Best Dog-Friendly Camping near North Salem, IN

This campground is great proximity to I-70 for an easy on/off the interstate and just outside of downtown Terre Haute (approximately eight miles). The park is nice and shady with large trees. When we were there in November, there were very few other campers and most appeared to be transients there for just one night. With all the amenities in this place there is probably a lot going on in the summer. Downtown Terre Haute has plenty of activities including live music, sporting events, museums, restaurants, and historic sites.

RV sites are pull thrus and back-ins that vary from 50 amp full hook-up with deluxe patio to 30 amp water/electric. All sites were level. There are definitely sites big enough for big-rigs with tow vehicles so you don’t have to unhook if you are just stopping for a night. Water, sewer and electric hook-ups were well-placed and easy to reach. In addition to the RV sites, there are kamping cabins with deluxe accommodations (including air conditioning, kitchens, and bathrooms) capable of sleeping up to 6 people to rustic cabins without bathrooms. Tent sites are available as is a “teepee.”

Amenities at the park include: swimming pool, camp store (with fire wood), full service restaurant (May – November), propane fill, bike rental, basketball courts, playground, horseshoes, petting zoo, and coin laundry. The restroom and shower house was clean. There is a dump station located at the exit of the park. Our Verizon 4G phone and hotpsot had great service. Our antenna picked up about two dozen television channels

If you have a dog, there is an off-leash dog park and you are free to walk dogs around the property and there is a long road leading into park. The only problem we had with the park was that some of the trees were not trimmed and the roads where narrow and would rub against our RV.

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!

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.

This review is based on a short-term stay versus a destination campground(CG). It was an interesting drive to the CG off I-70 through 2 traffic circles and into the CG as it's close to I-70 but not right off the highway. There was good signage to the CG. The office was closed on a Monday at about 5:00 PM but our paperwork was in the slots outside the office. We followed the provided CG map to pull through site 51 with FHUs. On our second stay two days later we were guided into site 47 with FHUs. Two sites share utilities. This was a nice CG for an overnighter on the way to and from Elkhart, IN for RV maintenance. They have a good-sized dog park. We got 4 bars each on Verizon and T-Mobile. There are mature trees in this CG, but you should not have a problem getting a satellite signal. We got a lot of OTA channels as the CG does not have cable. WiFi performed well for a CG this size. The water pressure was decent. For site 47, watch the tree to the right as you turn in as we brushed our awning. They have tent sites and cabins. There were permanent/transit/seasonal parties here and their sites for the most part were well maintained. The goats and donkeys were a pleasant addition. If you're active or retired military, you should call versus going online to make a reservation to get the military discount. We found out about the discount after we arrived and were supposed to get the discount applied to both stays, but that never happened.

Cost was$60 a night for a full hook up site. You pay for your whole site cost at the time of the reservation. Most sites are gravel. The campground had WIFI that was fast enough to stream. When I made our reservation, they were given the type and size of our RV and truck. When we arrived, we were told that we would not be able to get into that site due to the turns(too tight). They were able to move us to another site. What was the purpose of asking at reservation time the information about our RV and truck if you are not going to use it? We had to unhook and was not able to park our truck on our site. We had to leave it in the parking lot. There is only water hooks on every other site so depending what site you get, you might have to run your water hose under your RV to hook up. Sites are very close together. I would concern if our neighbor had a fire in their fire pit as it was under our bedroom slide. Our firepit had cigarette butts in it. There is an enclosed dog park. Many areas for children to play– bounce pillow, playground, gem mining, etc. I would not stay here again as they cannot handle large RVs and the sites are too close together. Due to the small site, as we were hooking up to leave, we blocked the road. This meant others had to drive through other sites to get around.

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 ;)