Best Tent Camping near Mishawaka, IN

We spent the weekend exploring America’s 61st National Park- Indiana Dunes National Park. The National Park campsite was full and recommended this place about 10 minutes away. It was our first time tent camping and the sites were very clean and nice. The bathrooms were also well maintained and camping staff very friendly and helpful.

They have lots of hiking, biking, and boating. They have cabins, rob hook ups, and tent camping.

Tent sites are all in one cleared area that is a short walk from the parking spots. I had the place to myself as it was Labor Day Monday night. Showers and bathrooms were clean. Pool looked nice. Best part is that it’s a 3 minute drive to a public beach with great swimming and a beautiful sunset. Owners and staff are kind and I think there’s a little store and bar on site. $20 per tent site.

You gotta love Indiana dunes national lakeshore! A quick drive from chicago this campsite is a real good place to get away from the city and enjoy the outdoors. It’s one of my favorite places to go within an hour’s drive. The campsite has everything you need. Modern bathrooms and showers, running water. Good for tent camping. It’s clean and a quick drive to a quiet beach at Beverly Shores. I highly recommend!

After camping in Maryland it was nice to have a large more inviting spot. Perfect for tent camping. Camp store has all you need. The dunes are epic and swimming in Lake Michigan was great. Have returned many times and is our go to park.

...although you probably wouldn't want to camp in the Indiana winter. I grew up coming here mostly to sled on the hills! But, there is a lot more to do. It surrounds Worster Lake and there are cabins, RV sites, and tent sites along with horse trails and bike trails. In the winter, there's sledding hills and ice fishing. The campgrounds are pretty standard, nothing special. If you live in the area, it's a fine little getaway.

I prefer this campground a lot more compared to the state park one, especially if tent camping. They have a section of walk in sites that are nicely spread apart, while still only being a few minutes walk to parking and the shower house.

took my son on a father son camping trip! normaly i would bring my 32 foot camper but we roughed it for the weekend and tent camped. sites were smooth and level and well taken care of. lots of nice walking and biking trails and a big electric motor only fishing lake and nice beach.

Stayed sept 2022, $30 tent site (no electric). Its $40 with electric. Arrived after office hours, campground gated, but host was super friendly and helpful! The grounds are immaculate. Bet it's very popular in summer. Beautiful place, wish I could have stayed a lot longer.

First time to Indiana with a quick trip to the Dunes. We were disappointed the state park was full but found this campground close by. The tent sites were very private as we were the only ones there for the night. Plenty of space tucked among the trees. Bathrooms seemed newer and were very clean. The only thing that disappointed us was the lack of COVID precautions. No mask worn by the office worker or wiping down of desk or credit card machine. Would still recommend for the future.

Online reservations is a bit confusing. Map designated tent sites with numbers. When you book campsites they have letters with no map or site pics. You have to book a site but it says first come first serve. Good place for fishing from bank and launching kayak, canoes.

Although it states in the app free dispersed camping. Doesn't always mean just that. The cheapest campsite at primitive camping is $12 bucks. (Tent sites) For more, you can get electric hookup sites galore that all include a fire ring picnic table and a pretty leveled out spot.

RV Sites are stacked on each other. We chose 306 and it was ok by the pond. No misquitos. Our friends had 310 and there was barely room to put their awning out. Lots of kids, pool full on the weekends. Good thing it's close to Bonnieville Park. The tent sites looked nice. Wifi is very slow. Verizon 2 bars

Campground at Chain O Lakes State Park is a moderately wooded campground with standard sites. Some camping sites are more private than others and caters to RVs since many of sites are not level. They have a primitive loop with flat sites which makes for great tent camping. The beach is a fun activity for the kids and there are several lakes linked together via narrow creeks which can used by canoes and kayaks.

I had a peaceful stay in a tent site here. I tried an RV resort park first and my site was right next to train tracks and packed in next to the other sites. This spot was more spacious and fairly quiet with good showers. A great place for a stop when visiting the dunes if the park campgrounds are full.

Stayed here 2 nights in the group tent camping area. Plenty of space to spread out and good firepits. Love the secure entrance and key card access. Pool and bathrooms were clean, although the bathroom could use a slight update. The only complaint of the weekend of the garbage pickup at 11pm, very loud, and the fireworks being set off until after midnight (outside of the campground so out of campgrounds control). Will definitely be back if we are in the area!

We arrived on a busy July evening without reservations to find a single-nigth cancellation already paid for by a camper who left early. Our luck! We spent the afternoon on the lakeside and drove back to the site to set up for the evening. Our site had a picnic area/firepit a short walk away from the parking area, which is great for tent camping, but less suitable for our camper van. Nonetheless, friendly staff, clean bathrooms, and lots of privacy make this gem worth booking.

I stopped here with my dog for the night. The semi-modern or tent sites have okay privacy. Some sites like 18 and 19 (where I stayed) share space so those sites would be great for groups. Could hear the traffic from the local highway but it wasn't too bad, I still slept well. The grounds were prettt empty but I was there on a Tuesday night before Labor Day.

The dunes and dog beach were perfect for Clutch to expel energy after a long drive.

These grounds would be perfect for a night or two or if you have a larger group.

FYI: Vault toilets

The campground was full, but not overcrowded. Very friendly neighbors and camp staff. There is a nice nature trail to the beach. If you are able, do the 3 dune challenge. It wasn’t easy for this old body, but I was glad to have marked it off my list. The nature center is right next to the campground. The pavilion is being renovated, the ice cream shop was open, but they were still doing construction on the rest. I hear that it will be grand when finished. I will definitely go back to this campground. I just won’t pick the tent site again. The sand is very dirty there.