Best Glamping near Ferdinand, IN

I was really surprised that in my 30 years of living in Indiana, I had never been to Marengo Cave. It's both great for kids and adults. The people are super friendly and there are two different parts to explore. The dripslide caverns and the crystal palace cavern. There are extra activities for the kids such as mining and a nice gift shop for any rock lover out there. I highly recommend and they had cabins to camp in as well.

We camp here every time we come to Indiana. We have camped there in a truck camper, and now we tent camp with our Jeep. The sites are large, and there are fire rings available. There are vault toilets and a fresh water pump not far from them. The only time this camp is full is when a trail ride is going on, then it fills up fast. It is only five miles from Paoli, and there is a Walmart there if you need supplies..

 I have tried to contact corporate and been ignored.. We  stayed at the Rudolph campsite in Santa Claus Indiana like I stated before we would like a refund for one night and one night of the golf cart as we wound up leaving.  the toilet seat was cracked, which pinched me and one of my Children left marks, there were also mouse droppings in the drawer where the silverware was and stains on the sheets. I have pictures of all this and since nobody has contacting us, I will give it until Monday morning and then I will have my attorney contact them with all the pictures since they don’t want to do anything about this and then I will also be posting with the Better Business Bureau and attaching all the pictures.

Celina Recreation Area is located in Hoosier National Forest near Branchville, IN off IN37. My drive in took me first through the rolling hills of upper Kentucky farmland, than across the Ohio River into Cannelton, IN where I found a sweet Winery named Blue Heron with excellent views and an awesome host/owner. There is a wine trail through the lower Indiana area that might interest you (Hoosier Wine Trail) if that’s your kinda sightseeing . 

Tell City is where you might want to stop and get your supplies, there’s the usual fast food, gas stations and Wally World. The area Ranger Station is also in Tell City but it is closed on the weekends.

We took IN37 which runs down the middle more or less of Hoosier NF. There is a zip-line “Eagles Wings” and a Citgo fuel stop enroute to the Celina RA.

Once you turn into the Recreation Area Celina Lake and the two campgrounds (North Face Loop and South Slope Loop) are to the left, Indian Lake is straight. 

Indian Lake is accessed by a basic boat ramp with parking only. I liked the fact that there are several parking pull offs along the road to the ramp to park and access the Two Lakes Trail which meanders around both lakes covering about 15 miles in all. The trail is moderate, technical but not too steep, a good workout. You can disperse camp for 5$ a night as long as you are 300 ft off the trail. 

Celina Lake boat ramp has more to offer. There is a pit toilet and small picnic area in a small shaded grassy area between the parking area and boat ramp access road. 

The parking area is handicap accessible with a small fishing pier that can be reached directly from the handicap parking spot. 

The Rickenbaugh Historic family home and cemetery are located in the far side of the boat ramp with a kiosk and 1 mile Interpretive trail that tells the story of the area.

We enjoyed the trails which is where we spent most of our time, sight seeing and communing with the crazy number of ticks present and hitching rides. 

The boat dock was pretty busy though quiet due to the electric motor restriction. 

The lake is good size, you could paddle to an area and disperse camp to fish or just enjoy the area. 

The two campgrounds were well maintained with helpful live in hosts. North is Basic and South is RV with electric hook up. The dump station is south on IN37 near Tipsaw Lake. Both offer good shade and privacy. They were very peaceful . I liked North more then South the North sites were further apart offering the most privacy and quiet.

Family had a blast here! Sites are on top of each other so be prepared when navigating and backing in. Site are level and full hook up. Tons to do and Holiday World is a shuttle ride away. Great family fun!

Nice campground, but the prices are high, even higher during the Halloween season. They need to reconsider their prices.

Great anemities and close proximity to attractions. Visit during the Halloween season for tons of family fun.

awesome, clean, family friendly, full of activity’s one of our favorite campgrounds hands down.

Such a wonderful family oriented campground with excellent amenities. Pets are allowed and the sites are gravel or concrete. Relax at the pool, enjoy mini golf, playing at the game room, mining for gems, or shooting some hoops. There is also a shuttle that will take you to Holiday World. Don’t have an RV? Not an issue, choose a cabin, cottage, or stay in one of the rental RVs. They offer restrooms, showers, heat, kitchens and a lot more.

Very nice campground. Had the whole place to our selves a couple of nights. Concrete level sites. Pond to fish in and huge dog run, but not to close to a large number of sites. Definitely will be back. 

Perfect for families. Lots to do, clean facilities, friendly staff. We will be back!

Sites are close together. 33-P is terrible. Took me an hour and an engineering degree to get it leveled safely.

Our spot was great and didn’t require much leveling. We did get a deluxe spot. However we only got the spot because at the others were sold out. Many of the other Spots were on hills and right on top of each other. Driving in and out was a bit challenging mainly because a lot of people parked their vehicles/golf carts at the edge of the road or partly on it. Just about everyone we encountered was nice and friendly.

This is a great location near the lake, dog park and community center and has excellent internet access.

If you're looking for a nice quiet peaceful campground, this is not it! It's a fun, family centered, campground. There is SO much to do just within the campground itself (for all ages) People rent the golf carts and decorate them with various themes. Clean camp ground, nice people one thing I didn't like was that you had to pay extra for the water slides and play area with in the campground. If my boys have anything to say about it we will definitely be back.

We chose this campground due to its proximity to Holiday World and its family friendly atmosphere.

The Bad: We took our 5 and 3 year old daughters for their first camp out with the plan to do Holiday World the next day. This place has golf carts zipping all over all hours of the day and night. Apparently it is the thing to do to decorate golf carts with bright lights, blairing music, and megaphones. They even has a golf cart parade that went from 8:30-10:40pm and included thrown candy that ran about 30 feet from our tent! There was no privacy between sites, constant noise, and trash all over the ground! As an advocate for leave no trace camping, I was completely disgusted with the amount of trash on the ground at our camp site.

The Good (there was some): The shuttle to Holiday World was great, the staff were friendly, they have a great mini golf course that the girls loved, a top notch playground, and scheduled kuds activities (many are free). they also have a pool and water slides, but i cant comment on those as we did not try them.

At the end of the day, we had a great trip. but if i were to stay here again it would have to be a more secluded camp site without the constant buzz of golf carts. And I sure hope the amount of trash we saw was a fluke.

This campground is so much fun. Great for families with kids and dogs. There is so much to do we rarely leave. Pizza,ice cream, camp store, pool, water slides, mini golf... They have scheduled events under the pavilion throughout the day. Nights are ended with golf glow parades or family movie night under the pavilion.