Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Indianapolis, IN

This place is pretty awesome. It's doesn't have any of the typical summer amenities like a pool but the ones it does have are in tip top shape. Campsites also don't have fire rings but there are a bunch of communal ones around the lake. Plus free communal firewood. The laundry and bathhouse is really stellar too. Clean and open 24/7. Plenty of washers and dryers. There are easy back-ins and pull-thrus. Think some of the pull-thrus are for group camping too the way it's set up. Dog park, free cable (like 60 channels!) and internet (haven't tested strength yet)! I dig it!

I stayed with full hookups, but no cable (don't need it, so don't know if it's available) and we weren't close enough to connect to the WIFI (only close enough to occasionally see 1 bar pop up).

Friendly folks, catch and release fishing pond, and a pond with beach for swimming. Good size playground, jump pad, and off-leash"dog park" available as well.

On AT&T, I typically had 2 bars and no problem streaming music or browsing Facebook. My fellow travelers, on Sprint, said they had poor reception. I'm guessing 1 bar.

Worth noting that my wife said the water pressure in the shower house was fairly low. (I shower in the camper, so can't comment.) Water pressure was fine at our site, though. Also worth noting that many of the back-in sites can be pull-through if you get there when it's not busy.

We were so fortunate to have found The Retreat at Hickory Hills and stay there for a month! There’s two pools, a pickle ball court, a basketball half court, farm animals, golf cart trails, kayak/canoe/row boats, exploring creeks, fishing, a dog park, several playgrounds, Gaga ball, tether ball, volleyball, frisbee golf and several weekend activities for everyone. Saturday mornings were our favorite where we could get biscuits and gravy, coffee and the kids had craft time. It’s definitely worth bringing mountain bikes or renting their golf carts to explore their golf cart trails! We went out on these several times and it never got old! Staff and campers were welcoming and friendly. We still haven’t stopped talking about how CLEAN they keep everything. The sites were large and they’re still expanding and adding more sites. There’s a seasonal campers area and an overnight or monthly area. We stayed in the overnight/monthly area. It was peaceful and relaxing throughout the week and lively during the weekend. It was a wonderful balance!! We’ll definitely be back.

Styed here with the grandkids and we all had a great time. Nice playgrounds and a pool with lots of water features for the kids. (Not really an adult's pool, but that's ok by me) They loved petting and feeding the horses. Campsites were large. We even had an ice cream and watched a movie in the activities hall. Really enjoyed our time there.

We camped here several time last year(2017). We had great experiences each time. Beautiful lake for kayaking! If you don’t owe a kayak or canoe, they offer rentals.

All sites are gravel with mature trees if you want shade or full sun. Pet friendly. Nice playgrounds for the kids or grandkids. Very nice beach area. Wonderful hiking trails and offer a variety of programs/activities.

Hands down my favorite campground in Indiana. Large campground with lots of space between sites. Privacy allowed my friends and I to play cards late into the night without bothering anyone. I flew from LA to Indianapolis one year, just to be able to make our annual girls camping trip.

Be sure to visit Turkey Run, Clifty Pines and Sugar Creek Canoes for a jam packed weekend full of fun.

My favorite forest with traditional camping, backwoods camping, and a wonderful secret pioneer cabin for rent. This is the best camping within an hour on Indianapolis and if your looking for free and solitary sites try the backwoods camping area for the low gap trail theres a parking lot there.

We just purchased our first camper. A Coleman Lantern 17B. We wanted to do a shake down trip close to home so we chose Mounds State Park just 45 minutes north of Indianapolis. Upon entering the park we drove to the campsite. The sites were immaculate.  The bathrooms some of the cleanest ive seen anywhere!  The charming camp store has a hummingbird feeder where birds come by often for some sweet nectar. We only stayed 2 nights and managed to walk all the trails and spend tome at the actual mounds. Ot was a great chance to work out  our bigs close to home. We will definitely be back.

Wonderful park, easily mistaken for Appalachia!  Variable site options for all sizes of vehicles and modes of camping.  Well-staffed and well-maintained.  Easy access from the Interstate south of Indianapolis and worth the diversion for travel camping (as we did); certainly worth it for a regional destination.  Toilets and bathhouses of varying age and quality, though the ones we experienced were excellent!  Camping is on a ridge or plateau with trails and roads descending from campground levels.  There are many activities and even paid horse guides/rides.  The mountain biking is excellent, with purpose built trails for beginner to expert (flow, berms, rollers, jumps...).  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."

Campground 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!

We traveled to Indianapolis for the Olympic Swimming Time Trials. Stayed here 2 nights with our 2 grand-daughters. The area we stayed was directly adjacent to a bike path. It was separated by a fence and there was a gate right next to our site. The gate was locked however the gates were far enough apart that someone could get between them. Our first night, someone actually did this and walked right behind our site.

The shower house was in serious need of some improvements! Old, dark, leaky pipes. 

The area was OVERLY well lit, to the point we were hanging sleeping bags over the windows to try and make it somewhat dark inside the camper! 

Getting to the sites took some figuring out also. We entered at the main gate to the fairgrounds and there were no signs directing us to the sites. Had to use GPS with satellite view to figure our way there. 

For comparison, we've stayed at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and this is a night and day difference. Iowa Fairgrounds sites are $20 less per night, very nice shower facilities and plenty of room between sites. 

We would stay here again but we'd need to exhaust all other options first.

BTW, the price listed is wrong. We paid $50/night.

Booked here last minute for the night on my way west. Beautiful campground with lots of activities for the family. They are all dog friendly with a few small dog runs spread throughout the sites. Primitive is $60 n/, full water/electricity is $80 n/. A bit pricey, but It’s worthwhile due to all that they have; horses, goats (that you can feed), a medium camping store with an ice cream shop attached, showers and running toilets.

GPS will take you to the back entrance that you cannot get in at. Instead of turning at the light, continue going down to the roundabout until you see the KOA sign and it’ll take you to the actual entrance and then office to sign in.

My wife our dogs and were at site 207 from 05/14/21- 05/16/21 camping in a Winnebago Micro Minnie 2108 TB. We had reservations at this campground prior to purchasing our travel trailer so we camped in a primitive, the roads were pretty tight getting the trailer back to our reserved site. The campground was great for camping and hiking.