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Camping near Freetown, IN
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Camping options in the Freetown, Indiana area range from developed facilities to dispersed sites within nearby state parks and forests. The region includes Starve Hollow State Recreation Area, offering tent, RV, and cabin camping with electric hookups and water access, while Jackson Washington State Forest provides more primitive camping experiences. Brown County State Park, approximately 30 miles north, features multiple campground loops including Buffalo Ridge, Taylor Ridge, and Raccoon Ridge with varied levels of amenities.
Seasonal considerations affect camping throughout the region, with all-year availability at some locations like Starve Hollow and Jackson Washington State Forest. Many campgrounds offer electrical hookups, drinking water, and sanitary facilities, though amenities vary significantly between developed and primitive sites. Access to some areas may require navigating hilly terrain, particularly in Brown County State Park which features distinctive rolling landscapes rather than the flat topography often associated with Indiana. Cell service can be limited in more remote areas. According to one camper, "Brown County State Park is Indiana's biggest and, in my opinion, most beautiful park. There are several vistas that overlook the rolling hills of southern Indiana that would rival any even the great Smoky Mountains."
The Hoosier National Forest area provides several dispersed camping opportunities, with Berry Ridge Road dispersed camping earning high ratings from visitors seeking more secluded experiences. Water features are prominent in many of the region's campgrounds, with Paynetown Campground on Lake Monroe and Starve Hollow's lakefront setting drawing visitors for fishing and boating. Campground reviews frequently mention wildlife encounters, particularly at Charles C. Deam Wilderness where hiking trails connect to lake views. One visitor noted that "This is a beautiful State Park situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana. The park offers year around camping with reduced services in the winter months." Larger RV sites are more readily available at the developed campgrounds, while tent campers have greater flexibility with site selection throughout the mixed-use campgrounds in the region.
Best Campgrounds near Freetown (134)
1. Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
"We have visited Nashville Indiana several times but this is our first time camping nearby. My wife loves to visit Nashville and all the little shops they offer."
"It was backed up to the edge of the woods which made for a lovely view. Driving through the campground it looks like there are some sites pretty close together but ours wasn’t too bad."
from $20 - $43 / night
Check Availability2. Starve Hollow State Rec Area Campground
"There are lakeside camping lots. Also there are larger full hookup lots away from the lake"
"Starve Hollow State Recreation Area is 280 acres that are adjacent to Jackson-Washington State Forest (18,000 acres)."
from $40 - $57 / night
Check Availability3. Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping
"If you are into boondocking at all defiantly check out berry ridge it’s just south of brown county Indiana beautiful country mostly hills tons of camp spots sometimes half mile or more apart haven’t seen"
"I have lived in Indiana for ever and have made many trips this way, but I never knew sites like this existed."
4. Buffalo Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
"This is a beautiful State Park situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana."
"I make multiple visits here every year, mainly for the mountain bike trails. There are almost 30 miles of trails inside the park with new trails every year for the past 3+ years."
from $50 / night
Check Availability5. Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest
"The ground is level and all grass with less bugs than sites directly off trail. We just have a simple backpacking tent set-up and we had a great campfire."
"Site is a wide open and well-groomed, with trails just a short walk (or ride) away. Toilets and covered picnic tables nearby."
6. Hardin Ridge
"This campground is nestled on a ridge above Indiana's Lake Monroe."
"Hardin Ridge is a fantastic place to camp, and is very close to lake Monroe. But it's also quite a ways away from any stores in case you forget anything."
from $24 - $64 / night
Check Availability7. Paynetown Campground
"It's a bittersweet type of situation."
"This is one of the largest campgrounds in all of Indiana. It includes hundreds of campsites. This includes RV hookups, standard campsites, and primitive campsites."
from $23 - $52 / night
Check Availability8. Raccoon Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
"Holiday Fourth of July 2022 weekend the start Park was special excitement in downtown Nashville, Indiana a short drive outside the State Park."
"Our third Indiana state park. Still impressed, they have all been friendly, well maintained with good, spread out sites and good signage everywhere (even the trails)."
from $43 / night
Check Availability9. Sundance Lake Dispersed Camping
"Free disbursed camping at its best in Indiana. Not another soul camped within earshot. Clean site. Gravel pad for vehicle. Green grass for tent. 14 day limit. No reservations needed or available."
"I chose this spot because we wanted to camp by water, but didn’t realize the camp sites are a 5-10 minute walk from the lake."
10. Charles C. Deam Wilderness
"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."
"Tent camping only although there are both hike in and drive up sites in the wilderness area. Great place to get away from it all."
Drive Time
- 33 min from Columbus, IN
- 51 min from Bloomington, IN
- 1 hr 4 min from Indianapolis, IN
- 1 hr 12 min from Louisville, KY
Recent Camping Photos near Freetown, IN
192 Photos of 134 Freetown Campgrounds • uploaded by The Dyrt campers
Berry Ridge Road - Dispersed Camping
BerryRidge Road Dispersed CampingD
Hickory Ridge Campground — Hoosier National ForestA
Jackson Washington State ForestF
Starve Hollow State Rec Area CampgroundJ
Free Spirit CampgroundA
Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
Raccoon Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
Buffalo Ridge Campground — Brown County State ParkS
eXplore Brown CountyG
Charles C. Deam Wilderness
Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest
Recent Reviews near Freetown, IN
760 Reviews of 134 Freetown Campgrounds
LDS Sister H.
GuideFriends O' Mine Campground & Cabins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Our First RV Home Has Been Such a Blessing!
My husband and I absolutely loved our first few months here at Friends O' Mine Campgrounds & Cabins as first-time RV owners with our Class A RV.
We downsized from our 5-bedroom home in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. We sold our home and I followed my Husband back here to Indiana after he received a wonderful career opportunity. My Husband is a Veteran, 🇺🇸 and after moving to Nashville, Indiana, we had immediately fallen in love with this small town - where we respected and admired the way Nashville reminds us of where we had just moved from in Missouri.
We stayed at Grand Wood Suites for six months, after paying for a hotel, all while continuously paying for our two large storage units, as well as our mortgage payment and then rent for most of the beginning of this year; so, we decided to downsize to save money to buy land sooner, instead of continuing to rent. 🏕️ We already loved camping - we started with a pop-up camper on the 🔝 of our Jeep and camped dozens of times, then traded up to a pop-up camper. So we used what we had in savings, bought our Class A RV, donated our pop-up camper, and came to Friends O' Mine - and it was the best decision!
From day one, the other campers have been so friendly, as are the nice employees and amazing owners. They truly make you feel like family. They set up weekly entertainment that brings the whole campground together around the campfire - there is a huge fire in the middle with six porch swings attached to a massive gazebo and veranda surrounding it. It's incredibly cozy and just inviting you to join in.
We've enjoyed live musical singers entertaining us around the campfire all evening, and we were invited to watch a documentary about a local racecar driver in their indoor recreational room, right next to the indoor laundry facilities.
There is also a subterranean pool that my Husband and I enjoyed swimming in almost every day during our first month here - it was very relaxing and refreshing!
One of our favorite parts has been our peaceful, nighttime walks around the large, well-stocked catch-and-release pond. My Husband and I hold hands together and walk around it at sunset almost every evening. It's so serene and calming to hear the sounds of the water and feel the beautiful Autumn breeze.
This has been a very relaxing, enjoyable, and heartwarming experience for us. If you are looking for a clean, friendly, peaceful, and welcoming place to stay - whether for a weekend or for a season - we cannot recommend Friends O' Mine Campgrounds & Cabins enough. We are so grateful we found it!
Kaley A.GuideBuffalo Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park
We absolutely LOVED this park! It was hands down our favorite of this year. We camped at site 100 and it has a neighbor on one side and behind while the other side was a huge open space. It is in the center of a loop. It was mostly level. There was some minor doming to the site but not bad at all. It was a busy camp ground but not as crowded (sites not on top of each other) as some I’ve been in. The outsides of the loops did have more space between and privacy but could be smaller or more sloped, it just really depended. The bathrooms and showers were cleaner than some of the other state parks we have been to, so much so my 11 year old son mentioned it. The park itself is absolutely gorgeous. The hiking trails (which is what we usually go for) were nice but I believe that the biking trails were actually more scenic than the hiking trails and a lot more rugged. We liked trail 8 starting from the west lookout tower and stopping at Hesitation Point for lunch/break/bathroom. Trail 6 was also a pretty, rugged, shorter trail. The Nature Center was also nicer than a lot of the others we have been to in the state. We did choose to do horseback riding at the stables. We showed up about 5 minutes after opening and were able to pay and told to come back in an hour and 45 minutes. That didn’t bother us since we had the time but if you are on a tighter schedule, the earlier the better. We also went into Nashville and it was a very cute town to visit. Well decorated for Halloween, very walkable, and a little something for almost everyone. Prices were about what I would expect for a tourist town but not terrible. I also have T-Mobile and had pretty good service almost everywhere in the park.
- JJacob S.Scout
Ogala Horse Camp
Little loop pull off with a stone fire pit in the middle. Walking trail goes down to a swampy pond.
Mark T.ScoutIrwin City Park
Nice little city park/campgound
Clean paved sites, rigs under 35 feet will fit. Water and electricity 50/30 (water is in the ground.
SkywaystoHighways.com Y.
LegendBill Monroe Memorial Music Park & Campground
Fun Event Location
We stayed for the weekend during a Campout event. Lots of fun seeing all of our camping buddies. I don’t think we would camp here otherwise as it isn’t really our type of camping. Sites are close together, so don’t expect privacy. Porta potties had not been serviced from their previous event… needless to say, it was foul. The country music museum was pretty cool. The guide was very knowledgeable!
- BBob B.
RangerLoop C, Versailles State Park
Large But Relatively Private
Description of this site is that it's moderate sloping (from front down to back. Definitely true. Pretty muddy site, due to large amounts of rain, but most sites are level and less shaded.
- JasonGuide
Camp Atterbury Campground
Host is great, park is nice, MWR needs help
Great place to stay. Full hook ups, about 90 percent level sites. 33 RV sites and 3 or 4 primitive camp sites. The main bathhouse is pretty clean, included laundry, and a great host and hostess (Mark and Denise). The only bad is the price hikes here. One would think MWR would throw money towards some things...like a dog park, some leveling, lights at the kids playground, and MWR sponsored and paid for holiday parties/outings for vets, retirees, and all the active here on base. But nope, just collecting revenue without any beanies. Anyway, the host keeps it grounded.
Jeff C.ScoutShale Bluff Campground — Hardy Lake State Recreation Area
My favorite spot
Love taking the kid to hardy lake. Smaller lake to fish on with a trolling motor canoe but big enough they allow gas motors. Have a few favorite sites for the camper.
Guide to Freetown
Camping sites near Freetown, Indiana typically offer a mix of woodland terrain with varying degrees of isolation. The area sits at elevations between 600-900 feet above sea level with summer temperatures averaging 75-85°F during peak camping season. While the region tends to have moderate humidity, campsites along ridgelines often catch cooling breezes that can't reach the lower valley locations.
What to do
Archery practice: Bring your bow to Jackson Washington State Forest, where a designated archery range provides target practice opportunities. "The archery range is great. We have been going here for a few years and it's never disappointing," notes reviewer Mandi D.
Geode hunting: Wade through creek beds at Charles C. Deam Wilderness to find these crystalline treasures. A camper describes, "I walked the creek for hours just looking at all the rocks on the sandbars. I have never encountered so many geodes in my life. Truly magnificent to encounter."
Kayak rentals: Reserve early at Starve Hollow State Rec Area to ensure availability. "If you want to rent one of the kayaks, get to the office right at 8 or they will be gone for the day," advises Martin M., who gave the park a 5-star rating.
Mountain biking: Test your skills on purpose-built trails at Brown County State Park with options for all experience levels. One visitor explains, "The mountain biking is excellent, with purpose built trails for beginner to expert (flow, berms, rollers, jumps...)."
What campers like
Secluded camping spots: At Berry Ridge Road, dispersed sites offer significant privacy between campsites. Jeremy F. reports, "Multiple campsites in the area, I've stayed at two both of which were away from others, clean, fairly flat and had plenty of dead wood around to burn."
Year-round camping options: Winter camping is available at Brown County State Park with reduced services but maintained facilities. A reviewer notes, "This is a beautiful State Park situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana. The park offers year around camping with reduced services in the winter months (they do have a heated bath house in the off season)."
Lakefront site selection: Waterfront spots at Paynetown State Recreation Area offer direct water access for fishing or viewing. "We live a couple of hours away from the lake but find it's worth the drive for a day of boating. This is our first time at the campground. I love the convenience for boating and camping," shares Jennifer H.
Clean facilities: Maintenance crews at multiple campgrounds work regularly to keep restrooms in good condition. At Hardin Ridge, a camper observed, "The grounds are kept very clean, as well as the shower rooms, bathrooms, and vault toilets."
What you should know
Cell service limitations: Coverage varies significantly by carrier and location. In Berry Ridge dispersed camping areas, reception is surprisingly good for a remote location, with one camper noting, "No toilet but good reception."
Wildlife awareness: Rattlesnakes have been spotted on roads near Blackwell Campground. A visitor reported, "Did see a rattlesnake dead on the road. No toilet but good reception."
Water availability: Plan ahead when backpacking in Charles C. Deam Wilderness. A hiker warns, "Refill your water when you come across it; the lake is harder to get to than you think. I would also bring bug spray and check for ticks!"
Site leveling challenges: Many campsites require blocking equipment at Taylor Ridge Campground. A camper advises, "Pay particular attention to the size of the site you're booking as some were pretty small. Also, some sites were fairly sloped as well."
Tips for camping with families
Multiple playgrounds: Kids will find play areas throughout Starve Hollow State Rec Area. A frequent visitor shares, "Great getaway for the family. We love this place and camp here 5 + times a year. It's clean and so much to do with kids."
Educational programs: Check schedules for ranger-led activities at Paynetown State Recreation Area. "The activity center has programs all the time and there is always something going on there," notes Jamie B., who camps there regularly.
Swimming options: Beach facilities vary between locations. Hardin Ridge offers a designated beach area with lake access. A camper explains, "This campground is on the south side of Monroe lake and has beach access. I tent camped solo and everything went great!"
Avoid electronics: The natural setting provides plenty of entertainment. One parent camping at Paynetown remarked, "I have been camping here since I was a kid. Bathrooms and showers are nice. If you want electricity, get an electric site. If you want primitive, get a primitive site. Lots of things to do. Your kids have no reason to be on electronics here."
Tips from RVers
Entrance restrictions: Use correct park entrances when driving large rigs to Buffalo Ridge Campground. "The north entrance is through a covered bridge with a 9 foot clearance and 3 ton limit! Otherwise, use the easily accessible west entrance, just a few miles 'around the corner,'" warns a reviewer.
Site selection for big rigs: Not all campsites accommodate larger RVs at Hardin Ridge. The campground features "many electric, some electric/water, and a few full hook up. Water spigots are heavily spread throughout each loop."
Leveling considerations: Prepare for uneven terrain at several campgrounds in the area. At Paynetown, one camper noted, "Our sites have some slope to them...I hate it when the camper wheels are off the ground."
Solar-friendly options: For those with solar setups, Blackwell Campground offers abundant sunshine. "Great boondocking spot, plenty of flat land making leveling easy. Wide open so solar charging was easy," reports one RVer who stayed for a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
What camping is available near Freetown, IN?
What camping is available near Freetown, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, Freetown, IN offers a wide range of camping options, with 134 campgrounds and RV parks near Freetown, IN and 14 free dispersed camping spots.
Which is the most popular campground near Freetown, IN?
Which is the most popular campground near Freetown, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Freetown, IN is Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 31 reviews.
Where can I find free dispersed camping near Freetown, IN?
Where can I find free dispersed camping near Freetown, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 14 free dispersed camping spots near Freetown, IN.
What parks are near Freetown, IN?
What parks are near Freetown, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, there are 13 parks near Freetown, IN that allow camping, notably Monroe Lake and Hoosier National Forest.
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