If you're searching for a place to camp with pets near Wakarusa, look no further. The Dyrt can help you find the best campsites for you and your dog. These scenic and easy-to-reach Wakarusa campsites are perfect for camping with dogs.
Nine connecting lakes will be the center of your adventures at Chain O’Lakes. This is lake country and a small boater’s paradise. Paddle through the chain of serene kettle lakes, hike the 23 miles of forested trails, fish the electric-motors-only lakes, stay overnight in a forested hillside family cabin, visit the park's historic one-room Stanley Schoolhouse, or explore the Nature Center. Other facilities available for visitors to enjoy include Chain O' Lakes Campground, beach and picnic shelters.
$20 - $25 / night
In the southwestern-most corner of Michigan, about 100 miles from Grand Rapids, Warren Dunes State Park is home to 3 miles of sandy beaches and windswept dunes on the shore of Lake Michigan. There are 6 miles of short trails for exploring the area, but the main draws to Warren Dunes camping is soaking up rays on the beach and climbing the dunes. The tallest dune, Tower Hill, rises 260 feet above the lakeshore and offers a panoramic view over the surrounding area. Park guides offer a variety of seasonal nature programs that highlight the area’s flora, fauna and natural features. Alcohol is not permitted on the beach at Warren Dunes, and dogs must remain leashed, and are restricted to certain areas only. The campground at Warren Dunes is located away from the beach, in a wooded area near the highway. On the upside, there’s plenty of shady trees to take cover under on the warmer, sunnier days; on the downside, there’s plenty of highway noise to distract from the peacefulness. The two camp areas—Modern and Semi-Modern—offer a total of 220 tent and RV sites that vary in size and seclusion. The larger Modern area has restrooms with showers, drinking water and playgrounds for the kids; limited hookup sites are available. This area also has three rustic mini-cabins for rent. The Semi-Modern area is more spartan, with just water and vault toilets. A dump station is located between the two areas. Campsite rates range from $25–$45/night; cabins are $52/night.
$32 - $40 / night
Bear Cave RV Resort is a wonderful place to experience the great outdoors, meet new people, relax, and be a part of history. We have the only naturally formed cave in Michigan. This cave has a lot of history, through its connection as a stop on the Underground Railroad and the silent film "The Great Train Robbery". Bear Cave RV Resort is a peaceful and fun park, focused on family fun in a friendly environment. Enjoy our many weekend scheduled activities or make new friends and create one of your own using our many onsite amenities. Stand near a Native American Conference Tree or watch wildlife trek through our campground. From this Southern Michigan RV campground you can fish in the St Joseph River or rent a row boat or kayak. The Bear Cave RV Resort staff is here to make your stay a pleasant and memorable experience! Southern Michigan RV campground is rich in history, adventure and natural beauty Whether you're planning a retreat for the whole family, a group of friends or a getaway for two, there's no shortage of unique activities to explore at Bear Cave RV Campground. Plan activities upon arrival or visit this page before your departure to plan ahead. Looking for more? Our friendly staff can fill you in on all of the great ways to make your stay a memorable experience.
Scout
Horrible owners, non functioning electric and sewer. Please see my detailed Google review for more information.
Scout
I’m very familiar with Warren Dunes but this was my first time camping here. Great walks and hikes and the short drive to the beach is a plus. The sites aren’t too private and can fill up quickly. The bathrooms were clean and stocked. I read lots of reviews about the noise from the road and nearby highway and I didn’t think it would bother me, but I was wrong. I wish I had some ear plugs because I had difficulty falling asleep. Overall great place, especially for beginner campers as there is a small onsite store for camp basics. Three stars due to noise and not much privacy.
Legend
Little four site camping area on the shore of Rivir Lake (not a typo). It can be accessed either by parking and walking in on the wide, well tended trail (#4 on maps) of by boating. The nearest boat launch is Miller lake, a mile west. Sites 3 & 4 are right on the lake with the best access, Sites 1 & 2 are across the trail which is along a raised berm with a bridge over the passage to Mud Lake.
I'd give this a higher review, but most people wouldn't appreciate the primitiveness of the sites. It's distance from most amenities could be a turn off, but also could be perfect for others
LegendWe were a bit surprised that despite having a paid reservation , we still had to pay a $20 Day usage fee to enter the park, but no matter. This is a sprawling and sometimes confusing campground to find your way in. But the sites are generally shady if a bit close together. There are five facilities with showers and running water and six pit toilets. drinking water is accessible throughout the park.
The majority of sites have six person tables, though some, especially in the new 385-416 loop have little four person tables. These are also the least shaded.
Campground and facilities are clean and well maintained.
The General Store is one of the most impressively well stocked I have ever seen. Equipment, toys, tools, food souvenirs, you name it. Good dry firewood is $6.50 a bundle in the store, $7 on the honor system after hours. It burns fast, so you might want to buy more than you think. The store is open until 9:00 Friday & Saturday, but only 2;PM on Sunday and never on Monday. Keep that in mind if you're doing a 3-day weekend as we did. When checking out, look up to see the beautiful wooden canoe with wildlife inlaid wood.
Fire pits are mostly round iron with non-adjustable swing-away grills. Booking is through Indiana DNR/ Reserve America so you can see photos of the site you pick.
This was our second experience with an Indiana state park, and like our first (Pokagon, in the winter) we were impressed with the clear marking of the hiking trails (and canoe trail for that matter) there was a map and guidepost at every junction.
There's a beach, concession stand and boat rentals on Sand lake, the Park's largest. Lastly, there's a fish cleaning shed with running water outside the campground entrance that anyone in the park can use, something I wish more parks would provide.
Scout
Blue Lake Resort is a hidden gem for campers! The serene atmosphere and beautiful lake views make it a perfect getaway. The amenities are well-maintained, and the staff is friendly and accommodating. I particularly enjoyed the fishing opportunities and the peaceful nature trails nearby. I actually recently wrote an essay about the natural beauty of Indiana for my geography class, and it was really great to have the helpfull resource https://stateofwriting.com/uk/geography-writing-service. They have some great guides and tips for geography essays.
Definitely a place I’d recommend for families and nature lovers!
Legend
We took I-80 all the way to near Shipshewana where the roads took us about 7 miles into the campground (CG). Check-in was quick and easy because we had paid ahead online. We proceeded to pull through site 37 with FHUs. The utilities were in the center, which made it nice to dump our two black tanks in order to go to the Brinkley Service Center the next morning. Water pressure was good at about 50 psi. It was nice that the utilities were on the center of the pad. We got 4 bars on Verizon. If we wanted to put out satellite, we could have as there are not many trees in the central area to block the signal. We tried to sign into the free Wifi with no luck. The website wanted us to sign up for paid internet, which we did not do. The sites in the CG are for the most part very close together. We were here overnight to take our rig into Goshen for warranty work. Coming from the West, stay on I-80 to IN-13(exit 107) as it makes for an easier route than on the local roads versus following your GPS or Waze which may have you exit off in Elkhart. Check out the great selections at Yoder's Meat& Cheese just down the road. This CG was okay for an overnighter or short stay.
Traveler
Not much to do in surrounding area, but a local get away for us
Scout
I'm going soon I will update as I go.
Guide
Great place for a few days, nice location and close to everything you'll need. Sites were shady, grass and gravel, level and plenty of space in between you and your neighbors. Lots to check out, historical area with lots to learn and see. Train rides on the weekends. Dog stations everywhere, super clean and well kept bathrooms and grounds. Great stay
TravelerStayed for 3 days/2 nights. Place was a little crowded, but once it got dark it was quiet and peaceful. Most spots were fairly out in the open, but we had a nice spot with a few trees hiding us on 3 sides and not too far from water or bathroom trail. Bathrooms were decent and we liked the private showers, warm water!
Overall, great walking paths, hiking and the beach was a great bonus after an afternoon climbing the dunes!
The only major downfall was the price of everything at the little store. $6 for an ice cream sandwich!?! No thanks! However, be sure to visit The Beach Bucket for your ice cream cravings on those hot days!! They also have firewood which burned so much better than what the camp store offered.
Guide
We arrived late, and the friendly park security directed us to the campground.
The vault toilets were acceptably clean. Spots were close to the river. The campground has cabins, trails for hiking and horseback riding.
As other reviews have stated….the mosquitoes are prolific and abundant! We left early.
GuideStayed at site 201 at the Hildebrandt campground. Sites are smallish. Most sites have some shade, but little privacy in between. The scenery wasnt that great, mostly vine like trees you'd see in a flood plain. The water pump was out during our stay and needed to go to the station near the modern campground.
We were scheduled to stay for 3d/2n but plans changed due to weather from hurricane beryl. It started to rain in the first evening and we had a mini creek running through our site. With the amount of rain projected to be on its way we could only imagine it being completely flooded.
Mosquitoes were awful even before the rain. Vault toilets were well taken care of.
If you want quite or the sound of nature, this campground is not for you. You can hear road traffic and trains at all times, especially at night. The general store near the campground entrance is a nice convenience if you forgot something or need ice/fire wood.
It is wonderful though how close the Campground are to Lake Michigan/warren dunes, which is why we stayed.
ScoutNobody complaining it's big enough if you want to be loud late you can the people that have a rv all year round are all nice and cool I ran in to just about every one all nice I recommend Ruperts resort in Indiana Plymouth 😉 they have showers and restrooms too if it's raining they have huge spots to go out of the rain you can bring corn hole or any game you like to bring plus more than I can say 4th July was grrreeat!
GuideOnline reservations is a bit confusing. Map designated tent sites with numbers. When you book campsites they have letters with no map or site pics. You have to book a site but it says first come first serve. Good place for fishing from bank and launching kayak, canoes.
GuideWent with my in laws who have a camper (I typically camp rustic). The site we were at was smaller and narrow. There was also a lot of noise from the I-94 freeway nearby while trying to sleep.
While the hiking was good and the beach beautiful, they don’t allow alcohol which is my favorite post hike/beach activity.
Overall I’d do a day trip for the hiking and beach, but stay elsewhere.
GuideWhile, this state park seems relatively small. The spaces are very big. They have a great little general store. The beach is just down the drive. Mood is mellow and relaxing place. Small con-a little bit of flooding. Despite other reviews online no radiation from the nuclear power plant.
Guide
The sites are randomly laid out and on top of each other. The bathhouse looked bad. You could hike the wooden walkway trails over the dunes easily. Pay to park public beach was very close.the beach area was very nice. Campground was not.
GuideThis campground is a place to stay while you visit the huge dunes. Developed sites are very small and close together. Sand/grass pads that are not defined. Undeveloped or tent area was almost empty and bigger but no electric. Cabin area has best sites. Cabins are small. Limited toilets. Public beach was nice...quite a few people. Separate area for dogs to play on the beach. Hike the dunes for a great workout
Scoutwe love this campground! very peaceful friendly campground!
Scout
We just went there last night and woke up came home immediately! There was nothing to do at all! A run down park, lake and sites. There was boards with nails just laying all around the park. Not to mention the park was falling apart. It was more of a trailer park than a camping site. The garbage can was overflowing all over the ground. We payed for 2 nights and owner never got back to me to get our money back for tonight! Would not recommend one bit.
GuideOur site was 21 inches unloved from front to back and 7 inches down on the passenger side! With poison oak all over the back of our site so bring a lot of leveling block and no kids! Other that that it was a decent park with lots of activities but a very hard campsite to navigate and a busy weekend forget about dumping lol your gonna be there a while. Also no Verizon signal but our friend had T-Mobile and he was ok signal.
Traveler
We reserved a spot roughly a month in advance and really enjoyed our spot. Had partial shade and picnic table at our site. The bathrooms/showers were large and private (one occupant at a time). River access at this campground so you can kayak about 5 hours to the public access and drive back. Or you can also rent kayaks near the public access and they will transport for you.
GuideWe visited this park twice (once in Sept 2020 and again in June 2021). Both times we stayed in the cabin campground and both times had very good experiences. Each time we went mid-week so there was hardly anyone else there, and that was great. The cabins are small but perfectly fine for our group with two bunk beds, a small loft, and a small table inside. They have electricity so charging phones and devices is not a problem. Cabins 4 and 5 are up this small driveway and are slightly separated and I would recommend those if you can. We never had to go to "town" so not sure how far it is to any stores.
Each time we rented a canoe and did a paddle/float trip on the river that ended at the canoe rental location. Would not hesitate to stay here again.
ScoutIt's set on a beautiful man made lake. There is no big waves to worry about on clear lake. Kiddos can catch minnows in calf deep water at the beach. The campsites are beautiful. I suggest the ones up the hill on your right when you enter. The ones that you drive down the hill to have more mosquitos. Karaoke every Saturday in the barn is fun for everyone. There not the most dog friendly though all around the campground. You allowed to have you dogs on only a small part of the beach. I assumed the dog friendly area included the boat laund area but I was wrong. We were talking to another family of campers by the boats with our dog and the owner came down with rage written all over his face and told us we can't be 10 feet away from what I know know is the 10 feet of gravel beach dogs are allowed on. He literally raised his voice and yelled at us and said we were disturbing the family that was happily standing there talking to us about our shihtzu and the kids were petting them. That's my one complaint about fullers is if that man doesn't like what your doing even if it's not a posted rule hell yell at you. He's made my sister with social anxiety cry a few times over the years with his anger. It's a beautiful peaceful camp ground though. I've been going there every summer sence I was a toddler. All the girls who work in the camp store are bubbly and nice. They have the best ice cream! The lake is beautiful with no waves and the waters allot warmer then the bigger lakes. They play some really nice relaxing vibe music from the store balcony. They also have hay rides!
TravelerSmall campsites, but great hiking trails. Found lots of pawpaw fruit and loved playing on the beach after a nice hike. Lots of road noise at night and the sites aren’t very private.
GuideDunes are gorgeous but honestly I'd rather have gone for a day trip and camped elsewhere for the price. Breakers and outlet on the power pole in the site were falling into the box, showers and bathrooms are a bit worn out etc. Campsites are side by side and it was more packed than a Walmart parking lot. Make sure you bring supplies or treats, the "camp store" was charging $9 for a bag of Doritos...
Guide
The spot was clean. It’s far enough off the trail that it provides plenty of privacy. The walk to the beach was not too long. Site one is the only site on the front end of the trail. You have to walk all the way down and take a left before you find sites 5, 4, 3, and 2 in that order.
Camping near Wakarusa, Indiana, offers a mix of beautiful nature and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful getaway or an adventure-filled trip, there are several campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Wakarusa, Indiana, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Wakarusa, IN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Wakarusa, IN is Potato Creek State Park with a 4.4-star rating from 47 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Wakarusa, IN?
TheDyrt.com has all 86 dog-friendly camping locations near Wakarusa, IN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
