Best Tent Camping near Portland, IN

I really enjoyed camping here!! We camped in a tent had a fire went hiking found little waterfalls and there is another part that allows horses!!

Restroom & shower facilities are clean

Flat-steep Grades for tent camping and camper camping.

Many hiking trails

Boat rental.

Swim area

Took my hubby there for his birthday. Primitive tent camping is more then affordable, and the fishing was AWESOME!! He had an amazing time. We've been back 5 times since then. It's a hidden gem for sure!

Second time out love this place has a swimming pool and splash pad for the kids and lots of parks and horseshoe pits bike rentals and put put golf but everything is closed from covid definitely my favorite place to camp primitive or electric tent camp

Full service campground. 30, 50 am full hook ups. Water and electric only hook ups, primitive RV and tent sites. Some sites are shaded, most of them seem to be year round rented. Most sites not shaded and small. Lake with beach, fishing, boating, and scuba diving. Golf cart rentals, firewood for sale on site. Pool available. Camp store and hot food available on site. Cabins also available for rent. Within 25 min of Walmart, hole improvement stores, and restaurants. Overall nice campground with lots to offer. But in most cases there is parking lot style camping.

We stayed here for free for 10 days as a part of a promotion that came with the purchase of our rig. Not sure about normal pricing though, as this campground is owned by Venture Out Resorts and they are a timeshare company (we had to sit for a hour long "pitch" to get our free days). They have 50amp, full hookup, pull through sites (and we saw 40+ ft rigs there) to tent camping to cabin rentals. The campground was clean (shower houses always looked great) and grounds were maintained. Amenities include an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna (close at 10p), but we did not partake because it was so overridden by children, chlorine, and no open windows - didn't seem worth any effort whatsoever in the July heat. The amenities we did checkout (close nightly at 8p) included their new 18 hole mini golf course, small arcade (4 games and pinball was broken 😢), loaner bikes, and water toys (we liked the paddle bikes). The company recently bought the property, so you can see what they inherited vs what it will probably eventually be like based off their sister properties (they recently added the putt putt and a big jungle gym) so it could evolve more as time passes. Regardless, in its current state as active 30 somethings, we were pretty bored. No hiking, significant highway noise, yes a couple big ponds, but a truck stop and truck storage is behind both - so no views. Most of the campers we saw were elderly or had young kids. I'd say if you fall into a category where you want to sit beside your rig all day or want your kids entertained (playgrounds, kids programming - it was luau week so they had a Moana movie night and other kid activities), go on and book a longer stay. If you're only looking for a spot to stay overnight by the highway, do it! It is simple to pull in and have full hookups to take advantage of but a 10 day stay is too long if you're paying. Other things to know: Walmart, Aldi, Lowes, and several automotive chain stores are at max 5 min away, which made grabbing some needed supplies super easy. That said truck stop above was very convenient to get into to fuel up our rig too. Fun fact: Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum is also a max 5 min drive away if you want to get your inner astronaut fix.

Perfect example of this park...my husband and I were quickly becoming homeless and with 2 cat's needed someplace to go fast! It just happened to be Memorial Day weekend.We had a 10 person tent that we had no clue how to put up. We left to get more supplies and upon returning we found 10 guy's waiting to help us put it up! We had no idea who they were, but they put the tent and another screen tent for us and refused to be paid. We were so touched by their help! The park staff found the very last spot after hearing our housing dilemma and checked on me everyday while my husband went to work. Very clean park and safe as the sheriff's department cruised through every night. Campers helped each other with food and wood and picked up after themselves. Very relaxing as it is a drive off the highway which allowed nature to unfold all around campers.

Small campground with nice campsites.Clean shower house.

The lake doesn't allow gas motors so its one of the clearest lakes in central Indiana

As far as Indiana parks goes, this is a hidden gem. We have camped here many times. Even the trails we frequent always seem new because each season offers a different kind of beauty.

Cash only self check in on sight. Very small campground. About 20 electric and 20 tent. Level gravel lots. Not any hiking really, mostly fishing and boating. Nearby town for supplies.

This is one of the best parks we have been to in Indiana. We Volunteer all over our the USA at State Parks and National Forest. So we know what to look for. Friendly people to answer questions plenty to do. And affordable.

This campground is small but diverse. You can camp in the woods with a lake view or out in the open with your camper, tent or rent a cottage. It has clean restrooms, a beach, hiking trails and tends to be quiet. It’s not far from the city. It’s a quick trip place for a short weekend.

Kil-so-qauh, used to be a little hidden gem right outside of town but has turned into quite a popular place, but for good reason. The campground accommodates both luxury rv campers and more rustic private tent or hammock goers like myself. Entering the camping area there is a lush grass opening with large campsites with water and electric hook ups for the RV folk. There are also 2 nice play grounds in this area as well. Continuing down the road you begin to enter the woods which is non electric sites with plenty of trees to make your weekend private and to the right is an overlook of Roush Lake where you can watxh the sunset set the water on fire. There are no fantastic bathrooms just pit toilets but easy get away is worth it.

*I've camped here every season but if you dont like crowds, make sure to avoid the summer holidays.

First, the lake here is beautiful. It has many islands, coves and inlets and is perfect for a couple of days of paddling or fishing. That's where the two stars come in. 

BUT. There are many buts. The campground is like a giant RV lot. The sites are tiny. We were in a tent-only site and we had two families right on top of us on either side. We could hear the entire conversations of one family, plus there were 11 people there, three cars, and they were partying the first night and extremely noisy.

The reservation map is incorrect. When I reserved, it showed #13 as being on the end of the tent only area. When we arrived, I found out there was a site #14 that wasn't even pictured on the reservation map, and this is where the giant screaming family was parked! I thought I was going to be on the end- it is not very accommodating for a variety of reasons for a reservation map to be so incorrect. 

The air everywhere reeks of sewage, ranging from what you smell outside a giant pig farm, to what you smell outside of a porta potty, to rotten egg smell. I don't know where these smells were coming from but it was nonstop. 

The bathrooms were extremely dirty. It looks like they haven't been renovated since the 80s. 

The employees in the office never seemed to be able to tell us what we needed to know. We asked on Friday evening where the Saturday morning naturalist paddle would be, and we were told to come back Saturday morning and ask someone else. On Saturday, the person in the office told us to go to a location that was miles away- we spent 40 minutes in the car driving around, trying to find where this activity was, only to give up and find out it was actually adjacent to the campground, not down the road in a different part of the park. 

Last, the lake is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. You can see houses around the edge of the park while you are sitting in your campsite. It is not remote, and there is a noisy, busy highway running along the side of the campground. 

I enjoyed the lake but I will not camp here again.

You're learning to backpack the Buckeye Trail, and you want to take the first steps towards that without worrying about the physical load you're going to have to carry. You can drop the tent on this portion! This Adirondack shelter, located between Points 6 and 7 on the St. Mary's Section of the Buckeye Trail, is perfect for you. Built as an Eagle Scout project by Parker and Keaton Cole of Troop 95 (in Sidney), it is large enough for six or to sleep comfortably off the ground. You cannot miss it as you go along the trail. There is a fireplace (stone, make sure you check that the chimney is not blocked) large enough to cook your hotdogs and keep you happy as you sit in the shelter.  There is deadfall from the trees around you that will serve as kindling and fuel for the fire.  If you start in Lockington or Fort Loramie, this shelter is approximately 10 miles in and the right place to break a two-day backpacking trip.

tThis park has a lot to offer. The lake offers amazing fun activities. We love kayaking and have our own (but wait... they rent them- canoes too & for just $5 an hour... Say WHAT? ) Yes it's true. The lake has a fabulous beach for swimming along with a fairly nice concession stand also inexpensive. The park is very clean- LOVE IT! They are currently remodeling and updating one of the restrooms but one was still available (as well as additional port-o-potty's). The camping spots are all fairly large. We could have put an extra 3 tents on our site (we have a 17' camper). This park has 2 seperate loops one which has a large playground.

So now the drawbacks ... There are NO, I repeat, NO hiking trails. They have walking paths only. Still pretty and lots to look at but no actual trails. Bummer as we love to hike.

The biggest issue is the strictness of the DNR. We have a large camping group that is very respectful and all environmentalist. However, we managed to get 3 seperate tickets this weekend. There was a sign for no beer on the beach ( so we had beer in our cooler in our car- and someone in the group drank the beer on the way to the beach - empty can by the time we arrived - just to throw in trash and someone saw the can and reported it- automatic ticket. Also 2 friends, who are always cautious of the kids on their bikes, playing in the road, etc. however, got speeding tickets. SO JUST USE CAUTION. But at the actual campsites, we did not have any issues at all.

We have stayed at this park several times.  The camp sites are mostly spaced out for room, but some can get very wet and flooded during a nice rain.  The paved bike trail in the park starts near the campground, and connects with a bike trail along the Wabash River that goes into nearby Bluffton, and is an easy ride.  The bison enclosure is always fun to check out, and the last time we stayed I actually walked to the top of the restored fire tower to take in the view.  We have never used the lake, but plan on taking some kayaks out at some point.