Best Tent Camping near Gary, IN

We stayed in the primitive tent area near the back of the park. It is walk in.

There was a pole for a lantern, a picnic table, a fire ring and tent pad. There is one clean flush toilet and shower per each gender (the shower stall was spacious with plenty of hooks and benches). There were also vault toilets not too far away. The water spigot was pretty far away though. There were plenty of garbage cans.

There were a few small trees but very little shade. On hot days I think a pop up shade shelter would be necessary to make it bearable.

Overall it was pretty quiet.

The last night we were there a large group of people with their tents showed up. There were not enough tent pads or picnic tables for all of them. I don't know if it was the park that booked so many people or if it was the group that overbooked.

Stayed in site 43 of the Douglas loop. Douglas loop is all non electric.

Our site was big enough for our tents, a picnic table and fire ring. The bathrooms/showers are really close by which is nice but you do get the lights from the bathroom facing site 43. Not a big deal but if you’re looking for more darkness then definitely choose one of the other sites around 43.

All parking sites are paved for camper vans/trailers but no water or power hookups. All sites have nice huge tent pads that are nice and level. Only noise we heard was the train every now and then.

The showers are individual rooms separate from the bathrooms. And there’s a gas station and liquor store near the entrance of the campground for fire wood and beer.

I didn’t get to stay in the walk in campsites but they are very nice and close-ish to the showers.

We pulled in around 4:30 in the evening. The sight was spacious with plenty of room in between sites. Since the weather was cooler , it was pretty sparse with other campers. We stayed 2 nights over the weekend. You are within walking distance to the beach within the park. The buildings have great architecture. The sight had 50 amp electric hook ups but no water or sewer connections, and we knew that going in. We had a back in sight #69. There was plenty of space on all sides. We have a 37’ motorhome and pulled a Jeep behind it. There was plenty of room to maneuver around. The sight also had a wood picnic table and fire ring for a wood fire pit. We will definitely be back! I wish I had taken more photos from the beach and beach pavilion.

We stayed in the semi modern sites, which was tents and no RVs nearby, which was good. That was about it. The Interstate was directly behind the sites, so the highway traffic noise took away from the feeling you want when camping, that off the grid feeling.

The site was clean, picnic table and fire ring. There was a water spigot close by too. We did some short hiking to sand dunes which was really cool. Nice paths lead to beautiful sunset over dunes.

Upon returning from the hike, we set up camp. That's when we found the ticks. We found probably 10 on our dog, several on us. The couple next to our site was struggling with ticks also, and they hadn't hiked, so makes me think they were from the campground. (We stayed ON the trail carefully while hiking). We've camped a lot and never dealt with this many ticks.

We actually ended up bailing due to how many were on us all. Spent the next 24 hours picking them off everyone in our family at home. Not good. We know it's a fact of life, but this place was infested. Bummer of a trip.

If you’re looking to go camping with the conveniences of the modern world nearby, this is the place to be. Located off of golf way rd and duneway pkwy, this campground is located roughly about an hour from Elkhart, if that’s where you’re coming from. They have a few options as far as sites go. Sites 1-34 are reservable online and the remainder of the sites are first come, first served. Also keep in mind, sites 1-54 you’re able to park your car/RV. However, sites 55-67 are walk in only. There are showers and restrooms located center of both areas. There are also water stations which are very convenient. Most of the campsites are fairly close, but far enough where you are not sitting on top of each other. This time around I opted for the walk In. For starters, let’s just say to be prepared for whatever weather may come. My luck, it poured the entire time and was windy. Furthermore, each site has designated fire rings that have a grill. The experience was awesome, it’s $25 a night that you pay at the automated kiosk. There are rangers that drive around during the day and there are signs posted with all the latest updates, rules/regulations. Overall, great experience, definitely look forward to coming back!

I remember coming here when I was young but haven’t stayed here in decades. It was time to try it out again. We arrived around 5 or 6 and found lots of open sites on a Wednesday. They put us in a nicely wooded site with empty neighboring sites. We could see our neighbors and others walked by on the road so there were plenty of people in camp. There were water puddles in the road and some campsites. It rained during the night too. Our site is sandy with no grass which wasn’t as great with the wetness. However it’s camping at the dunes so it’s expected. The vault toilets are ok- one had standing water in the corner. Water is available a few sites down and a garbage bin is on the way out. We camped in the rustic loop- no electric or other hookups. There is a larger section with 2 loops that has these amenities. Showers are also located over there. It’s a longer walk or you can drive to the showers. 

We tried hiking and found fallen trees blocking the path. There are other trails to choose from. Be sure to check out the beach and climb up the sand dunes. 

This was a nice campground within a couple hours of Chicago.

General: 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.