady was extremely rude to all the children.
Scout
Blue Lake Resort is a hidden gem for campers! The serene atmosphere and beautiful lake views make it a perfect getaway. The amenities are well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and accommodating. I particularly enjoyed the fishing opportunities and the peaceful nature trails nearby. I actually recently wrote an essay about the natural beauty of Indiana for my geography class, and it was really great to have the helpfull resource https://stateofwriting.com/uk/geography-writing-service. They have some great guides and tips for geography essays.
Definitely a place I’d recommend for families and nature lovers!
Guide
This campground is almost completely filled with mini homes that occupy the grounds year round. The residents flock to open them at the beginning of summer and stay as late as November. You are welcome to bring your tent or camper and you will notice the close knit community environment. This is not a place for hiking, or kayaking but there are many other amenities such as game rooms, basketball courts, splash pads and a pool for children.
ScoutThe the campground at self is very clean and easy to navigate. I was not particularly happy with my campsite it was a lot smaller space for my tent then what look like in the picture. I would like to see them improve their trails and have better directional signs as to which path is which. When we went to rent canoes and paddle boats they only have the generic canoes and no paddle boats where in working order. We spoke with the naturalist and volunteered our time she was absolutely fantastic. I would definitely go back.
Legend
When researching our trip, I came upon this state park right on the Maumee River and was very surprised to find it had not been previously reviewed. The website indicated the sites were tent only but when I called, I was told we could park and sleep in our campervan. When I tried to make reservations, there was a two-night minimum on the weekends and we were just passing through so I decided to see if we might be able to snag one night if there were sites available.
There is a two-mile road to the campsites once you enter the park and along the way, we passed many pull-out day-use picnic areas on nicely manicured grounds. Once we reached the campsites, there seemed to be less attention paid to the area. Turns out that there were only a very few sites that had paved pads that would accommodate our van; the rest were clearly for tents only (but there was no way to tell this from the website). Even though I had seen that about half of the sites were reserved, there was no one there at 4:30 on a Friday. There did not seem to be any staff or rangers on-site and there is self-registration. The rates seemed kind of steep ($19 on weekdays; $20 weekends and $22 on holiday weekends) for sites with no hookups and only porta-potties. We saw some people fishing near the dam and perhaps the campground would be suitable for these folks and/or people boating/kayaking in who portage down the river (there is a marina) but it just did not feel like a place we wanted to camp.
TravelerWe stayed at site #99 which is fairly easy to find and somewhat secluded from the main camper section of the campground. The site and neighboring sites are non-electric which makes you have to be creative if you need an air mattress. The site is partial sun midafternoon. The campground can get busy and loud but for the most part everyone was was respectful of others.
Chain is perfect for kayaking and canoeing with 9 connected lakes and 11 total. A couple lakes are perfect for boat fishing as long as you have an electric motor only. Overall, in my opinion, this is one of the more underrated state parks in Indiana. Worth the trip up north away from the more popular parks in the southern part of the state.
ScoutWooded, grassy, all conveniences, friendly, huge playground for kids yet it offers peaceful enjoymentl so what more can you ask for while camping🐟🤩 Close to small town, Albion with a great brew pub, scenically Historic Courthouse and little shops one small grocery also straight due South appx 15mi is another Historic Courthouse in Columbia City offering a bit more retail. As mentioned, boat rentals & the fishing is very rewarding with great tasting panfish and an inside fish cleaning station of clean & no bugs convenience. Sandy beach swimming with hot showers and snack shack. Bird watching is a must for me giving me a real sense of peace and fulfillment! Happy travels and enjoy our green country of lakes and farms in NE Indiana 💞
LegendWe were a bit surprised that despite having a paid reservation , we still had to pay a $20 Day usage fee to enter the park, but no matter. This is a sprawling and sometimes confusing campground to find your way in. But the sites are generally shady if a bit close together. There are five facilities with showers and running water and six pit toilets. drinking water is accessible throughout the park.
The majority of sites have six person tables, though some, especially in the new 385-416 loop have little four person tables. These are also the least shaded.
Campground and facilities are clean and well maintained.
The General Store is one of the most impressively well stocked I have ever seen. Equipment, toys, tools, food souvenirs, you name it. Good dry firewood is $6.50 a bundle in the store, $7 on the honor system after hours. It burns fast, so you might want to buy more than you think. The store is open until 9:00 Friday & Saturday, but only 2;PM on Sunday and never on Monday. Keep that in mind if you're doing a 3-day weekend as we did. When checking out, look up to see the beautiful wooden canoe with wildlife inlaid wood.
Fire pits are mostly round iron with non-adjustable swing-away grills. Booking is through Indiana DNR/ Reserve America so you can see photos of the site you pick.
This was our second experience with an Indiana state park, and like our first (Pokagon, in the winter) we were impressed with the clear marking of the hiking trails (and canoe trail for that matter) there was a map and guidepost at every junction.
There's a beach, concession stand and boat rentals on Sand lake, the Park's largest. Lastly, there's a fish cleaning shed with running water outside the campground entrance that anyone in the park can use, something I wish more parks would provide.
ScoutKil-so-qauh, used to be a little hidden gem right outside of town but has turned into quite a popular place, but for good reason. The campground accommodates both luxury rv campers and more rustic private tent or hammock goers like myself. Entering the camping area there is a lush grass opening with large campsites with water and electric hook ups for the RV folk. There are also 2 nice play grounds in this area as well. Continuing down the road you begin to enter the woods which is non electric sites with plenty of trees to make your weekend private and to the right is an overlook of Roush Lake where you can watxh the sunset set the water on fire. There are no fantastic bathrooms just pit toilets but easy get away is worth it.
*I've camped here every season but if you dont like crowds, make sure to avoid the summer holidays.
Guide
First, the lake here is beautiful. It has many islands, coves and inlets and is perfect for a couple of days of paddling or fishing. That's where the two stars come in.
BUT. There are many buts. The campground is like a giant RV lot. The sites are tiny. We were in a tent-only site and we had two families right on top of us on either side. We could hear the entire conversations of one family, plus there were 11 people there, three cars, and they were partying the first night and extremely noisy.
The reservation map is incorrect. When I reserved, it showed #13 as being on the end of the tent only area. When we arrived, I found out there was a site #14 that wasn't even pictured on the reservation map, and this is where the giant screaming family was parked! I thought I was going to be on the end- it is not very accommodating for a variety of reasons for a reservation map to be so incorrect.
The air everywhere reeks of sewage, ranging from what you smell outside a giant pig farm, to what you smell outside of a porta potty, to rotten egg smell. I don't know where these smells were coming from but it was nonstop.
The bathrooms were extremely dirty. It looks like they haven't been renovated since the 80s.
The employees in the office never seemed to be able to tell us what we needed to know. We asked on Friday evening where the Saturday morning naturalist paddle would be, and we were told to come back Saturday morning and ask someone else. On Saturday, the person in the office told us to go to a location that was miles away- we spent 40 minutes in the car driving around, trying to find where this activity was, only to give up and find out it was actually adjacent to the campground, not down the road in a different part of the park.
Last, the lake is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. You can see houses around the edge of the park while you are sitting in your campsite. It is not remote, and there is a noisy, busy highway running along the side of the campground.
I enjoyed the lake but I will not camp here again.
Traveler
You're learning to backpack the Buckeye Trail, and you want to take the first steps towards that without worrying about the physical load you're going to have to carry. You can drop the tent on this portion! This Adirondack shelter, located between Points 6 and 7 on the St. Mary's Section of the Buckeye Trail, is perfect for you. Built as an Eagle Scout project by Parker and Keaton Cole of Troop 95 (in Sidney), it is large enough for six or to sleep comfortably off the ground. You cannot miss it as you go along the trail. There is a fireplace (stone, make sure you check that the chimney is not blocked) large enough to cook your hotdogs and keep you happy as you sit in the shelter. There is deadfall from the trees around you that will serve as kindling and fuel for the fire. If you start in Lockington or Fort Loramie, this shelter is approximately 10 miles in and the right place to break a two-day backpacking trip.
RangerWe had a really great time. Good cell coverage. Lots of security, playgrounds, well kept trails, a beach, general store. This place is MASSIVE. You will need to pay a one time entry fee 9 for out of state, 7 for in state. After you check into the campsite you will have a pass. We got a space with direct access to a huge playground, but it was closed for Covid. Major bummer. There are LOTS and LOTS of playgrounds so we had a lot of temper tantrums from my normally very well behaved toddler. He goes days and days without fussing but seeing playgrounds he can't use is too much, lol The swimming area is great for kids. They have lots of stuff for sale. I posted pictures so you can budget. Overall this place was perfect, the only downside is the temporary closures. A Walmart Supercenter is 30 minutes away. The general store really has anything(including tents) that you might need but it's overpriced as you would expect. We were able to stay on property all 5 days! Extra bonus! We were here on Memorial Day and we saw 0 people on a morning hike.
Guide
Great little State Park. Nice clean camp sites. Plenty of trails to hike and a nice little lake to enjoy. Will definitely come back here
Tent camping near Decatur, Indiana offers a variety of options for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. From serene riverside spots to well-equipped facilities, there's something for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Decatur, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Decatur, IN is River Camp Fort Wayne with a 3-star rating from 1 review.
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TheDyrt.com has all 4 tent camping locations near Decatur, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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