Best Glamping near Smithville, IN

This was a camping weekend. We've camped here before, but many years ago. It was time to go back. 

So, we couldn't remember much about this state park. We were never compelled to go back sooner. Now I remember why. This is a nice park. Not outstanding. Not special. It's just...nice. 

  There's 7 hiking trails. All are nice walks in the woods. All were muddy in sections. There's an old coal mine on Trail 2. Blocked off for safety. 

There's no beach, but they have an enormous pool. It has slides & everything. 

This is a fishing park. Boating with electric motors, so a quiet lake. Fishing was fair according to my fishing guy.

The Nature Center was inexplicably closed "for the season". Disappointing! 

There's many boat launches & picnic areas. Cabins for rent. Boats for rent.

 We stayed at the electric campground. The sites are great- wooded. This is a well established campground. 

The sites are all flat- ALL FLAT!!! No inclined sites at all! Unheard of in an Indiana State Park, but there you go.

There's some train noise.

 The bathrooms/showers are KOA clean. Also unheard of in an Indiana State Park. I couldn't even find a spider web. Kudos to the park employees& camp hosts!

 We had a site by the lake, but there was no lake view & there was a steep incline to get down to the water.

  This campground has a beautiful fishing pier just for campers. 

Bring an extension cord if you're in a pull through. If you want your door facing the fire pit- the electric box is in an awkward place.

 There's also another campground that has a mix of electric/full hookup & non electric sites. They have a beautiful bathhouse. 

All in all a pleasant weekend. We camped at Shakamak State Park in a Travel Trailer.

We’ve stayed at a few Koa campgrounds and this one didn’t compare quite as expected. It’s small, clean and owners are very friendly and helpful but one stretch of sites (where we were) is tight, short  and cramped. We had four 90-degree day’s so the big plus was the pool. Although dated it was large, clean and refreshing. The sites are on large sharp rocks too (not gravel) which was challenging. Even on our large rugs I could not take a single step without shoes. I also felt bad that our campfire ring was at the back canvas opening of our neighboring camper and a little frustrated that I had to keep moving our 4 camp chairs each time we walked from our door to the truck. The owners did advise they were working on expanding those campsite spots which is good. Our grandkids didn’t care to play in the playground (clean but small and dated) but nice playgrounds were plenty in the Brown County State Park whose entrance is just across the road which gives location an A+. Famous Nashville, IN was just 2 miles away.. another location plus. We’d go back again but I’ll be more site picky next time... but I still won’t like the big rocks! I like a little barefoot time when camping!

We stayed in site 93 in the lake view area. The campsite itself was large and clean. The bathrooms were clean and fairly close to the campsite. The “lakeview” title is a bit misleading as there is a view of the lake but it is largely covered by trees. Wish there was a park ranger presence there to ask loud guests to keep it down past quiet hours, but never saw a ranger the entire time. There was a trail that led down to the lake but it was steep and a bit hard to maneuver. If there was an access set of steps to get to the lake it would be much nicer for guests with limited mobility. Over all we would stay here again.

Turkey Run is arguably the most popular campground (and state park) in Indiana and has its pros and cons.

It is definitely designed to accommodate RVs, as the majority of the sites are situated in an open field. There are a few dozen sites that are in “loops” that are situated in shaded areas. Some camp sites have zero privacy while others have a little. Either way, if you’re here on a weekend, you’ll definitely have neighbors close by. You can see the entire campground via google maps street view, just FYI

This is a very family friendly campground and you will see lots of kids on bicycles flying around. I’ve stayed here a few times, and no matter the day of the week or the time of year, there are always lots of kids.

This campground has a raccoon “problem” due to campers having poor camp etiquette and feeding them. They come out of the woods towards dusk looking for food. They will come right up to you without hesitation, so don’t be alarmed if there’s one next to you while you cook s’mores over your fire (ask me how I know, hah). They will take any food that is left out. Do not turn your back to your dinner table at any time if there’s food out.

On my last visit to turkey run (I’ve camped here 3 or 4 times) I arrived to my campsite and someone had left dog food out for the raccoons in little piles all over the place which was super disappointing. Additionally, my neighbors didn’t put their campfire out when they packed up and left.

Perhaps I’m just used to camping in other areas where you have to worry about bears and burning the forests down…But campers here just aren’t as mindful or respectful of the campground.

The restrooms and showers (at least the one I use at this campground) is modernized and cleaned daily but there’s no dish pit/wash room available if you cook. Just be prepared to clean up accordingly and put trash in trash receptacles. There are a few vault toilets in the campground as well.

You can hike from the CG into the state park (highly recommend. It’s gorgeous!) just wear shoes that youre willing to get wet.

Overall, it’s a beautiful state park with a conveniently located campground. It’s not the best campground ever but for Indiana standards, it’s great. Even with my complaints, I always return because I enjoy visiting and hiking through the state park.

Much enjoyed hiking some of the trails at Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, Indiana. This is Indiana's 2nd oldest state park, now 100 years old (1916-2016). Visitors can camp in RV's or in tents in campground area that has water/electrical hook-ups, modern bathrooms w/ showers. There is also cabins to rent, or you can stay at Turkey Run Inn. Canoeing down Sugar Creek was great, and it passes through the state park at a fairly scenic section. Some hiking trails are easy to walk along, others trails are more rugged and difficult. Cross over Sugar Creek on a suspension bridge to get to more hiking trails in a more remote section of woods. We ate a very nice lunch in the restaurant in the Inn, and even played pinball in the gameroom. Great state park. Would be happy to go again some day.

We stayed at site 13 at Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Mason Ridge Campground in June 2020. 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. Mason Ridge Campground has vault toilets and drinking water available. There are outdoor sinks at the drinking water stations. There is a dumpster in the campground for trash. Mason Ridge Campground is first come, first served, self-register and pay at the park office. Bring exact change. Firewood is available to purchase, but only when the park office is open, and hours are limited. It is also allowed for campers to gather downed wood throughout the forest for campfires. Chainsaws are not allowed, so bring a handsaw and spitting axe if you want to do this. Campsites are mostly good for tents, but several of the sites would be fine for small to medium sized travel trailers and RVs. Sites are primitive, with gravel parking pads. Campfire ring, grill grate, and picnic table are at all sites. There is a dump station. There are no electric sites. Oak Ridge Campground is a second campground loop in MMSF. It only has a handful of sites but feels very secluded. Most of these sites are suited for tents only, or little teardrop campers. Oak Ridge is only open as an“overflow” campground, so only bet on it being open during summer. There is also a group campground for scout troupes and other groups. When we camped here, there was a rowdy group of car campers that came to have a bonfire and drink all night two sites down from us. They would loud and obnoxious. I do not know if this type of thing is common occurrence at this property, or if we“lucked out” that night. The rest of the folks camping there were quiet. There were no hordes of flashlight children running amuck through the campground like you get at the state parks. There is a playground and fire tower right next to the Mason Ridge campground, but both were closed due to coronavirus. There are many trails in MMSF. Good hiking. 

Pros: sinks, feeling of seclusion, quiet(other than the one group), usually availability unless you arrive really late, long hiking trails

Cons: limited office hours for firewood purchase, obnoxious car campers

In summary, this campground is for those who like to“rough it” a little bit.