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Best Tent Camping near Ellettsville, IN

536 Reviews

Tent campsites throughout the Charles C. Deam Wilderness and Morgan-Monroe State Forest provide primitive camping options near Ellettsville, Indiana. These established public lands offer various tent camping experiences within a 30-minute drive from town. Oak Ridge Camping Area in Morgan-Monroe State Forest features secluded tent sites with minimal development, while the Charles C. Deam Wilderness provides more remote backcountry camping opportunities along hiking trails and near Lake Monroe.

Most tent-only areas feature basic amenities like fire rings and picnic tables, though facilities vary significantly between locations. Morgan-Monroe's primitive sites include vault toilets and outdoor wash stations with potable water available, while backcountry sites in Charles C. Deam Wilderness lack facilities entirely. According to one visitor, "This place is the gift that keeps giving being so close to the city. Beautiful sites on the lake, and dozens of other spots scattered throughout the forest as well." Campers should note that firewood gathering policies differ between locations—Morgan-Monroe allows collection of downed wood while other areas may restrict this practice.

Backcountry tent camping in the region offers opportunities for solitude and direct connection with nature. Sites in the Oak Ridge area remain relatively uncrowded even during peak seasons, with tent pads situated on dirt or gravel surfaces under forest canopy. The trail system throughout Charles C. Deam Wilderness provides access to numerous walk-in tent locations along creeks and ridgelines. A camper noted that "We love this area for roughing it. We usually choose a site far back into the wilderness area. The sites are primitive with no amenities." Dispersed camping is permitted in designated areas of the wilderness, allowing tent campers to find secluded spots away from developed campgrounds. Most sites accommodate standard tent setups with level ground for pitching, though some backcountry locations may require more careful site selection.

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Best Tent Sites Near Ellettsville, Indiana (14)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Ellettsville, IN

13 Photos of 14 Ellettsville Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Ellettsville, IN

536 Reviews of 14 Ellettsville Campgrounds

  • Jim L.
    Aug. 31, 2017

    Hardin Ridge

    Hospitable Woods Experience

    This campground is nestled on a ridge above Indiana's Lake Monroe. The wooded sites include a fire-ring, a pole for your lantern and generous flat graveled areas to pitch your tent, as well as a couple of picnic tables per site. There are pleanty of RV sites with electric hookup available as well. Each area of the campground has a knowlegeable courteous full time host, and ice is available at the main gate. Foraging for wood is allowed which is a definite bonus in this era of emerald ash-borer awareness and wood import restrictions. The plentiful raccoons seem almost tame, yet keep a safe distance from campers if you allow them to. There is a small beach to beat the summer heat, and nearby showerhouses (even in the non-electric sites) are kept clean with adequately warm water. There is a small interpretive hike with approximately 300 feet of elevation change situated near the ampitheater that can be completed in a couple of hours.

  • E
    Jul. 14, 2022

    Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    Great pool; rough sites and campers

    Pros: Very nice large-size pool with slide, attached playground, green space, and sand-filled soccer pitch all included on the pool grounds. These amenities are great as the pool takes a 15 minute clear-out break about once per hour. There is a concession stand with limited selection, but the benefit is that it takes credit card (and cash). 

    The camp store is not the best we've visited. Very limited supply, but they did keep a stock of bacon in their refrigerator and that made my wife happy. 

    Cons: Typical Indiana State campground. We visited for a weekend and landed in a terrible spot. The grade was severe and despite using all the travel trailer tricks to level my site, I could not get level. We dealt with it, but I noticed 4 or 5 quality spots that sat vacant through the weekend, however, were allegedly reserved. I had terrible anxiety for the entire weekend that we would roll backward into a ravine. 

    We were on an electric side of the park, and the pull-through site across from us was occupied by a tent with a minivan. No judgment here, but they were watching highly taboo movies on a wide screen projector with loud speakers around midnight, well after quiet hours had expired. 

    Verizon and AT&T cell phone service were nil, even with a booster and WiFi pack. Our site was littered with cellophane wrappers and cigarette butts. Clearly the previous campers did not adhere to the "leave no trace" doctrine. 

    DNR was very, very present at the campground, but at many sightings it seemed like they were watching for rule infractions as opposed to upholding the integrity of the park. I know that seems conflicting, but if you visit this park you will understand. 

    Bathrooms were mostly clean. Vault toilets were disgusting, but that's expected for concrete topped port-a-potties.

  • Jennifer T.
    Jul. 31, 2018

    Fowler County Park

    Wonderful Family Campgrounds

    Shaded campground sites at lake's edge on east side of park, 53 electrical hookups including 1 pull-thru, 14 primitive/tent sites. Fire ring and picnic table at each site. Water hydrants nearby. Modern shower houses with rest rooms. Handicapped accessible. Dump station. Pets are welcome but must be kept on leash. Must provide own firewood. Firewood must be purchased from within state. Fishing from campsite. In park, swimming beach (Memorial Day-weekend before school opens in fall), boat ramp, trails, playgrounds, horseshoe pits, pioneer village.

    Campground open May 1 - October 15. Park open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. No reservations. Must check-in between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Night guard on duty. Electrical sites - $20 a night, weekly rate - $120, 2 weeks rate - $200. Primitive sites - $12 a night, weekly rate - $60, 2 weeks rate - $100. Price includes Indiana Sales Tax.

    From I-70, go south on U.S. 41 for 7.2 miles. Turn left onto Oregon Church Road and go .8 mile east to park entrance on left. After entering park, turn right to go to campground.

    Personal Thoughts and Experience: We had a wonderful time. We absolutely loved the pioneer village. it is a must go especially when they are having pioneer days in the fall. There is a mountain bike park close to the campground that is a premier facility. Beginner to advance trails with a practice course. Amazing! My husband competes in the Dyno series and loves to train at the facility then camp at Fowler Park!

  • D
    Jul. 17, 2019

    Charles C. Deam Wilderness

    A couple nights on the sycamore trail

    Wonderful place. Excellent trail following a nice little stream along the one side. Being in a national forest dispersed camping is allowed if you follow leave no trace principals, but I stayed in a couple of the official sites. The official sites all had rock fire rings and bushcraft furniture.

    The one negative was I did have to pack out previous campers trash along with my own. Being close to the college there was evidence that less than mature campers may frequent the area. That being said once on trail I didn’t see another soul past a couple hundred feet of the trail head and only heard a pair of hikers on the trail pass my camp site as I ate my breakfast the one morning.

    A wonderful backpacking area!

  • Randy M.The Dyrt PRO User
    May. 13, 2023

    Happy Campers Campground

    Off the beaten path by a lake

    See all 3

    Approx $35 / day

    Happy Campers Campground

    5.0 (1 reviews)

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    Roam with care

    Remember to enjoy these campgrounds in a sustainable, respectful way. Clean up after yourself, be friendly with others, and don't overstay your welcome :)

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    Got it

    Details

    Call 812-239-6263 for reservation. Plan to arrive before dark.

    5 full hook-up sites, 1 primitive site, and one primitive cabin. On a lake stocked with fish. Port-a-potty and shower house available.

    Location

    Contact

    39.4931, -87.0188

    https://happycamperscampgroundinc.com

    Cell signal

    Verizon LTE

    AT&T LTE

    T-Mobile LTE

    Sprint LTE

    Weather

    Averages

    Forecast

    Jan

    2.57"

    34.6°

    16.8°

    Feb

    2.48"

    39.6°

    20°

    Mar

    3.39"

    50.5°

    28.6°

    Apr

    3.99"

    62.9°

    39.4°

    May

    5.41"

    72.4°

    49.3°

    Jun

    4.67"

    81.1°

    58.7°

    Jul

    5.19"

    84.2°

    61.7°

    Aug

    3.37"

    83.2°

    60.2°

    Sep

    3.73"

    77.3°

    52.3°

    Oct

    3.49"

    65°

    41.2°

    Nov

    3.98"

    52°

    31.8°

    Dec

    3.26"

    38.3°

    20.7°

    Seasonal scales

    Spring

    Summer

    Fall

    Winter

    Crowdedness

    Others between 10 and 50 feet away

    Fullness

    Almost full

    Noise

    Occasional man-made noise (trains, cars, etc...)

    Shade

    Mostly shaded, but still some spots with sunlight

    Cleanliness

    Pristine, no trash at all

    Safety

    Very safe

    Road difficulty

    No problems with any vehicle

    Features and amenities

    Water hookup

    Sewer hookup

    50A Electric

    Showers

    Picnic tables

    Toilets

    Pets allowed

    Wifi

    Fire pits

    randyorsusan

    Great place to stop overnight or for a few days. Can hear the highway; but it's not very loud or intrusive. Camp host/owner is very friendly. Plenty of room for kids or pets to roam and play. Very clean and safe.

  • Mary S.
    Sep. 8, 2018

    Mccormick's Creek State Park Campground

    Beautiful state park but sites are too close/visible to each other

    There is just one thing that keeps me from rating this a 5 star campground. It's the sites!  So....4 stars...but read on for my thoughts on the sites.

    What's up with these sites?

    • If you want to be be able to see what your neighbors are eating and hear their conversations, you'll love the electric sites (1 through 189).

    • If you like to feel like you're alone in the woods, you won't like most of the electric sites. 

    • There is a partial solution. Sites 190-202 have no electricity, but most are fairly private/secluded. Sites 203-222 are additional primitive sites on a loop but they are not at all private; you can see lots of neighboring sites. There's a lot of shade, but you could probably set up solar panels if you require electricity.

    • If you want privacy in the electric section (1-189), I don't have a great recommendation other than you should stay on the outside of the loops. Then you'll only have people beside you rather than beside and across from you.

    Good luck! Stay one night when there aren't many people and scope out sites for your next stay. If you're from the area, this could be a park worth returning to over and over if you are able to stay on a site you enjoy.

    I've included a map of sites 1-189 and photos that show some sites I like and sites I don't like. In my opinion, a site is not one for me if I can see 3 other picnic tables while sitting at the table at my site. If you camp with other families, this would be good because you can make your own 'group' site.

    Something you need to know: Indiana state parks have a $7 entry fee but you'll only pay it once (unlike some states that make you pay every day). It's supposed to be $9 for non-residents, but we were only charged $7. The hang tag for your vehicle will get you in the main entrance for the rest of your stay.

    If you come without a reservation: The registration attendant assigned a site to us but maybe you can choose one. Since it was the day after Labor Day and the park was sparsely populated, there was no one near us. Privacy was not an issue for our stay, but we wouldn't have enjoyed our site on a busy weekend...although there were many sites we would have liked even less.

    The basics: picnic tables, fire rings, dump station, potable water, flush toilets and sinks in the bathrooms, separate shower facility. There are vault toilets closer to sites 190-222. Sites 1-189 have electricity.

    Activities: Nearby swimming pool and playground. There are almost 11 miles of hiking trails. The longest one is 2 miles, but you can combine some trails and wander in the woods for quite a while. You can also wade in McCormick's Creek; the water was low in early September. You can stay busy in this park for quite a while. And if you want to go to Bloomington, it's only about 25 minutes away

  • Daisy C.
    Jun. 5, 2020

    Yellowwood State Forest

    Quiet, Peaceful, and Primitive

    Yellowwood state forest campground does not accept reservations. It is first come, first served. Drive up, select your site, and then go to the park office to pay using a self-pay envelope. Bring exact change(cash). Current prices are listed on the Indiana DNR website. The park office does have firewood for sale, but only during open hours, which are limited. There is no camp store, no playgrounds, and no pool. Swimming is not allowed in Yellowwood lake. Each site has a fire ring with grill grate and picnic table. There are four campground loops and a horseman’s campground. Campgrounds have vault toilets and drinking water access. I do not know if water is turned on year-round. There are no modern restrooms. Sites are wooded and fairly level. All sites are primitive. We have only tent camped at Yellowwood, so I can’t say what size travel trailers would fit in the sites. Yellowwood road changes over to gravel once you enter the state forest. It is well maintained. You can also access the forest by Jackson Creek road, but you’re on gravel for longer, and I seem to remember it being a bit rougher. We have camped at Yellowwood several times between 2011-2018. The only time we have ever seen the campground busy is over big holiday weekends like Labor Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July. Otherwise use is light. We have several times been one of two or three campers in the loop. Several trails are nearby in the state forest, including the Tecumseh Trail. Horse trails are also available. Yellowwood lake is adjacent to the campground and there is a boat ramp, but there are limitations on boating(motor size). Check with the DNR website. Camp here if you like quiet, peaceful camping. You won’t run into a bunch of loud partiers.

  • G
    Jun. 28, 2019

    Oak Ridge Camping Area — Morgan-Monroe State Forest

    Quiet, just right!

    I’ve camped here several times and have always enjoyed it. When tent camping and want something quiet and a place with great trails, this is a good place to go. Even though it’s hot outside today, there’s lots of shade and a breeze. At this campground, there are two areas of pit toilets, and a big outdoor sink. Fire wood and maps can be obtained just up the road at the new Morgan Monroe headquarters. A self pay station is set up there. You select your site, set up, then go pay. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and plenty of room for tenting with most sites big enough for a trailer. There’s a playground at the entrance of Mason Ridge campground and a fire tower.

  • Shelly S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 26, 2017

    Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    In the woods

    Lieber State Recreation Area, Cloverdale, IN is west down I70 from Indianapolis, 2 miles down RT243. Cagles Mill Lake borders the southwestern side of the area.

    We arrived to a very quiet campground with few campers. Our site was next to the showerhouse, in the trees and had an attached grass trail out the back. All of the campsites boasted two picnic tables and some were very spacious. The sites were electric only and there were water sites positioned strategically throughout the campground.

    The showerhouse was older but maintained. There were also pit toilets throughout the campground( not much to say about typical pit toilets....)

    There were primitive sites in the adjacent campground that did not have much tree cover but appeared to be good size sites to set up in.

Guide to Ellettsville

If you're looking for tent camping near Ellettsville, Indiana, there are several great options that offer a mix of natural beauty and outdoor activities.

Tent campers should check out Paynetown Campground

  • Located on the shores of Lake Monroe, Paynetown Campground is a popular spot for boating and fishing, making it ideal for water enthusiasts.
  • The campground features basic amenities like drinking water and pit toilets, ensuring a comfortable stay without the frills.
  • With a vibrant atmosphere, it's known for being lively, especially during summer weekends, perfect for those who enjoy a social camping experience.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities at Morgan-Monroe State Forest

  • Oak Ridge Morgan-Monroe State Forest offers well-maintained sites with drinking water and picnic tables, making it a convenient choice for families.
  • The campground has a dump station and allows campfires, enhancing the traditional camping experience.
  • Visitors can enjoy the tranquility of nature while having access to hiking trails that wind through the beautiful forest.

Tent campers like these nearby activities at Charles C. Deam Wilderness

  • Charles C. Deam Wilderness is perfect for those who love hiking, with trails leading to scenic lakes and hidden camping spots.
  • The area is known for its diverse wildlife and beautiful landscapes, making it a great choice for nature lovers and photographers.
  • Campers can explore the forest and discover unique geological features, including an abundance of geodes along the trails.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Ellettsville, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Ellettsville, IN is Oak Ridge Camping Area — Morgan-Monroe State Forest with a 4.1-star rating from 9 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 14 tent camping locations near Ellettsville, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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