Best Tent Camping near Lafayette, IN

Stayed here from Thursday to Monday. Park is clean, sites roomy.

There isn't a whole lot to do in the park itself. Once you've seen the Indian village, self guided, and the homestead, you're pretty much done. The biking is on nice pavement, but not many trails.

There is a nice water park for families. We didn't spend any time there, so I don't feel I can give it a review at this time.

The potential is there, I guess time will tell if it gets developed.

The full hookups are awesome! Love that capability, and being five minutes from Lafayette, and all the activities and things to see it offers was nice. We will go back again, just wish there was more to do in the park itself

I am tent camper and stayed at tent primitive section right by the creek. They have RV section, electric tent sites and primitive and those do not mix - no tents at rv section and vice versa. I camp weekdays so I had all section to myself for three days. You can carry your chair right to the creek and hang out in the shade. There are few trails looping around for the walks. Most of tent sites got shade. Rv sites all seem to be level, although kind of close together. Nice and clean bathrooms and shower facility. I have not tried renting canoe because they were closed for a season, due to low water level in the creek. There are a lot of nice places around to visit Turkey Run and Shades state parks are not far as well as numerous covered bridges to explore. Campground stays quiet at night - haven’t seen partying or noise. They also have few cute cabins for rent right by the creek. Will definitely be back and would recommend this place to anyone.

Nice clean park in west-central Indiana that has a lake and a large number of camping sites along with restrooms and showers. The primitive tent camping sites don't require reservations, and each have a picnic table. There are modern campsites that have water and electrical hook-ups, and there are some small cabins that can be rented. The bath house was clean, and the grounds crew does a great job keeping the grass cut. Camp sites seem more spread out here compared to most state parks. Location is fairly close to Sugar Creek and other parks such as Turkey Run and Shades State Park. The lake is popular for fishing.

The staff was great, all the amenities were fantastic. This campsite would be great if you were staying in an RV, camper, or one of the cabins, but the tent sites are terrible. They are right next to the highway, and they are all very exposed, and have little protection from mosquitoes.

This campground is great! The creek is awesome for catching tadpoles and minnows. And definitely take time to float or kayak down the river. The pond is stocked with GIANT fish (catch and release only) and definitely go for a hike over at Turkey Run. Our site (4) was a good location for us, although we tent camped in 25 before and you can't beat those views

Seems like a beginner place to go camping. Easy for families with young kids. They have a tent camping section in one area with rooms to leave cars. A boat camp right into the water. A playground. A shelter with plenty of picnic tables to have a fairly large gathering. Pretty cool area to hang out. You need to call to make reservations from the town.

Super easy reservations online, and if it’s a weekday or a Sunday you could likely just roll up. $16/night for a tent site plus $9 out of state car fee. Security is at the main gate until midnight so later check-ins are possible. Great set-up after driving 11+ hours!

I stayed at one of the primitive tent sites. It was nice and shaded. As the other reviewer pointed out, further away from the entrance will get you away from the road noise. The shower house was very clean and well kept.

I would definitely stay here again. I would just select a site toward the back.

Hit a little rough patch in life and needed a break from sleeping in the car and hotels . All the staff at the park were very friendly and understanding of our situation. At $20 a nite for tent site ,showers ,clean toilets ,whole park is very clean ! Lots of things to do here and the waterfall was our fav part ! Deff will be back when in the area . Our site was right down the Rd from the waterfall so had a great view !

Prophetstown is a very well kept and clean park.  The sites book up super fast on weekends and you have to book months out. If you tent camp like we do the park makes you set tent up on gravel which is a little disappointing.  The best sites are the rev sites and they are slowly growing the tent ones.  Very little shade.  Unless you are on a full hookup site.  The playgrounds are nice and big but far away from the electric sites.  Bike trails are great and paved roads make it easy.  The best thing about this park is the water park. Not included for camping price but still decent priced.  We did go 3 days ina row which cost us $40 total for the weekend.  It can become costly if you go to the park multiple Fay’s ina row.  Overall our trip was great.  We have camped 2 times now.

A friend and I came here with her pop-up tent for a random weekend in 2020 when the weather was absolutely perfect for camping - in the 70s the entire trip. 

We arrived and were shocked to see that our site was basically on top of our neighbor's and it was not flat at all. Luckily, we weren't tent camping or it would've been a disaster. 

We did have some lake views, although we were in the middle of the road so we didn't have our own private space like other sites did. We were in the non-electric area, but did have modern restrooms.

The restrooms were kept very clean and smelled of bleach at all times (a good thing during COVID). There is also a hiking trail that goes near the lake that is very close to the campground, so good access point for hikers. 

One thing to note is how close the sites are to each other, especially for those in the electric areas. It was as if it was a little city with how many people/campers/RVs/campers there were. I wasn't a fan.

We just left after a 2 night stay and we’re really pleased with this camp ground. The staff were very friendly and wanted to make sure our stay was the best it could be.

Our primitive tent site was in the very back isolated from the rest of the grounds. A port-a-potty was near by, but the shower house was a short drive away. Also, the site, 27C, was alone with timber separating it from the nearest site. The downside to this site is the morning/afternoon sun, but we adapted with a pop-up canopy and positioning our tent to utilize the little shady available.

The shower house was one of the cleanest we’ve seen and the staff makes a concerted effort to keep it that way.

The camp store was a nice convenience and wood delivery was a plus.

Lastly, features include a pond to fish (and rental of paddle boats/canoes) where my son and I caught two decent sized fish from the dock. Playground, volleyball court, and a half court basketball were right off the backside fishing dock.

I learned of this place through the Dyrt (thank you!) and knew I wanted to stay here! There are several options available: tent camping (including a tree tent!), RV camping (two with electric hookups), and a 170-year-old log cabin. If you are RV camping, there are two very clean, private, and fully stocked "outhouses" (see photo below)

We originally planned to camp in our van but with below-freezing temperatures and a forecasted snowstorm, we decided to take refuge in the log cabin. To call this a log cabin is a disservice; yes, it is made from logs(and is 170 years old) but I was expecting a tiny one-room cabin; instead it is a two-story cozy home that can sleep up to six people, all in one upstairs room (two full-size beds and two twin beds; would be great for families). It was cozy and warm, heated by a gas stove. The bathroom (with a shower) is accessed from just outside the back door but is heated. The kitchen is an outdoor grill and picnic table, but we did not use this. 

Tim and Beth were very welcoming, as was Juno, their dog. We enjoyed helping to feed the Alpacas– they have over 50. The rooster crowed gustily at dawn (but dawn was after 7 am and we were already awake). Also on the farm is Stormy, the horse, chickens, and some barn cats. There is a shop that sells goods made from Alpaca wool and we made sure to visit before departing. 

Staying here was truly special and we hope to return to camp in one of the RV spots or the tree tent in the future.

We go to Prophetstown State Park sometimes because it is close to Lafayette, IN, and it is a place where you can go hiking. You can ride bikes within the park if you want to. Fairly large modern campground area w/ water and electrical hook-ups, bath house and restrooms. Everything was quite clean here, and very little trash seen on the ground. This is one of Indiana's newest state park and has a lot of acres of prairie, so much of the landscape is not very impressive. Most hiking trails are easy to hike on, but a bit boring compared to some other more scenic parks. Not much shade at many of the campsites. Can do some birding here if interested.

Prophetstown State Park is located between Lafayette and Battleground, IN. It proved to be a lovely place to stay. We parked in Spruce Loop which had spacious sites and full hookups. I especially appreciated the fact that all the sites were, at the least, partially shaded and at a distance from neighboring sites. We were also within easy walking distance of a spacious and clean vault toilet. A little further walk brings you to a large restroom/shower facility. It also was very clean. The full hookup sites are in Spruce Loop. Electric only sites are in Savanna Loop. They are fairly new so not offering much shade as yet, although plenty of young trees are sprouting. They park offers much in the way of hiking, biking, playgrounds, basketball court, spacious shelters, a farm and nature center to visit, plus a large fun, water park. We plan to return with our bikes and also with a grandchild soon.

Much 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.