Looking for the best campgrounds near Hoosier National Forest, IN? Discover secluded campsites where you can reconnect with nature. Or maybe you like to bring your family and friends along. Either way, there are Hoosier National Forest campgrounds just for you. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
$20 - $30 / night
"There are trails, caves, and a “village” to be explored. The campsite has water and electric hookups (30a) and primitive sites as well."
"Spring Mill State park is a little piece of history that is in the heart of southern Indiana. Here you will find a working frontier village."
$12 - $25 / night
"Only waterfill location was at the camp store. Shower house was open and warm water was available. Big DNR presence and staff was friendly and helpful. Quiet campground wasn’t many occupants."
"Patoka has always had a hype about it for years; big lake, tons of boats, and fishing. This was our first trip here. We stayed in the Fishermans Primitive Campground."
"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."
"Site accommodates both horse, drive in and walk-in camping. There’s a privy and water on site. Campsites have fire rings and picnic tables."
$23 - $52 / night
"My husband and I had a nice visit to Starve Hollow recently...we stayed 4 nights in our camper with our 3 dogs. We hiked 10 miles throughout the park, which was clean and pretty."
"There are lakeside camping lots. Also there are larger full hookup lots away from the lake"
$21 - $55 / night
"I grew up in nearby Bloomington, Indiana, and my family were actually the very first campers at Hardin Ridge in 1966."
"This campground is nestled on a ridge above Indiana's Lake Monroe."
"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."
$16 - $25 / night
"It's a bittersweet type of situation."
"This campground is busy as it's close to a college, but it has ample room to provide for everyone."
$13 / night
"Generator okay but recommend use away from other campers."
"This state forest is beautiful, filled with pines and a clear lake. It is a primative campground but is very nice. Has nice hiking trails and 7 miles of mountain bike trails."
"We were right at the lake edge. The campsite had electric but no water, but the water was just across the road at a shelter."
"There is a fishing lake and a small river to fish in or wade and swim in. There is a miniature village for the kids along with 20 playgrounds in the campground."
$27 / night
"The spots are just near and walking distance from the caves and other attractions."
"Camp store, cave tours, gift shop, and other pay activities are within steps of camping, but only open until 5:00. No security or staff at all after hours."
ScoutIn Hoosier National Forest. Clean, quiet, uncrowded. Friendly manager.
ScoutI 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. Connectivity to Yellowwood and Hoosier National Forest is also available for those adventurous individuals with lots of gas in the bike tank. From beginner to expert, some trail for everyone at this location. Lots tend to be smaller in size with most activity happening up front in Buffalo Ridge, close to general store, water and trails. For more secluded and wooded setting, chose Taylor Ridge (careful with larger RV's) Typical Indiana campground with basic comfort stations. Negatives include no beaches or water sports for such a large park, no WIFI (unplug and enjoy!) and lack of shade on up front sites. Close proximity to antique and quaint town of Nashville with many shops and a few restaurants. Definitely try Big Woods Pizza and Quaff-On Brewery! Lots of hiking and scenic overlooks! One of my Indiana favs!
GuideThe sites are decent sized and spaced apart for your privacy. The bathrooms and showers are especially clean. Being part of the Hoosier National Forest was pretty cool. We of course hiked and spent some time at the beach. Which the beach closed at 8pm, and they were very strict about that.
GuideWe love driving through scenic trails so we go to the Hoosier National Forest pretty frequently. The great thing about the campsites around the area are that they’re free. We stayed at the Horse camp. It’s a pretty good sized location. There were about 3 horse trailers there when we stayed. We were a group of 6 vehicles and we fit just fine in the back of the campground and there was so much space of more people if needed. They also have restrooms there too. It was nice and quiet except for the Coyotes, but hey, that’s okay.
TravelerAround 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.
GuideA quiet little lake/ big pond in the Hoosier National Forest with a few spots to camp.
At the pond there was a pad of concrete leftover from who knows what. I wouldn’t be trying to pull a travel trailer back into here unless it was very small.
On the weekends, the activity picked up with a lot of partying and hunting.
There were a few pickups that patrolled through here regularly, all through the night too. I was never bothered by anyone, but the area is small and I kinda felt like I was on a stage with every passerby.
LegendTipsaw Lake Hoosier National Forest is a nice quiet family/group oriented area. There is a basic boatramp with dock, parking and pit toilet. It wasn’t busy so I took the dogs down to the ramp to enjoy a dip in the cool lake water when the Tipsaw Lake Trail ended I thought at the edge of the roadway to the dock. Apparently I missed the turn off :( I later discovered. The trail traverses the lake area. It’s a nice 5.9 mile tromp through the woods but I noticed it was a little unkept.
The beach is the main attraction to this area of Hoosier NF . A very nice set up on the shore of Tipsaw with sand to get in all those cracks and a play area for the kids. Small pavilions on cement walkways and a picnic area with a pit toilet. Also in need of a good mow, we may have just visited between mowing rotations and with the excess of rain everything is growing well. No dogs allowed in the beach area. There was one pavilion on the far side of the parking lot that was not in the dog restriction area. When I visit again I’m inviting my daughter and granddaughter along because who ever set this area up had kids in mind.
ScoutI grew up in nearby Bloomington, Indiana, and my family were actually the very first campers at Hardin Ridge in 1966. We unwittingly set up camp the weekend before the campground opened, and we saw a picture of our travel trailer on the front page of the Bloomington Herald-Telephone with a caption "Somebody jumped the gun at the new Hardin Ridge Campground!"
This is a great place to set up camp for a week or two. In summer there is a nice sandy beach on the shore of Lake Monroe (it was free last time I went) with a simple shower house. The six camping loops have several vault toilets, and most have shower houses with flush toilets. While the campgrounds are fully open April 15 to October 15, you can camp year round if you are set up to dry camp. The very first camp loop (Holland Ridge) is often open all year, and no fees are charged when the water is off.
This campground was the destination for many a summer camping trip when I was a child, and for many more when my own kids were little. It's also not far from the Hoosier National Forest, with a horsemen's camp and trails, and a little further east a dozen or so dispersed camp sites.
GuideThis 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.
Discover the joy of camping with your furry friends near Hoosier National Forest in Indiana, where several campgrounds welcome pets and offer a range of amenities and activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Hoosier National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Hoosier National Forest is Spring Mill State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 23 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Hoosier National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 109 dog-friendly camping locations near Hoosier National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
