Best Campgrounds near Paragon, IN

Are you in need of a campground near Paragon, IN? Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Paragon is surrounded by family-friendly activities. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Indiana camping adventure.

Best Camping Sites Near Paragon, Indiana (121)

    1. Oak Ridge Camping Area — Morgan-Monroe State Forest

    9 Reviews
    Martinsville, IN
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (765) 342-4026

    $25 - $55 / night

    "This is probably the best state forest in the state of Indiana. The property is well maintained. There is a new visitors center built a few years ago."

    "Site 13 has a little trail that goes down to a large flooded sinkhole behind the campsite. There were lots of tree frogs singing because of the proximity to water."

    2. Lieber State Recreation Area Campground

    22 Reviews
    Cloverdale, IN
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (765) 276-0194

    $16 - $25 / night

    "Cagles Mill Lake borders the southwestern side of the area.

    We arrived to a very quiet campground with few campers."

    "Each campsite is spacious and has plenty of space away from your neighbors. There was plenty of shade even though our pad wasn't tucked back in the woods."

    3. Paynetown Campground

    29 Reviews
    Clear Creek, IN
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (812) 837-9546

    $16 - $25 / night

    "It's a bittersweet type of situation."

    "Paynetown boasts the second largest beach on Lake Monroe, and the primitive sites include a very nice shower house."

    4. Yellowwood State Forest

    15 Reviews
    Unionville, IN
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (812) 988-7945

    $225 / night

    "Peaceful little place but unfortunately it rained but we made the best of it, there’s some secluded spots where you can stay away from others or stay in the more general areas, nice lake to fish and we"

    "Drive up, select your site, and then go to the park office to pay using a self-pay envelope. Bring exact change(cash). Current prices are listed on the Indiana DNR website."

    5. Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park

    31 Reviews
    Nashville, IN
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (812) 988-6406

    $23 / night

    "We have visited Nashville Indiana several times but this is our first time camping nearby. My wife loves to visit Nashville and all the little shops they offer."

    "It was backed up to the edge of the woods which made for a lovely view. Driving through the campground it looks like there are some sites pretty close together but ours wasn’t too bad."

    6. Buffalo Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park

    22 Reviews
    Nashville, IN
    24 miles
    Website
    +1 (812) 988-6406

    $23 / night

    "This is a beautiful State Park situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana."

    "I make multiple visits here every year, mainly for the mountain bike trails. There are almost 30 miles of trails inside the park with new trails every year for the past 3+ years."

    7. Cagles Mill Lake

    3 Reviews
    Cloverdale, IN
    12 miles
    Website

    $10 - $30 / night

    "This wonderful hidden gem is 14 miles away from McCormick's Creek State Park. It is a DNR state operated and has some pretty cool fishing. It was family-approved by my kin."

    8. Hardin Ridge

    25 Reviews
    Heltonville, IN
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (812) 837-9453

    $21 - $55 / night

    "This campground is nestled on a ridge above Indiana's Lake Monroe."

    "Hardin Ridge is a fantastic place to camp, and is very close to lake Monroe. But it's also quite a ways away from any stores in case you forget anything."

    9. Hickory Hills Camp Resort

    1 Review
    Cloverdale, IN
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (765) 795-6079

    "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"

    10. Blackwell Campground — Hoosier National Forest

    22 Reviews
    Heltonville, IN
    27 miles
    +1 (812) 275-5987

    "The ground is level and all grass with less bugs than sites directly off trail. We just have a simple backpacking tent set-up and we had a great campfire."

    "Site is a wide open and well-groomed, with trails just a short walk (or ride) away.

    Toilets and covered picnic tables nearby."

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Recent Reviews near Paragon, IN

766 Reviews of 121 Paragon Campgrounds


  • Cynthia K.
    Sep. 16, 2025

    Turkey Run State Park Campground

    Nice State Park Campground

    Turkey Run State Park. Arguably one of the top 5 state parks in Indiana.

    Lots of hiking opportunities, including the fabulous Trail 3 which should be a National Trail IMO. Go hike early before 10 am. This area gets crazy busy after that. 

    Nice nature center.

    2 covered bridges.

     A swimming pool in season.

     A historic inn with a restaurant. You can rent cabins also. 

    The Lusk home has tours every Saturday in season. 

    The campground is a mile or so west of the entrance to the park.

     Electric only. 270 sites. Water is available.

     There's modern bath houses with hot showers.

     We were site 218, which is technically the Turkey Hollow area. The bath house there was clean. We liked our loop for spacious sites( for a state park).

     The Twin Oaks loop seemed denser.

     There's a double dump near the exit. There's also one dump at the end of a loop by site 60. We were happy the other 4 campers trying to dump forgot about it! 

    Trail 7 access is also at the end by site 44. It's not marked on the map.

     The camp store has the usual camping supplies & gift items. Ice & wood. 

    We enjoyed our weekend here! Even though it rained Saturday.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 9, 2025

    Taylor Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park

    Nice Trails & Big Campsites

    I had a great time camping here. The spots in Taylor ridge were mostly well-spaced and felt pretty private. The pit toilets were clean and the showers were nice. Busy campground but it was very quiet still. 262 was the biggest and most private site I saw when walking around. 260 is a pull through site.

  • Lisa M.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 28, 2025

    Shakamak State Park Campground

    Great State Park

    Most of the spaces that had both water and electric were mostly in the sun. But all the other spaces had plenty of shade and trees around them. Our space was spot on level and nice area around each space to where you didn’t feel like you were camped on top of other people. The showers were adequate. Great hiking trails in the area. Very quiet. Although we were there on a weekday. One downside was we had Verizon as a cell phone carrier and only had one bar.

  • L
    Aug. 20, 2025

    Spring Mill State Park Campground

    Fun, sunny, clean.

    This was an amazing campground! There were amazing trails and a cave, as well as Pioneer Village which was so fascinating and well run. Our campsite wasn't far from the bathrooms and showers house which were pretty clean. We were near water as well. Our campsite was on a small hill so it was well distanced from all the other campers, which was nice and peaceful. 

         There was a sweet place where you could get ice cream down the road from Spring Mill called Dairy Bell. Spring Mill wasn't far from the town were there was a Walmart, Rural King, and several more stores. 

    Very pretty and nice campground!

  • L
    Aug. 20, 2025

    Shakamak State Park Campground

    Clean, pretty, quiet, spacey.

    We had a nice site that was evenly spaced from the other campsites by trees and was nice and close to water, the bathrooms, and the shower houses, which were very clean! The camp store was nice and the paddle boats were fun! The pool was only opened on the weekends in August which was disappointing but there was a large fishing dock and many boating opportunities. Very nice camping spot, but in August beware of the bugs!

  • L
    Aug. 20, 2025

    Shades State Park Campground

    It was very clean, nicely spaced, and shaded.

    Very nice campground! It was close by Turkey Run State Park, which had amazing trails, that are pictured below. (We definitely recommend Trail 3!) The campground itself was very nice and clean, as well as shaded and pretty. We were camping in August, so it wasn't very busy and we got peace. There were many fun things to do in Turkey Run, although the pool was closed in August. There was also a fun little ice cream place and store in downtown Marshall! 

      Great place overall!

  • T
    Aug. 17, 2025

    Sugar Creek Campground and Canoe Rental LLC

    Horrible experience

    To much money rv/campsites way way to small they charge for EVERYTHING INCLUDING GUEST TO SEE IF THEY WANT TO CAMP , u can only have 4 people then its 10$ per each for a weekend ridiculous

  • T
    Aug. 17, 2025

    Sugar Creek Campground and Canoe Rental LLC

    Ripped off for sure read your itinerary is what she told me 4 times instead of trying to make it right !!!!

    Experience was good , except do not get sites 33, 34 or 35 we had maybe 5ft between us and the camper beside us , no way and the electricity hookup is right there so putting out awning was so very dangerous!!!! Bc the water dripped straight onto the electric hookup and who knows if someone may have a cut or anything wrong with there cord electric shock for sure !!!! Visitors JUST TO VISIT TO SEE IF THEY WANT TO CAMP THERE 5$ each Could not cook out or anything bc there’s no room in between your camper and your neighbor’s camper They tell u to look at the four day itinerary, but we’ve always just called or got on the website and booked our site, but it is pretty ridiculous for a camper to hold six or eight and you can only have four people and then on top of that an arm and a leg just for a float to float downstream which the gal young gal told me it was 2 miles 2 to 4 hour trip and it took us an hour so basically got ripped off pretty good this weekend so make sure to read your email b4 going here ! Thank goodness we had family bc we had absolutely no room for anything Bugs horrible And they tell you to have dogs on leash , no one had their dogs on leash except us . A blue healer tried to bite one of us ! It was pouring down and the guy on golf cart while we’re trying to hurry in the rain was so worried about our card he couldn’t wait till we was leaving to turn it in . They give u a code so why not put it in your phone bc if u lose there card they charge u 40$ Seems like more of a money thing to us . We enjoy camping but my gosh break the bank here for sure no gravel on sites hardly mainly dirt and sand so come prepared to sweep your caper or rv every hour . Very very tiny sites and unacceptable for us and anyone wanting to enjoy outside of your camper with your awning

  • Brian O.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 13, 2025

    Raccoon Ridge Campground — Brown County State Park

    the non-RV loop of the three camp areas (I think)

    Our third Indiana state park. Still impressed, they have all been friendly, well maintained with good, spread out sites and good signage everywhere (even the trails). All the rest rooms are spotlessly clean.
    We were there mid-week, so very few of the 480 (!) sites were occupied, except in Buffalo Ridge, the primary RV loop. There are three loops, Buffalo ridge (RV), Raccoon Ridge which is tent sites around the outside, with electric inside the loop. Which would be suitable for RVs. Many of the tent sites are split-level, meaning the fire pit and tent area is down a hill from where you park your car. We have a mini pop-up, and had no problem parking both it and car on the pad, and, these sites have two picnic tables, upper and lower. Check the photos when you reserve!
    We drove through Taylor ridge loop, and it's your best choice for getting away from it all. 
    The camp store is stocked with the basics, but has more souvenirs than food or camp needs. That's okay, as some of their goods are better quality than many other places.
    The park has a classic old CCC lodge (though you enter through the modern addition) so if you don't want to cook, eat at the restaurant (open till 8:PM), great food, generous portions. 
    The park also features an Olympic size pool (capacity 2,000). You cannot walk there from the campground unless you are very hardy and very determined. 
    You may think of Indiana as flat farmland, but this park is VERY hilly, with many scenic overlooks. It has two man-made lakes. Unsure about boating options on the larger one. 
    Another big feature are equestrian trails and a horse campground, see someone else's review for that.
    Nearby is the town of Nashville, which is full of art and craft galleries as well as multiple fudge shops, hand-made soaps, etc... Touristy but quaint. Was surprisingly crowded when we passed through on a Friday morning.   
    We are planning to go back to take advantage of all we missed in the area. Oh, I should point out that there are many private campgrounds nearby, it's a very popular  area.


Guide to Paragon

Camping near Paragon, Indiana, offers a variety of beautiful spots to enjoy the great outdoors. Whether you're looking for a family-friendly campground or a peaceful retreat, there are plenty of options to explore.

What to do

  • Hiking: Many campgrounds, like Turkey Run State Park Campground, have trails that lead to stunning views and unique features. One reviewer mentioned, "From the back of the campground, you can access Trail 7, a moderate level trail that leads unexpectedly to a small stream running past a recessed cave."
  • Fishing and Boating: At Cecil M Harden Lake Raccoon State Recreation Area, you can enjoy fishing and boating. A visitor shared, "Starve Hollow Lake SRA has full hookups at half the campground and electric water access on the other half."
  • Exploring Nature: Spring Mill State Park Campground offers a pioneer village and hiking trails. One camper noted, "The pioneer village is beautiful and really something to see with staff playing as villagers of the period."

What campers like

  • Clean Facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. A review for Cecil M Harden Lake Raccoon State Recreation Area stated, "The bathhouse is clean, plenty of showers, flush toilets."
  • Spacious Sites: Many campgrounds, such as Hardin Ridge, have spacious sites that provide privacy. A visitor mentioned, "Beautiful spacious sites. Spread out with plenty of room between sites."
  • Family-Friendly Atmosphere: Campgrounds like Terre Haute Campground are great for families. One reviewer said, "Lots of free activities for kids. Friendly and helpful staff."

What you should know

  • Site Conditions: Some campgrounds have uneven sites. A camper at Spring Mill State Park Campground mentioned, "It is mostly uneven and the shaded loop is very unlevel."
  • Busy Weekends: Expect crowds during peak times. A visitor at Paynetown Campground noted, "This campground is known in Indiana as a party park. It's VERY noisy & busy on a summer weekend."
  • Wildlife Encounters: Be prepared for raccoons and other wildlife. One camper at Turkey Run State Park Campground warned, "The raccoons definitely are active so make sure you lock it all up at night."

Tips for camping with families

  • Choose the Right Campground: Look for family-friendly spots like Buffalo Ridge Campground, which offers plenty of activities. A reviewer said, "There are lots of amenities that can suit any age of visitor."
  • Plan for Activities: Make sure to have a list of activities to keep kids entertained. One camper at Cecil M Harden Lake Raccoon State Recreation Area mentioned, "Great areas to walk your dog."
  • Pack Snacks and Games: Keep kids happy with snacks and games for downtime. A visitor at Starve Hollow State Recreation Area shared, "The campground was clean and well-cared for and everything was as advertised."

Tips from RVers

  • Check Site Accessibility: Make sure your RV can fit in the site. A reviewer at Terre Haute Campground noted, "Most sites are gravel. The campground had WIFI that was fast enough to stream."
  • Bring Leveling Blocks: Some sites may have inclines. A camper at Paynetown Campground advised, "People were complaining on Facebook that the site descriptions have the inclines wrong."
  • Utilize Dump Stations: Make sure to use the dump stations available at campgrounds like Hardin Ridge. A visitor mentioned, "The restrooms are clean. Well maintained facility."

Camping near Paragon, Indiana, has something for everyone, whether you're in a tent, RV, or cabin. Enjoy the great outdoors and make some lasting memories!

Frequently Asked Questions

What camping is available near Paragon, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, Paragon, IN offers a wide range of camping options, with 121 campgrounds and RV parks near Paragon, IN and 10 free dispersed camping spots.

Which is the most popular campground near Paragon, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular campground near Paragon, IN is Oak Ridge Camping Area — Morgan-Monroe State Forest with a 4.1-star rating from 9 reviews.

Where can I find free dispersed camping near Paragon, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, there are 10 free dispersed camping spots near Paragon, IN.

What parks are near Paragon, IN?

According to TheDyrt.com, there are 11 parks near Paragon, IN that allow camping, notably Monroe Lake and Cecil M. Harden Lake.