Best Glamping near New Castle, IN

Hueston Woods State Park, Oh.

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/huestonwoods 

Campground Overview: Hueston Woods State Park is very close to Miami University...in the Southwest area of Ohio. The direction we traveled from the south took us on numerous winding country lanes through farm country that actually meandered in and out of Indiana and Ohio.

(Disclaimer: I am a tent camper, preferring backcountry sites of solitude and privacy...so take my reviews of campgrounds with a grain of salt). 

The campground area is separated not only by roadway, but a short walk, ride or drive from the reservoir, docks, boat rental beach area and tiny nature center. 

The Campground Office sits at the campground entrance and does offer quite a bit of camping items for its tiny size should you have forgotten anything. The cabins and lodge are on the opposite bank of the reservoir. The tent site area was sparsely occupied and the particular area was empty that I chose. 

All campground sites are line of sight, no barriers or buffer between neighbors(something I do not enjoy)...the trees are mature and tall so offer no privacy. Noise/sound travels so when full, you’ll likely hear your neighbors conversations. 

Unknowingly, it appeared every weekend in October has a big Halloween emphasis, so the upper campground was sold out. I was advised the lower non electric loop would also be sold out...which reinforced my gratefulness for midweek camping. 

With the vast old growth forests, dried/dead branches for firewood was plentiful for a chilly night(38) fire. We evaded the impending rain for once and pressed on. Weekend campers experienced heavy storms as we left. 

There are several hiking trails and biking trails. Streams were dried up at our visit. A cool restoration covered bridge was a short hop from the campground. The lodge has a restaurant, a gift shop, an outside pool and a nicely equipped activity room for older kids complete with numerous arcade games, pool table, and ping-pong table. There is also a token tiny exercise center-Key card entrance for lodge stayers. The A-frame lodge, though nostalgic, needs some TLC and updating(especially the exterior). 

Traffic noise is noticeable, especially during quiet hours. While not excessive, it’s disruptive. 

Deer sighting were plentiful as were chattering tree rats...ahem, squirrels, sorry. Woodpeckers stayed busy overhead. At dusk an overly friendly“masked trash panda” encroached seeking to share my delectable and perfectly toasted s’more...having to be chased off(unfortunately, it appeared he has been fed by campers to be that bold). Other small birds were plentiful as were migrating Canadian honkers. 

Housekeeping notes: In the larger non-electric loop newer restrooms existed...modern bathrooms and showers were clean and stocked with TP. No paper towels offered, only electric hand dryers. Bathroom stalls, like the showers, utilized shower curtains rather than lockable doors. In my tent area...antiquated wood shed pit latrines...that truly needed razed. 

I did not have time to walk any trails, but talked with mountain bikers that spoke favorably. There were several marked trails near the reservoir area. 

Final Thoughts: It was a nice choice for a stop-over as I drifted north. However, I would not want to stay when it’s busy or on the weekends. The reservoir beach and watercraft fishing appears a big draw...and I wish I had brought both my bicycle and canoe.

Indian Lakes Campground is 10 minutes east of downtown Batesville, an hour to the east of Indianapolis and an hour to the west of Cincinnati. With over 1000 sites they offer a KOA section, year round leased sites, Thousand Trails sites and individual sites. We’re a married couple in our forties traveling with two dogs and a cat in our 37 foot motorhome and members of Thousand Trails. We arrived on April 3rd, the day prior to Indiana Covid-19 stay at home restrictions. The property owners were gracious enough to allow us to extend our stay beyond the normal 14 day limit for our personal safety. We were assigned a 50 amp site with water and sewer in loop 4B. This is an open loop with very few trees for shade. Immediately across from our site is a large field about the length of a football field. We can see the lake in the distance past the recreation and pool areas. During our stay we did not access the restroom, laundry, recreation or store areas as we were practicing social distancing. We plan to make many return trips to this campground in the future. Because we were the first to stay in our site since the campground closed for the winter season we had a little site maintenance/pickup to perform but nothing too out of the norm. The noise from the highway can only be heard about once a week. On weekends there’s an increase in golf-cart users and most neighbors are respectful during quiet hours.

Advertises heated pool and splash pad, but pool was not heated and colder than lake(major bummer- as this was a major draw for us) and splash pad is still under construction- not new and ready for 2021. Lake is nice and clear, pretty cold(would love to feel it in August or September). Fun to jump into and overall pretty. Wibit should be included or at least offer 1/2 hour slots. Everyone is very nice, close to cute coffee shop and stores in Richmond. Park is in need of updates, just feels used- but can tell that is in process. No COVID restrictions other than"stay distanced" sign, but our adults were vaccinated and we just tried to keep our kids distanced. Good WiFi, everything fairly clean, nice little store w/ inexpensive ice cream. No"bar& grill" as advertised. Newer playground structure, but for younger kids- no swings.

Ranger Review: Grubstick at Holiday KOA Greenfield, Indiana. Campground Review: So, I’ve said it before, KOA’s are not my kind of camping. However I find myself once again with a KOA yearly membership. Why? Because several of the people whom I camp with enjoy the WiFi and other perks of staying at a KOA. I met my brother and his wife at the Holiday KOA https://koa.com/campgrounds/indianapolis/ right outside Indianapolis, Indiana for a very wet tent camp out. I towed my redneck “tent platform” and brought along plenty of tarpage. No kayak, the weather actually dipped into the high thirty’s and I am not a cold weather kayaker. Perks of this KOA are a very nice playground and wading pool area. So if you have younger children, ideal for you. There is a nice size dog park and you can get a nice walk in around the campground. They have delivery style pizza right on site and some planned activities on weekends. There is the aforementioned WiFi and the latrine is newer but lacking in hooks ( I’m a big hook person, where else am I supposed to hang my bathroom bag and clothes while showering or grooming at the sink?) The other issue with the latrine is there is only ONE for the entire campground. This is a nice size campground and it can be a good hike from the backside to the latrine, I know this because I had to make that hike more then once. The other issue with that is not everyone is willing to walk that far when they need to go, so where do you suppose they take care of their business? .... exactly! And then there’s my same old complaint of they fit a camper or tent into every square meter of this park, it can get very full and crowded. Excuse me while I look in your window or can over hear every word you say. Holiday was very well maintained to the point of mowing while I’m trying to set up my area and blowing grass all over everything, please don’t run over my dog...Otherwise we had fun looking for area happenings and shopping. I visited Fort Harrison State Park which was nearby. Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I get the opportunity on occasion to review outdoor oriented products. I had the chance to try out Grubstick https://grubstick.com/ and I can say I was excited! I am a campfire cooking kind of person and have tried out many contraptions, the Grubstick is a long time in coming. I say that because this ain’t your grandma’s wiener roasting stick or your moms wicked pointed metal fork that can put your eye out or trip you when it slides down the side of the chair leg. The most phenomenal part of the Grubstick is that the handle is.....RETRACTABLE!!! No more wedging the fork in the most inconvenient place or trying to fit it in your cooking box. The handle when not expanded can fit easily into your pocket, day pack, backpack, fannypack !!! To me that is AWESOME!! Revolutionary! Seems to be sturdier then ones I’ve seen in camp stores. Along with the handle comes two attachments and a easy open handle in a nice, durable carry bag, LOVE IT. Christmas gifts all around! And this was before I checked it out. I have two “sets” and unfortunately one of the sticks broke after only a few retractions and extensions. Perhaps I was too vigorous in my extension technique? So carefully extend your grubstick when using. Otherwise it worked like a dream! And the other stick had no issues, so maybe just a flaw in that one stick? I haven’t contacted the company yet, but I will see how they are about returns or replacements. I roasted some sausages and we toasted some marshmallows for s’mores. The pack up was easy too, nice carry bag to put it all in, I usually carry or reuse a freezer type bag for “dirty” silverware etc. I removed the fork head off the Grubstick and it went right in. No MESS! No Long Pointy Stick with goo at the end to wrap and store. Love it! I didn’t use the Grubstick basket while camping so I pulled it out at the house to add some footage and testing. If Grubstickadds a pie pan attachment, I’m one of the first in line to get it!! Happy Camp Cooking ;)