Best RV Parks & Resorts near Rochester, IN

Elkhart County 4-h Fairgrounds: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good

(72 yr olds in 27’ trailer.)

Overall Rating: 4 for access to the area, very clean facilities, and not too many campers thus time of year.
Price 2024: $35 for water/electric only. Security: No Usage during visit: Very light Visual Privacy Between Adjacent Sites: none Site Spacing: very close Pad surface: our area was grass Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Quiet except for one day of motorcycle raises at the nearby track.
Outside Road Noise: Not most sites Through Traffic in campground: Some for activities at the fairground Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: some sites Dump Station: yes Potable Water Available: At sites Bathroom: Very nice flush toilets Showers: yes Pull Throughs: Yes Cell Service (AT&T): Varied throughout campground Setting: open grass fields around very well manicured county fairground. Recent Weather: 70s and rain. Insects:None Host: I am not sure.
Rig Size: Large Sites: full hookups and water/electric only

I have camped here a couple of times while visiting northern Indiana to have repairs done on my RV. Overall, I like this campground where for $30/night you can get a 50 amp full hook-up site or $23/night a 30 amp and water site. If you plan on staying longer weekly and monthly rates are really good. The campground sits in the middle of the county fairgrounds so there is usually something going on – either a fair, concert, horse event, or an RV rally. Depending on what time of year you are here and part of the week, the campground could be very crowded or very empty. The nice thing is the people in the office let you pick whatever site you want and don’t assign one to you. There are 275 full hook-up sites with 50 amp full hook-up and 30 amp water & electric only. There are no fires allowed and some sites don’t have picnic tables but you can request one and they will bring it to your site.

There is very little shade and during my last visit the late September fall temperatures climbed to nearly 90 degrees and was brutal. This campground is better suited for RVs than tents but you are permitted to tent camp. Bathrooms and showers are scattered about and I was amazed at always how clean they (and the grounds as a whole) are. They do offer WiFi which worked pretty well in non-peak hours like early morning but was not reliable and sometimes frustrating. Since many sites have a clear view of the sky, you most likely will get satellite television reception and a dozen or so antenna channels.

One of the things I like about this park is the vast expanse of grounds to wander about walking my dog. There is a trail system just outside of the park that allows you miles and miles of walking and biking trails. Downtown Goshen is less than two miles away and has some great restaurants (including Venturi Pizza, Maple Indian Cuisine – which has an awesome buffet, and Goshen Brewing Company). The Saturday farmers market is great with lots of produce, breads, meats, cheeses, and crafts.

The last time I visited coincided with the Mennonite Relief Fund which was a big fund raiser for their charity that packed the grounds with stuff for sale, food, and activities. It was fun to be there during the event but it meant the campground and grounds were packed.

Now for the bad about this campground. It is located right next to very busy train tracks that operate 24/7 and blow their horns quite often. They were really annoying in the middle of the night. Sites are close together so if it is crowded and you have a neighbor, you will be right on top of them. There is no shade which can be very miserable.

Pros:

· Price - $30/night for a 50 amp full hook-up site

· Nearby downtown stores and restaurants

· Sites are not assigned so you can pick where you want to camp

· Grassy patios

· Large grounds to meander around

· Nearby biking/walking trail

Cons:

· Very noisy from nearby trains operated at all hours

· Few trees for shade or privacy

· Some sites are very tight and close to your neighbor

· Can be very crowded

· WiFi provided but not reliable

We came to Elkhart for a week to have servicing done on our 5th wheel. The campground(CG) was easy to find and pull into just a short drive off the highway. After checking in, we proceeded to pull through site 742 with FHUs. We had a tight turn into the site due to the camper next to us sitting at the back of the site, and a Class A on the other side was close with its awning out. But we were able to get positioned on the site so that we had a few feet of clearance between our bedroom slide and their awning. The regular sites are very close together in this CG. The deluxe sites give you a cement pad and better spacing but are still fairly close together. The utilities were well placed on the pad and the water pressure was good at around 50 psi. We got 4 bars on Verizon but the CG Wifi wasn’t all that great. They have about a 1/4 acre fenced dog area plus there are plenty of areas within the CG to walk your dog including a short trail through the woods at the back of the CG. There’s a small camp store at the check-in office and a decent laundry in Rec Hall 3. Go to the Flippin Cow about 1.5 miles from the campground on Simonton Lake. The Bonnie burger is very good! If you need any obscure RV parts, check out Bontrager's Surplus in White Pigeon MI. This large RV surplus is not too far away and it's worth checking out just to see all the things they have in stock. Overall, this CG met our needs.

Heading south out of Elkhart, we happened on this great little campground (CG). We called two hours out and they had a site that would fit our 39’ 5th wheel. We followed our RV GPS and Google maps instructions to the city park and CG area. When we came down the road to the CG we were unsure of the CG location, but it is located right behind the interpretive/conference center building. We were in FHU site C, which was technically a pull through. However, you have to turn in front of the interpretive/conference center and go around the building to be able to pull through the site at the back of the building. But, there’s a pine tree that is overgrown and could have scratched the side of our fifth wheel. Since we had already drove past the interpretive/conference center and were in front of site C, we just backed in to the spot, which was an easy back in and easily fit our rig and F-450. We got 3 bars on Verizon and 4 OTA channels, which included CBS and CW prime channels. We walked our pups along the canal and enjoyed the historic displays and buildings in this small park. We were soon joined by the campground hosts who arrived for their 4th season and they were very nice. There are 4 FHU sites of which A is the camp host. All the sites will take rigs up to 40’. There are also electric and tent sites as explained in the CG picture attached. There are walking trails and other interesting exhibits to explore. This CG is definitely a hidden gem. Too bad we only had an overnight stay.

Campsites where larger than I expected and am used to with KOA. Very enjoyable weekend stay. We stayed in site 89 which was a pull through full hook up site with cable tv as well. The pool was quite large and clean. The KOA page states that they have a pool and splash pad area as well as mini golf. The camp ground shares its pool with the neighboring camp ground and KOA campers are allowed to cross over to use the neighboring camp grounds splash pad and golf. The mini golf was in disrepair and build over a very scummy pond and the splash pad was a bit worn down as well. My kids stayed in the pool which was quite nice. If you stay with KOA you get decently discounted tickets to Indiana Beach amusement park which we may visit in a future visit. Over all we had an enjoyable stay and would come again but we would add an additional day to visit the amusement park.

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.