Best Glamping near Freetown, IN

PROS:
Beautiful lake with geese nesting areas and great fishing opportunities. Calm waters for kayaking.

CONS:

Since July 2020, the Governor of the State of Indiana has mandated face coverings in indoor areas and in outside spaces where social distancing is not possible (and signs are posted everywhere). During our three-day-stay, we did not see any DNR staff at the gatehouse, the campground store, or a conservation officer complying with wearing a mask. In addition, most campground guests were not wearing them either.

In addition, this park is listed as participating in the Explore Indiana pin program but no one seemed to know anything about it. We did the work to earn it but were not able to add it to our collection.

Jackson-Washington State forest encompasses 16,500 plus acres in the rolling hills of south central Indiana and neighbors Starve Hollow State Recreation Area (see review). The property offers several stunning hiking trails and some are of the more challenging nature due to the elevation changes. The park also has an amazing scenic drive, Skyline Drive, which lives up to its name with spectacular panoramic vistas showcasing Indiana's gorgeous farms. The campground consists of 62 primitive class "C" self registration sites with a picnic table. Potable water is available seasonally and firewood can be purchased at the forest office. A number of the sites are waterfront offering a relaxing view...but definitely geared for the tent camper or RVer not requiring shore power. Just 2.5 miles from the town of Brownstown which has grocery shopping, restaurants and sundries. lat:38.8451 lon:-86.0519

Lots to do here. Fishing, kayaking and hiking. There are some awesome hiking trails here, they are very rugged for Indiana lots of hills. J-W offers some real pretty views. Skyline drive is real nice and Strave Hollow is down the road a few miles. There are several RV sites(10 to 15) available most are pretty level. Reservation can NOT to made (first come first serve).

Looove this hidden gem. We stayed there in early March, the first weekend it opened for the year. It's a fairly new park on the site that used to be the Indiana Ammunition Plant. Good-sized sites with a very helpful staff. I hiked trail 2 and found the waterfall and several other gorgeous views. Will definitely be back!

My husband & I spent 5 nights at Charlestown State Park in mid-September 2020.  Campground was nice with concrete pads and full hookups. Campground was not heavily shaded, but we didn't mind that at all.  We biked throughout the park and hiked 4 of the trails, 3 of which were pretty rugged and all had elevation changes for a good hiking challenge.  From here as a base we also spent half a day in Madison Indiana, (shopping, dining & winery) and biked the Ohio River Greenway path - nice 7 mile one way bike path from Jeffersonville to New Albany and stopped for lunch before turning around to head back.  The bike trail also has a bike/pedestrian bridge across the Ohio River to the trail which runs along the river on the Louisville side.  Would absolutely recommend and would go back again.

We live locally and travel nationally.   Who would have believed this great park would be only 30 miles away.  The grounds are very clean and well maintained, the sites are very wide and individual with the landscaping aiding the feeling of "private".  There, of course, are never enough full service sites but enough with good planning.  In Indiana, INDNR, allows for advanced reservations with a maximum stay of 14 days.  $7 at the main gate + camping fees get you access, unless you have membership, into any state park.  Go to the website for full details https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks.  The bath houses are always clean and well maintained.  Importantly, feel safe as the grounds all have a host and are well patrilled.  Charlestown is a model for both public and private camp grounds east of the Mississippi.  Lots of nature trails.  We recently watched two doe's with their 4 young fawns grazing while we ate breakfast.

This is probably the best state forest in the state of Indiana. The property is well maintained. There is a new visitors center built a few years ago. There are some picnic areas and a couple of shields and 2 cabins for rent. There are a lot of trails to hike 2 of them are over 10 miles (lower gap and three lakes). The Tecumseh trail (40 miles) starts in Morgan Monroe State Forest passes through Yellowwood State Forest and ends in the Hoosier national Forest. There are some shorter trails also. The trails are very nice and well maintained. There is a paved bicycle trail approximately 5 miles long one way Three small lakes are on the property for fishing and kayaking. There are three campgrounds on the property. The main campground has around 20 sites. The overflow campgrounds as about 10 more sites. There is a youth campgrounds to. Each campground has pit toilets and wash station with water available to take to camp site. There is also camping on the some of the trails. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is, we are RV campers and there are only about 5 sites we could get in to. Our camper is about 25’ and it was tight get in and out of the campground. If you have a small camper (15’ or smaller) there would more sites. There is a dump station, but I barely got in to dump. So not real RV friendly.

I went hiking here and it was sort of rugged. The campsite was right near the lake which provided a perfect view. There was a picnic table and fire ring for only 13 dollars.

Best place to camp and relax. The archery range is great. We have been going here for a few years and it’s never disappointing.

Around the camp is nice from archery to the local sites like skyline drive but the camp itself not so nice. From dirty pit toilets to trees falling on camp site in the middle of the night to only a few level sites I like to ruff it but this is a little too ruff. Most people bring entire uhual sized trailers full of gear to make this place nice for a weekend. But unless you are an Archer or someone trying to just get drunk in the woods travel the 40 minutes away to Hoosier national forest and stay at one of the camps there.

Spacious sites. Beautiful forest. Quiet, but only 5 minutes small town with gas stations, grocery, etc. Not many amenities. Only pit toilets and water spigots. Firewood was not available during our visit. No reservations. First come first serve, but even on a "busy" Saturday in July less than 1/3 of the sites were full. Two "loops" one in a pine forest below the small lake and one at the lake/up the hill. Multiple playgrounds. Great trails to hike. Cool CCC construction. Highly recommend.

some campsites flood easy

Take bug spray in the summer! Swimming beach and boat ramp/kayak rental available.

There are full hook-up sites and electric. Regular electric sites on the water are beautiful but not sure we could park our 41 ft fifth wheel on a water site. Trails are rugged at times and you can access them through campground. We are here in the fall but the beach looks like a good size. Boat rentals. Cabins look cute. We peeked in one. Double bed with bunks in room. Theres a loft for kids. A/C and heat but not bathroom. Bring a mattress or sleeping bags or you will sleep on wood. I recommend the water cabins. Playgrounds are sprinkled throughout. DNR dont patrol a lot. Quiet campground.