Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Monticello, IN

This campground is a great place for families and pets.

We camped in the electric part of the park. During our stay we enjoyed the hiking opportunities for us and our dogs.

There were children involved in bike riding and playing at the playground every day and activities like the park Challenge to explore the park in a guided way, looking for local animals and skeletal remains.

Yu can also fish, canoe, Kayak or tube on the Tippecanoe River.

The Comfort Buildings were well lit and clean. They were also well stocked.

There was a horse camp available as well as youth tenting and cabins to rent.

This is a great State Park with more things to offer in addition to the ones mentioned above. We will definitely be back.Check it out for yourself soon!

This place was awesome! They have done a lot of updates since we camped there years ago! Great new pool and pool house, FUN petting zoo, gemstone mining for the kids, hayrides, as well as crafts and a scavenger hunt. The grand kids loved this place and ask constantly when they get to go back!

The town of Monticello offers a lot. The camp ground was very clean and shower houses were very nice. Water, cable, sewer, electric available.

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.

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!

This is the place to go for a quiet simple camping trip. There is no pool or camp store and cell service is limited so it is a great place to get away from it all. Lots of kids riding bikes and playing at the playground. Almost every camper brings their dog. It is how camping should be!

This KOA served as " home" for my husband and I for 3 weeks while moving. The family that runs the campground is wonderful and extremely helpful. The little restaurant has great food at good prices, and many ice cream flavors for those hot summer day's! Great pool and a place to let your dog run! The cabin we stayed in had so much privacy and was adorable! We love this KOA and can't wait to go back!

Well kept and clean area in the plains of Indiana. Great amnesties for the area such as a new, large public pool and a few hiking and biking trails.

I have been to 9 other Indiana State parks, this one is in the top half. Great sites and clean. Large clean lake with beach. Lots of trails and many views. Staff is very friendly. The down side, bathrooms weren’t very clean and no one enforced noise curfew. I often stay up very late but I respectfully do so. When its after 1am and I can clearly hear you across the park, no bueno! Lol....other than that, I would definitely be back after I complete my bucketlist of Indiana State parks.

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.

Nice KOA property which sits directly next to - and shares amenities with - the Indiana Beach Campground, next door. Clean facilities and grounds, and friendly staff. Most sites need new tamped gravel, and WiFi is spotty, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Nice, quiet and shady. This campground is connected to the Indiana Beach campground, but this one is much nicer. It's a few dollars more but well worth it for the quiet. They have a pool and a camp store. There are trolleys to take you across the street to the amusement park

Locsted on puplic water source lzke near Peru Indiana. Clean and spacious sites. About $25 plus $7.00 park entry fee for 50/30 amp with water. Nice restrooms and showers. Dump site available. Some sites on the lake.

This campground was clean and fun! We went swimming in the lake. We also had fun trying to outsmart the raccoons that lived under the mini cabins. They were everywhere! Also if you want to drive to nearby Peru, Indiana you should check out their circus festival and youth circus! It was amazing to see these kids perform circus tricks!

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.

Camped 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.

Not too far out of the way, this is Indiana's newest state park, if I'm not mistaken, and it shows. The lower loop is all full hookups with 50, 30, and 20 amp service and respectably woody. The back loop is more open grassland type camping, but it has electric at every location and water every 2-4 sites. 

There's a big playground including a section for younger kids and the main area for 5-12 year olds. About a half mile outside of the campground is another, smaller, playground in the state park. And about a mile and a half outside of the campground back towards the entrance to the state park is a water park. The aquatic center was not open during my stay, but according to the web is open Memorial Day through Labor Day and is $5 per person (3 and under free). It's a VERY short car ride, a maybe 30 minute walk, or a reasonably short bike ride from the camp sites. 

AT&T service at my site seemed to average 2 bars. Sometimes 1, sometimes 3. No wifi.

There's a primitive-style potty shack with 2 restrooms in between the two sections and a bathhouse in the center of the back loop. My wife said the hot water wasn't working (I would have docked them a half star for that, but The Dyrt only does full stars and we only stayed 2 nights), so you may just call and ask if they've had any complaints about it recently.

Firewood was available, but it was honor system and cost $5.35 cash only. I assume the price is set by the state, but exact change is rare for us so that was a mild annoyance.