For those who want to experience Independence, but still want the creature comforts of home, consider glamping for your trip. Glamping near Independence is a great way to travel off the beaten path. Find the right glamping site for you with our user-submitted photos, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find glamping for your Indiana camping excursion.
As Indiana’s second state park, Turkey Run Campground was established in 1916. The story behind its name suggests that local hunters would find herds of wild turkeys gathering in the area’s narrow canyon bottoms—called “runs”—and funnel them out for easy harvesting. The area’s natural history goes back a little father—upwards of 600 million years. It was around this time that the sandstone and coal deposits seen in the park were being formed and compacted in a vast, swampy plain. Fast-forward several million years, and Ice Age meltwaters cut and scoured the creeks, canyons, and potholes seen today. Some of the glacial erratics (boulders) seen in the park are actually pieces of bedrock that were transported from as far north as Canada. Visitors to Turkey Run can explore these unique canyons, enjoy the park’s natural scenery, fish and paddle in Sugar Creek, and see several historic sites.
Located 10 miles north of Rockville, and 70 miles west of Indianapolis, Turkey Run State Park is year-round nature and recreation area covering nearly 2,400 acres along Sugar Creek. The campground at Turkey Run features more than 200 tent and RV sites with electrical hookups, picnic tables and fire pits with cooking grills; some sites are ADA accessible. Most sites are back-in and can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 45 feet; a few pull-throughs can accommodate larger. All sites have access to drinking water, flush and vault restrooms, and showers; two dump stations are available onsite. There are also two primitive tent camping areas for youth groups, several cabins for rent, and the historic Turkey Run Inn, which offers 61 lodge rooms, a dining room, and meeting spaces. Dogs are permitted in the park, but must remain leashed. Campsites raters are $23–$33/night; other accommodations range from $67–$110/night; reservations accepted.
Besides exploring Turkey Run’s canyon runs, the park offers a variety of hiking trails, picnic areas, and sports courts. The park’s nature center showcases a variety of exhibits and interactive activities to educate visitors about the park’s geology, flora and fauna. Park naturalists offer guided hikes and nature walks, animal talks and campfire programs. Swimming is not permitted in Sugar Creek, but anglers can fish for bass and bluegill, and paddlers can head out in canoes and kayaks. Swimmers are invited to enjoy the park’s Olympic-sized swimming pool for cooling off during the warmer months. The park also offers hayrides and guided horseback rides. For a blast from the past, visitors can also tour the historic Lusk Home. Built in 1841, this restored European home displays a lifestyle from a bygone era. Watch out for the resident raccoons.
This recreation area is part of Cecil M. Harden Lake
$30 - $45 / night
$25 / night
Scout
One of the best parks in Indiana! If your looking for rugged trails look no further. For the most part campground is nicely shaded.
TravelerTurkey Run has the best trails in Indiana with water features, rock, and ladders. Good canoeing, tubbing and the best junk food at Up The Creek.
GuideWe have stayed here for several years. The best hiking in Indiana and rent a kayak and take a trip down Sugar Creek! Pictures are from our trip in Oct of 2016.
GuideThe campground here is nothing to get excited about, but holy moly this is the best park in Indiana. The sites are so unique and surprising. The trails are a fun challenge and not your average hike.
Guide
Great place to stay and very convenient if you are going to go to Indiana Beach amusement park. There is a ferry that will take you to the park so you don’t have to drive.
RangerMuch enjoyed hiking some of the trails at Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, Indiana. This is Indiana's 2nd oldest state park, now 100 years old (1916-2016). Visitors can camp in RV's or in tents in campground area that has water/electrical hook-ups, modern bathrooms w/ showers. There is also cabins to rent, or you can stay at Turkey Run Inn. Canoeing down Sugar Creek was great, and it passes through the state park at a fairly scenic section. Some hiking trails are easy to walk along, others trails are more rugged and difficult. Cross over Sugar Creek on a suspension bridge to get to more hiking trails in a more remote section of woods. We ate a very nice lunch in the restaurant in the Inn, and even played pinball in the gameroom. Great state park. Would be happy to go again some day.
GuideClean, quiet campground. No easy way to get there. Close to Indiana Beach amusement park. No major highways nearby, so the drive was kind of....strange. At one point we were on a gravel road. This used to be a Jellystone Park, so everything is laid out nice and spacious.
GuideTurkey Run is one of my top 2 campgrounds in Indiana! We camped here during the Covered Bridge Festival, which is really hard to get a site, book early if you're wanting to do that. We went during the week so it was easier to get a campsite.
Our site, 226 was on a small loop that was nice and wooded. The campground staff was really good at keeping the noise down, we've had problems with noisy campers before so that was nice to see.
My absolute favorite part though, is the trails. You completely forget you're in Indiana. We went on trail 5 I believe which ran through a creek bed for awhile and that made it even more fun. We normally have our kids (4 and 1.5) but were kid free this time. We wouldn't have been able to take them on this trail at this age.
If you're into kayaking or canoeing, there are several canoe liveries that service the area and a trip down Sugar Creek is always a good time.
Put this one on your must see list!
ScoutWe used to go camping here every summer when I was a kid so it brought back a little nostalgia we stayed an E567 I would stay away from these they are very muddy kind of tight to turn a 30 foot camper in but other than that Tickets To Indiana beach are $27.50 at the gate house. Laundry works amazingly have to download an app. All around great. Wish they had a better food option
GuideThis was a favorite getaway spot when I was a student at Purdue University. This area is such a drastic difference from the surrounding areas with canyon-like structures and cooler temperatures on the trails. It definitely doesn't feel like you are in Indiana. There are ample campsites (all electric) and a camp store. It is separate from the rest of the rest of the park, just down the road but easily accessible. Personally, the best part for me is the awesome hiking trails, rivaling my favorites in Tennessee!
GuideTurkey Run is my all time favorite State Park in Indiana. It has great camping with both reserved and walk up options (get there early for walk up options). Reservations can be made here: https://indianastateparks.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=IN&parkId=570032<cmp=177360<clickid=03_51015144_cfbb0fa2-9eb5-41c1-bcb2-f620d18c259e
The campgrounds have modern facilities including showers. Dogs are allowed. We love the hiking trails. The extra bonus for us was to do a covered bridge driving tour!
GuideWe love Turkey Run. The campgrounds are clean and fun for all ages. The outer edge campsites provide beautiful views of the woods and are pretty secluded from other sites. The hiking trails are incredible...one of a kind for Indiana. The trails are more like adventures, leading in and out of the creek, up stairs carved into rock, up and down ladders, and across a cable bridge. It’s just beautiful. The facilities are clean, the staff is as nice as can be. You won’t regret staying at Turkey Run.
ScoutWhile this is always listed among the top Indiana state parks because of its amazing beauty and historic sites, the campgrounds are not up to the same level. The shower houses are old. No sinks, no flush toilets, no solid doors for privacy. Just curtains. So yes, that means put/vault toilets only, and there is no light for a middle of the night visit except the flashlight you will hopefully remember. Other state parks in the area do have modern shower houses. If you are disabled or just prefer better hygiene amenities, camp at Raccoon Lake SRA and take day trips to Turkey Run. I’m not sure of the status of nearby Shades Stare Park comfort facilities since we haven’t camped there yet.
LegendLove that this was voted the best campground in Indiana by The Dyrt because that is just how I felt about our stay. Great hiking trails plus a lodge with gift shop and restaurant.
Many of the sites are a good size and level but not all of them are, so be cautious if you are reserving and not familiar with the sites. In April, we practically had the entire campground to ourselves! The ranger was obviously not busy so he came over to talk to us for a while. We especially liked the hike to the covered bridge and exploring the sandstone canyons. The suspension bridge was fun too! We saw birds, a profusion of beautiful wildflowers and (not so beautiful) wild turkeys. We would love to return in the fall.
GuideI had heard about Turkey Run a few times but never thought much of it. On my way through we decided to stop in and we were so blown away we stayed the night. This state park is definitely the Gem of Indiana . There are lots of view stops along the river, the suspension bridge is super neat, and the rocks, waterfalls, and streams will have you awestruck the whole time. I cannot wait to return, I’m sure it is breathtaking in the fall. there are lots of inclines and steps , not much of it was extremely easy hiking, but we did see lots of families with kids doing just fine. We camped out of our Jeep and didn’t have any issue. My favorite part about camping is the sunrise and Turkey Run was not disappointing.
LegendI have never been to a campground with so many children. At first it was a nice break from all the old folks at the RV parks, but then it got to be too much. There was constant noise and commotion and kids (and adults) constantly walking through my site. One boy was even riding his bike over my Starlink wire. A lot of the kids had electric scooters and bikes and were zooming through the campground endlessly. I had a group from across the road come into my site and start playing frisbee golf because they did not have enough room in their own site but didn't say a word to me. Really? The surrounding area is very beautiful with rock outcroppings and small gorges unlike the rest of Indiana. However, the walking paths around this beautiful area were MOBBED. The area around the suspension bridge was like being in Times Square. The bathrooms were good….a solid B+.
GuideTurkey Run is arguably the most popular campground (and state park) in Indiana and has its pros and cons.
It is definitely designed to accommodate RVs, as the majority of the sites are situated in an open field. There are a few dozen sites that are in “loops” that are situated in shaded areas. Some camp sites have zero privacy while others have a little. Either way, if you’re here on a weekend, you’ll definitely have neighbors close by. You can see the entire campground via google maps street view, just FYI
This is a very family friendly campground and you will see lots of kids on bicycles flying around. I’ve stayed here a few times, and no matter the day of the week or the time of year, there are always lots of kids.
This campground has a raccoon “problem” due to campers having poor camp etiquette and feeding them. They come out of the woods towards dusk looking for food. They will come right up to you without hesitation, so don’t be alarmed if there’s one next to you while you cook s’mores over your fire (ask me how I know, hah). They will take any food that is left out. Do not turn your back to your dinner table at any time if there’s food out.
On my last visit to turkey run (I’ve camped here 3 or 4 times) I arrived to my campsite and someone had left dog food out for the raccoons in little piles all over the place which was super disappointing. Additionally, my neighbors didn’t put their campfire out when they packed up and left.
Perhaps I’m just used to camping in other areas where you have to worry about bears and burning the forests down…But campers here just aren’t as mindful or respectful of the campground.
The restrooms and showers (at least the one I use at this campground) is modernized and cleaned daily but there’s no dish pit/wash room available if you cook. Just be prepared to clean up accordingly and put trash in trash receptacles. There are a few vault toilets in the campground as well.
You can hike from the CG into the state park (highly recommend. It’s gorgeous!) just wear shoes that youre willing to get wet.
Overall, it’s a beautiful state park with a conveniently located campground. It’s not the best campground ever but for Indiana standards, it’s great. Even with my complaints, I always return because I enjoy visiting and hiking through the state park.
LegendCampsites where larger than I expected and am used to with KOA. Very enjoyable weekend stay. We stayed in site 89 which was a pull through full hook up site with cable tv as well. The pool was quite large and clean. The KOA page states that they have a pool and splash pad area as well as mini golf. The camp ground shares its pool with the neighboring camp ground and KOA campers are allowed to cross over to use the neighboring camp grounds splash pad and golf. The mini golf was in disrepair and build over a very scummy pond and the splash pad was a bit worn down as well. My kids stayed in the pool which was quite nice. If you stay with KOA you get decently discounted tickets to Indiana Beach amusement park which we may visit in a future visit. Over all we had an enjoyable stay and would come again but we would add an additional day to visit the amusement park.
Guide
We heard a lot of good things recently about this park. We had no idea it was so close to us too. We packed up the dogs and headed to France Park for a full day of exploring, followed by staying at a primitive campsite.
We took two vehicles since we wanted to leave one at our campsite. Some sites are clustered together, however we lucked out and got one along the fishing lake with no nearby neighbors.
The quarry, wow! It was beyond stunning and never what I expected to see in an Indiana park. We had an amazing hike, checking out the quarry. We ventured out on one more trail and saw the waterfall but headed to our site to set up camp afterwards.
Park was quiet at night for the most part. The RV area isn’t too far away and sound does travel. Lots of people drive golf carts out there. At night you can hear the major highway too, but it didn’t stop us from having a good time.
We will definitely be going back again.
TravelerCamped here for Labor Day weekend. The koa is right next to Indiana Beach campground and we learned campers can use amenities at both sites. Koa has two nice pools (one large pool for kids and adults and smaller one for toddlers). The IB side has a large mini golf course ($8 for those > 5) and a nice arcade our boys enjoyed (also for a fee). The IB side has a very large spalsh pad, but was never open or on when we went over there. We stayed in a pull through spot with full hook up and it was mostly quiet. Quiet time is supposed to be after 11. The first night some people across from us were loud until after 1am. Reading other Google reviews it sounds like the quiet hours are not enforced and it can get very loud in the tent area. There is a nice camp store with essentials and ice cream. Lots of bathrooms around and the ones we used were clean. It was a nice weekend.
Also we had a very poor wifi signal. My husband had a hot spot from work and that was helpful. We were unable to get many channels on on tv with our antenna. If you have a satellite dish bring it.
Traveler
There were only 2 sites that were full hookups big enough for our 5th wheel
TravelerHost are the nicest people you could ask for. Always have activities on the weekend and very quiet.
GuideSuper friendly owners. Quickly responsive to an on-the-road call. Reasonably priced.
Traveler
Surprised to see they had a pool too and the water to fish from was much larger than. It appeared from the road hit wraps around so you can’t get it all in one picture. Very tranquil and quiet
GuideWe love coming here when we want to camp, fish and getaway from home without driving far.
We prefer certain primitive sites where we can be spaced out more and park on the grass since we car camp. This campground can fill up quickly, so we always show up pretty early in the day.
GuideThis was our second time coming to this local spot. We didn’t have as much luck with catching catfish this time, but our campsite was great! It was tucked all the way at the back of the second pond and surrounded by trees and a cornfield.
We scored the most private area for sure. While it felt more peaceful back there, you can still easily here people across the lake and their poor choice in music.
We love this campground when we just need a quick getaway. A bad storm rolled in that night, but we felt well protected by the trees.
RangerCampground Review:
UPDATE: we're still finding issues with our camper's plumbing that we can trace back to this campground.
If you're looking for a great place for catch and release fishing, this is it! There are three huge ponds fully stocked with fish. The fishing is also open to the public where people can get day passes for 2, 4, 8 or 12 hours of fishing. It may also include access to the pool. I'm not too knowledgeable on fishing but the ponds do look a bit murky and dirty. If you were able to keep the fish, I'm not sure I would want to eat what I caught. The pool is nice and open based on request from 11am-6pm and they'll extend the hours based on the weather and amount of people there. Weekends are much busier than the week days. The grounds has 5 rows of RV sites. It seems most of them are filled with seasonal folks who spend almost every weekend here. Most are back in sites as well. The roads are pretty nicely done with white rock. I don't remember any serious potholes. There campground does not offer cable, internet or laundry. They are pet friendly, however, due to it being more about the fishing, watch where they step, I've found old fishing wire with hooks still attached on the ground. You get a code to the gate if you are staying for a while, more short term people will get a token to put in and you'll have to get a new token every time you want to come in from the store. The store is mostly filled with fishing gear, some snacks and drinks too. All in all, its an all right campground. I've stayed at nicer, I've stayed at worse.
Product Review:
As a ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes get products to test out. This time I've been testing out hats from Banner & Oak. They have a wide array of hats available on their site including beanies for those colder months. I got one from both the men's and women's sections. First off, I wish there were just as many options for the women's as the men's. A lot of them men's ones are much cooler. Like the one I got which says "Freedom To Explore" I can't think of a better slogan for the RV lifestyle. With both hats you can tell they are made from very high quality materials. That they will last a long, long time. Even through the sweatiest of hikes. Both hats are adjustable which is nice. As a woman, I opted for the women's style since the website stated it had a different sizing structure to fit our different sized heads. I find that if I wear it properly, it will still push down on my ears a little bit. I am, however, still able to wear my sunglasses and the hat no problem and the sun stays out of my face. I do prefer the sizing on the men's hat, maybe I have a weird head shape but I know its pretty small.
Banner & Oak also sell these really awesome aluminum mugs that also say "Freedom To Explore." The material makes them durable in the camper while we're traveling down the road and they are the perfect size for morning coffee! They're only 10 oz so it gives you the perfect amount (unless your they type that takes an IV of coffee every morning). Great stuff Banner & Oak!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Independence, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Independence, IN is Turkey Run State Park Campground — Turkey Run State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 67 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 17 glamping camping locations near Independence, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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