Best Tent Camping near Spencerville, IN

They have lots of hiking, biking, and boating. They have cabins, rob hook ups, and tent camping.

Stayed sept 2022, $30 tent site (no electric). Its $40 with electric. Arrived after office hours, campground gated, but host was super friendly and helpful! The grounds are immaculate. Bet it's very popular in summer. Beautiful place, wish I could have stayed a lot longer.

Although it states in the app free dispersed camping. Doesn't always mean just that. The cheapest campsite at primitive camping is $12 bucks. (Tent sites) For more, you can get electric hookup sites galore that all include a fire ring picnic table and a pretty leveled out spot.

Campground at Chain O Lakes State Park is a moderately wooded campground with standard sites. Some camping sites are more private than others and caters to RVs since many of sites are not level. They have a primitive loop with flat sites which makes for great tent camping. The beach is a fun activity for the kids and there are several lakes linked together via narrow creeks which can used by canoes and kayaks.

We were passing through and decided to stop for frozen custard at the stand right next to the campground. The first review for this place did not seem very inviting but a more recent one was a little more positive. After checking it out, I thought it could use a little reinforcement of the positives! I’m not sure if there have been new owners since the first review but I received a very friendly greeting, and the office is open from 9 am– 8 pm and clearly marked as the place to check-in. 

There are many options here: back-in or pull-thru tent sites, w/e sites, full hook-up sites, camper cabins, and fully equipped cabins. The campsites range from $32-$46 per night and the cabins range from $69-$144 per night. Sites 47-52 are close to the road so you will hear road noise, but Sites 11-35 are farther from the road and are more shaded. The layout is RV park style but there is reasonable separation between the sites. 

The restrooms have a code for entry, and I did not see the inside of these.

Amenities include:

- a community fire pit

-  game room with television

- guest laundry 

- dump station

- gift shop

- pet friendly options

 -WiFi

- There is, of course, an ice cream/frozen custard stand that I dare you to resist. 

While we would not consider it a destination, we would definitely consider camping here en route – the price is reasonable, and the staff is friendly and welcoming.

Really enjoyed this campground for the short amount of time we were in the area visiting family The park and facilities were very clean, sites were well-spaced, there is a nice walking/biking trail, and had full hook-ups.  This campground is associated with Historic Sauder Village – a living history destination in northern Ohio. (You can get discount admission to the village if you stay in the campground.) The campground filled up on the weekend but emptied out on Sunday. The RV sites are long, level, and have either 50 amp full hook-up or water and electric only. Tent sites are scattered along the pond which made for a nice view; except, the ridiculous number of geese meant there was poop everywhere along the shoreline and throughout the tent section. Staff does haze the geese but it was not enough to keep them away during the afternoon.

A fee is charged to enter the historic village or you can ask for a “shoppers pass” and visit the stores inside the village. Located on the grounds (and within walking distance of the campground) is a restaurant, bakery, gift shop and hotel (which has an indoor pool, hot tub, and game room campers are allowed to use). The restrooms, laundry, and showers were very clean and relatively new. Other amenities include basketball, shuffleboard, horse shoes, splash pad, volleyball, corn holes, lake for fishing, and free WiFi. There are a couple of covered group picnic areas available for anyone to use which is nice if you have a big group wanting to get together. 

The campground is about four miles south of the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90) which is pretty convenient if you are just passing through and looking for a place to stay overnight. The town of Archbold is pretty small but does have a decent grocery and restaurants. The nearby town of Bryan is larger and has a really funky brewery/restaurant housed an old church (Father Johns).

Met up with 18 other skoolies our first Indiana meet. Met great people had a fantastic time. Great park kids swam, showers are clean. Electric at sites but water isn’t but very close by.

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.

We like this place a lot. Tucked away in NW Ohio, close to the Michigan & Indiana border. 

We were in the north campground. Sites are all level, many very spacious which is unusual for Ohio SPs. No FHUs but don't let that stop you from visiting.

Kayak through winding rivers and lakes in Northern Indiana. The shuttle service is convenient and not overly expensive. It doesn't offer the greatest views but offers a great time on the water with friends or family. I am giving a decent 3 star rating because of the kayaking, not the campground itself.

Great camping experience! The bathrooms are in great shape as well as the showers. The camp store is nice with many useful items. Lots seem to be well kept. The best thing about chain o lakes in my opinion is the fish cleaning station. I've been to a handful of Indiana State Parks and have yet to see one of these stations. Makes a fisherman's life so much easier!

Tents are welcome, as well as big campers. Have a couple of cabins and yurts. A lot of groups camp here. Not a lot of kids activities, no pool, but does have a beach on the lake, canoe and kayak and paddleboaed rentals and trails for hiking. If you want a quiet retreat, this is usually the place.

We stopped here for a night on our cross-country trip, wish we had 2 nights because we had lots of thunderstorms.  We camped in our teardrop on the primitive tent loop.  Sites were nice and secluded where we were, but you could hear a few late night partiers nearby.  Tons of things to do (playgrounds, lake, beach, hiking, horseback and pony rides etc).  The lodge is a nice structure but the food we sampled was mediocre.

This campground is almost completely filled with mini homes that occupy the grounds year round. The residents flock to open them at the beginning of summer and stay as late as November. You are welcome to bring your tent or camper and you will notice the close knit community environment. This is not a place for hiking, or kayaking but there are many other amenities such as game rooms, basketball courts, splash pads and a pool for children.

The the campground at self is very clean and easy to navigate. I was not particularly happy with my campsite it was a lot smaller space for my tent then what look like in the picture. I would like to see them improve their trails and have better directional signs as to which path is which. When we went to rent canoes and paddle boats they only have the generic canoes and no paddle boats where in working order. We spoke with the naturalist and volunteered our time she was absolutely fantastic. I would definitely go back.

The sites in the tent-only section were well sized and shady. We were on the lake side and were able to get some nice views of Harrison Lake. There were families on either side of us with little kids who were well behaved, albeit a little noisy (i.e a really young child was screaming for about 2 minutes straight non-stop at 9 am until finally the parents said something). Bathroom facilities (single occupancy with shower) were about a 3 minute walk and were clean. Good stay!