Are you planning a tent camping trip to De Motte? We've got you covered. The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Tent camping fishmermen's retreat.
Parking Available for guests.
Boat friendly. (Kayak rental Available.)
Season ending December 1st, 2022.
$35 - $50 / night
Davis Creek Campground is available by reservation for chaperoned youth and church groups. All areas require camping permits, available at the park office or from park personnel in state vehicles. Groups of 25 or more are required to obtain a free activity permit from the park office.
Tent Camping Only Must park in lot and walk to campsite Reservations can be made at ExploreMoreIL.com Open Year Round Reservations accepted for March through October
$30 - $80 / night
Indiana Dunes National Park hugs 15 miles (24 km) of the southern shore of Lake Michigan and has much to offer. Whether you enjoy scouting for rare species of birds or flying kites on the sandy beach, the national park's 15,000 acres (6070 ha) will continually enchant you. Hikers will enjoy 50 miles (80 km) of trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers and peaceful forests.
There is no one-size-fits-all trip to the dunes. Each season offers new and different ways to enjoy Indiana Dunes National Park. Spring splashes the river banks of the Heron Rookery with an abundance of colorful wildflowers in this birder's paradise. Lake Michigan summer sunsets paint the skies with vibrant rays that offer a picture-perfect picnic setting. In the fall, Maple trees burst with warm red and golden hues crafting a spectacular backdrop for a hike by the Chellberg Farm and winter brings a scenic canvas of virgin white snow begging for a cross-country skiing adventure in the Glenwood Dunes. As the seasons change, so do the recreational opportunities, park facility operating hours and closures and safety concerns. Here is a list of some of the activities that occur in the National Park: Beach-going & Swimming, Biking, Bird Watching, Camping, Fishing & Boating, Hiking, Geocaching, Historical Sites, Horseback Riding, Interpretive Programs, Picnic, Winter Activities and Guided Tours. Check the Calendar page on our website for our list of Ranger-led programs.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a treasure of diverse natural resources located within an urban setting. The national park features communities that have both scientific and historic significance to the field of ecology. In addition, four National Natural Landmarks (including Pinhook Bog and Cowles Bog ) and one National Historical Landmark (the Bailly Homestead) are located within its boundaries. The park is comprised of over 15,000 acres (6070 ha) of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers, and forests. It contains 15 miles (24 km) of Lake Michigan shoreline spanning the distance from Gary to Michigan City. Lake Michigan is part of the largest complex of freshwater lakes in the world. The national park's beaches are the park's most significant recreational resource. For more information on our natural features visit the Nature and Science page on the park website.
Central Avenue Beach on Lake Michigan is located nearby, less than 5,000 feet (1524 m) from the campground. Several other national park beaches are within easy driving distance. A gas station / convenience store is located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southwest of the campground on U.S. Highway 12. The Beverly Shores South Shore Railroad station with passenger service to Chicago and South Bend is located on Broadway Avenue. Indiana Dunes Tourism and LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau have lists of other activities in the area.
A $10.00 service fee will apply if you modify your reservation or change your stay dates. Cancelling your reservation prior to 11:59 pm Eastern Time two nights before your stay will incur a $10 cancellation fee. Late cancellations (camping reservations cancelled the day before or day of arrival) incur a $10 cancellation fee plus a forfeiture of the first night's use fee. For more information please review Recreation.gov's Rules and Reservations Policies.
$25 / night
Guide
The campground was nice. We did a tent camp site for $32. It had bathrooms with showers and outlets and places to put your stuff. It was clean and quiet. They do have cute cottages you can rent but not sure the cost.
Guide
We tent camped with 8 small kiddos. One if the largest tent sites I’ve been on. There is a small playground, and a pond for swimming and fishing. This campground gets stars from me for the gorgeous and peaceful surroundings, as well as very friendly staff. However, their two flushing toilets and two showers (free) are very outdated with some rusty nails sticking out, and we didn’t see anyone clean anything in the bathrooms for the few days that we were there (which meant a very full garbage and lots of dead bugs everywhere). Ice was an affordable $2 per bag, but bring your own firewood... it was $10 for a few pieces of fallen branches which did not even fit in the firepit. Near the campground is an awesome playground (Lincoln Township Park), as well as an adorable family owned Ice Cream shop (Sycamore Drive-In).
Traveler
I stayed here a couple times camping in a tent. It’s a quiet place, not much to do and very little exploring options. Right across the street is a landfill, but never smelled anything bad.
GuideWe spent the weekend exploring America’s 61st National Park- Indiana Dunes National Park. The National Park campsite was full and recommended this place about 10 minutes away. It was our first time tent camping and the sites were very clean and nice. The bathrooms were also well maintained and camping staff very friendly and helpful.
Guide
You gotta love Indiana dunes national lakeshore! A quick drive from chicago this campsite is a real good place to get away from the city and enjoy the outdoors. It’s one of my favorite places to go within an hour’s drive. The campsite has everything you need. Modern bathrooms and showers, running water. Good for tent camping. It’s clean and a quick drive to a quiet beach at Beverly Shores. I highly recommend!
GuideI prefer this campground a lot more compared to the state park one, especially if tent camping. They have a section of walk in sites that are nicely spread apart, while still only being a few minutes walk to parking and the shower house.
Guide
...although you probably wouldn't want to camp in the Indiana winter. I grew up coming here mostly to sled on the hills! But, there is a lot more to do. It surrounds Worster Lake and there are cabins, RV sites, and tent sites along with horse trails and bike trails. In the winter, there's sledding hills and ice fishing. The campgrounds are pretty standard, nothing special. If you live in the area, it's a fine little getaway.
Guidetook my son on a father son camping trip! normaly i would bring my 32 foot camper but we roughed it for the weekend and tent camped. sites were smooth and level and well taken care of. lots of nice walking and biking trails and a big electric motor only fishing lake and nice beach.
GuideFirst time to Indiana with a quick trip to the Dunes. We were disappointed the state park was full but found this campground close by. The tent sites were very private as we were the only ones there for the night. Plenty of space tucked among the trees. Bathrooms seemed newer and were very clean. The only thing that disappointed us was the lack of COVID precautions. No mask worn by the office worker or wiping down of desk or credit card machine. Would still recommend for the future.
GuideI came for a 4th of July weekend tent camping one year. In my humble opinion I experienced a party type atmosphere with a bunch of season rv type campers. Tight group of people who spend the summers there. If you have a golf cart it seemed popular. Just not our cup of tea but, if it's yours it might be worth checking out.
Guide
Online reservations is a bit confusing. Map designated tent sites with numbers. When you book campsites they have letters with no map or site pics. You have to book a site but it says first come first serve. Good place for fishing from bank and launching kayak, canoes.
Ranger
Seems like a beginner place to go camping. Easy for families with young kids. They have a tent camping section in one area with rooms to leave cars. A boat camp right into the water. A playground. A shelter with plenty of picnic tables to have a fairly large gathering. Pretty cool area to hang out. You need to call to make reservations from the town.
ScoutI had a peaceful stay in a tent site here. I tried an RV resort park first and my site was right next to train tracks and packed in next to the other sites. This spot was more spacious and fairly quiet with good showers. A great place for a stop when visiting the dunes if the park campgrounds are full.
Scout
Stayed here 2 nights in the group tent camping area. Plenty of space to spread out and good firepits. Love the secure entrance and key card access. Pool and bathrooms were clean, although the bathroom could use a slight update. The only complaint of the weekend of the garbage pickup at 11pm, very loud, and the fireworks being set off until after midnight (outside of the campground so out of campgrounds control). Will definitely be back if we are in the area!
Guide
We arrived on a busy July evening without reservations to find a single-nigth cancellation already paid for by a camper who left early. Our luck! We spent the afternoon on the lakeside and drove back to the site to set up for the evening. Our site had a picnic area/firepit a short walk away from the parking area, which is great for tent camping, but less suitable for our camper van. Nonetheless, friendly staff, clean bathrooms, and lots of privacy make this gem worth booking.
GuideCamped here because the dunes campgrounds were full. Very clean and newly renovated. The tent sites were nice and located around the perimeter.
My boys did like that there was a very nice pool.
My only complaint were the showers. The woman’s bathroom was very clean but the showers did not spray out enough of a stream to wash well.
We paid $30 a night for 4 people. when my husband came on Saturday it was an extra $5.
Scout
Hit a little rough patch in life and needed a break from sleeping in the car and hotels . All the staff at the park were very friendly and understanding of our situation. At $20 a nite for tent site ,showers ,clean toilets ,whole park is very clean ! Lots of things to do here and the waterfall was our fav part ! Deff will be back when in the area . Our site was right down the Rd from the waterfall so had a great view !
Scout
Our trip to Camp Sullivan was mostly a test run to determine how our new dog handled camping. The campsites are pretty crowded, you can easily see and hear your neighbors the entire time you're there. The bathroom facilities were clean with an average level of amenities. We tent camped, but could see the cabin grounds which looked nice. However, important to note dogs are not allowed inside the cabins. Overall it was an okay spot to test our dog's temperament, but the closeness, expensive fire wood, and lack of extensive hiking trails means we probably will not return.
GuideWe tent camped for two nights while visiting Indiana Dunes. It’s only 15 minutes away, and nestled into a residential area so it’s a nice option. It’s a pretty big campground and there’s a nice mixture of grassy, tree lined tent spots and more secluded wooded spots in the woods by the creek. Also tons of RV spots. The bathroom and shower facilities were clean and there was a pool, basketball court, volleyball court, and even some cabins. The owner is nice - she’s particular about everybody doing their part to keep the campground safe and clean and has a lot of “mothering” type signs everywhere, but I felt well looked after. The noise is quite jarring for a campground that seems like it would be pretty quiet - constant train traffic, airplane noise, and if it’s windy and you’re near the trees that really adds to it. We are heavy sleepers so it didn’t bother us too much but it could be an issue for the wake prone. All in all we had a nice stay and would stay here again.
TravelerThe campground was full, but not overcrowded. Very friendly neighbors and camp staff. There is a nice nature trail to the beach. If you are able, do the 3 dune challenge. It wasn’t easy for this old body, but I was glad to have marked it off my list. The nature center is right next to the campground. The pavilion is being renovated, the ice cream shop was open, but they were still doing construction on the rest. I hear that it will be grand when finished. I will definitely go back to this campground. I just won’t pick the tent site again. The sand is very dirty there.
TravelerWe brought a large group of friends to tent camp in this camp ground and it was great! We loved the safety of the park, the community around us, and the facilities offered were exactly what we needed. The bath and shower house was a little dirty most of the weekend but given that the campground was full the whole weekend, I am sure the bathrooms got a lot of traffic. There isn’t many trees on the sites so if you are hammock camping, I would suggest not camping here for risk that there aren’t two trees a good distance together. The staff was very friendly and the camp store had just enough supplies. Not too many things, just the necessary stuff.
Scout
We had four sites on Osage loop for tent camping. Two were very small (14&15), and little grass for tent setup, fine for RV or trailer campers. They were private with brush between sites. 16&17 were amazing for tents!! Open, tall trees for our tight rope and hammocks and shade. Grass for tents 16&17 Osage loop also open to 9&10 on Hickory loop. With a lot of space between so no site setup is on top of each other. Wish we knew more about individual site layout. Grills were new. Bathrooms inclu vault were cleanest I’ve seen. Bike path/hike path is long and wide and very nice. We had kids under age 8. River is fast, tried to fish. Stars were out. Had rain Saturday but we all just hang out and manage just fine. Overall, where the loops get close on the map, the sites back up with good space without ground brush - if you’re trying to string together a few sites for a group where you can pass through - also fine for strangers. Biggest spaces. Can add that 13, 6, 5, ,4 Osage are good RV but not good tent.
LegendWe camped here for 3 nights to visit the Dunes National Park.
The campground is privately owned and was almost at the end of the season. There is a check in station at the entrance.
When we arrived we were the only tent campers, so we could pick our spot. Non of the tent sites have electricity or water. Only a few have a picnic table and /or a fire pit. It was basically just a long lawn with numbers on. Some of the sites are in the woods for more privacy.
The RV sites have electricity and water access. Some campers are stored there over the winter months.
The bathhouse was a little out dated but clean during our stay.
You are surrounded by farmland, so we were greeted every morning by donkey braying. It didn't bother us. There are also noises of cars and the train coming through.
The owners are very nice and laid back.
The drive to the national park or state park is about 15 min. The dunes are very impressive and beautiful. If you need something, there are stores, gas stations or restaurants within 10 driving minutes.
I think we would camp her again. No idea how it is during peak season but even with other tent campers around on the last 2 days, it was pretty quiet.
GuideReservations can be made online as of 2019 so expect fewer FCFS sites. This is an always full, very popular campground. Being close to the Indiana Dunes is the draw. The campground does offer shuttles on some days from the campground to the parking lot near the National Lakeshore making it accessible to campers when the beach parking lots are full (every weekend). This is a noisy campground. Surrounded by train tracks they roll through late and early and you will hear them. The property itself needs some serious maintenance and the descriptions for spots are WAY off, with sites being listed as RV that are way too small and the pictures and occasional sizes listed to individual sites are not correct. Our friends have a large pop up and were unable to fit in the spot. Bathrooms closed for cleaning at 8:00am on Sunday morning!!?! Also the Mather loop bathroom showers are DISGUSTING. I think the Mather loop is older and the sites and facilities are more worn out. They desperately need to be power washed. There is mold everywhere. Finally, while I know there has been a ton of rain and there isn’t anything that can be done, the entire area behind our campsite was a cesspool of mosquitos with no maintenance to improve low ground areas. Site 32 described as 35 foot pad, too short and too narrow for large popup camper with pickup. Someone needs to go through and do a better designation as most sites look to be park and tent sites.
GuideWe came in on Sunday at check in time and it was wicked busy as 5 pm check in on Sunday’s is also 5 pm checkout. The spots are pretty level and paved however they are are fairly close to each other and there is no privacy between the spots around you. We don’t mind that however! The facilities are well taken care of and the people in the front office to answer questions and help with check in were really nice.
The only 2 issues I had with our spot (97) we were almost directly in-front of a large dumpster so all day people walk by and throw their trash in. And Monday morning at around 750 the dumpster service came around and that was very loud. Another issue with the campsite is there is a train near the state park. It runs all day it seems but especially in the morning you can hear it from 6 am onward. I don’t particularly mind it but it did wake me up a few times especially if you are tent camping or have pop outs.
The state park has a lot of trails through the swampy woods and out to the dunes which are really cool. Some are 5 miles long while others are .75. There is also a short walk to the actual lake which is nice as well.
All in all this state park is a 4/5! Great hiking trails, predominantly quiet besides the trash and train, friendly neighbors!
Legend
Heading south out of Elkhart, we happened on this great little campground (CG). We called two hours out and they had a site that would fit our 39’ 5th wheel. We followed our RV GPS and Google maps instructions to the city park and CG area. When we came down the road to the CG we were unsure of the CG location, but it is located right behind the interpretive/conference center building. We were in FHU site C, which was technically a pull through. However, you have to turn in front of the interpretive/conference center and go around the building to be able to pull through the site at the back of the building. But, there’s a pine tree that is overgrown and could have scratched the side of our fifth wheel. Since we had already drove past the interpretive/conference center and were in front of site C, we just backed in to the spot, which was an easy back in and easily fit our rig and F-450. We got 3 bars on Verizon and 4 OTA channels, which included CBS and CW prime channels. We walked our pups along the canal and enjoyed the historic displays and buildings in this small park. We were soon joined by the campground hosts who arrived for their 4th season and they were very nice. There are 4 FHU sites of which A is the camp host. All the sites will take rigs up to 40’. There are also electric and tent sites as explained in the CG picture attached. There are walking trails and other interesting exhibits to explore. This CG is definitely a hidden gem. Too bad we only had an overnight stay.
LegendGeneral: Dunewood campground is located within Indiana Dunes National Park, established in 2019 (The national seashore was established in the 1960s). The Park is spread out for many miles along the coast of northern Indiana and depending on the direction you approach the campground from, it can be confusing. We approached from the east and the visitor center is nowhere near the campground and since we arrived after 6 pm, we had no maps or other information. Fortunately, there was cell service, and we went to the NPS app for some information. The campground is divided into two loops plus a walk-in section for a total of 66 sites; all require advance reservations. Don’t confuse it with the nearby state park called Indiana Dunes State Park.
Site Quality/Facilities: The sites are very wooded with sufficient privacy between them. Unfortunately, our site (31) was quite possibly the worst one for a campervan(would not be suitable for an RV at all) but would have made a fantastic tent site(wood stakes separated the“driveway” from the rest of the site). 13 of the 34 sites in the Mather loop were empty both at 7 pm and 7 am the next morning yet since they were all reserved, we were not able to move. The pads were all paved and most of the sites were generous in size. None of the sites have any hookups. We did hear occasional trains passing nearby.
Bathhouse: Large, clean restroom facility with showers, not the norm for national park campgrounds.
Activities: hiking, beach walking. There were some trails that could be accessed from the campground, but we did not explore these. After going to the Visitor Center the next morning and reading the NPS app, we decided to try the Diana Dunes Dare. The story behind this is fascinating but alas, it was humid and buggy, and we could see more rain was on the way so we only did one of the three loops (If you do all three, you can get a sticker). While there is no fee to enter Indiana Dunes National Park, there is an “amenities” fee of $6 per car ($3 if you have the senior pass) from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
We had originally planned to spend two nights here but between the weather and bugs, and our site not working for us, we only spent one night. I would have given this campground three stars based on our personal experience, however, overall, the campground and facilities were well maintained and nice.
Tent camping near De Motte, Indiana, offers a variety of scenic spots perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature.
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