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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
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) or 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
LegendLittle 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
They have good hiking trails, nice refreshing waters, good food options at certain places
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.
LegendThis state park was established in 1925, so almost 100 years old. The campground must be the original layout. There's a maze like quality to it. The roads are narrow & you may be driving off the road for a big rig.
Some sites are level, some aren't. Some can accommodate larger rigs, most can't. Check the site descriptions carefully & to be doubly sure, call the office & ask.
There's water stations that look very old. They have wooden, shingled roofs. There's 2 dump stations located in loops 3 & 4. IN THE CAMPGROUND! NEXT TO CAMPSITES!!!!
There's 5 loops to the main campground.
100 loop is small & closer to the lake than the other loops. It's the loop we chose this time.
The sites are on the small side. There's 3 campsites that are close to the lake. 115, which is a larger site. 117 & 119 which have clear views of the lake. 117 is more a tent or popup site & is small. 119 is the best of the bunch. A large pad & a large site. There's no privacy bushes. These sites have a view of the lake with trees & brush & are on a ridge overlooking the lake. They aren't ON the lake.
On either side of 117 & 119 are 2 trails that lead to the lake. There's benches & a dock to tie up your boat.
The rest of the sites are a mixed bag. Some are level, some have an incline. If you have a big rig, be aware that the road to the 100 campsites branches into one way. Leading into the campsites, the road is narrow & has a ravine on one side!
200 Loop is non electric
300 Loop is the biggest loop & seems like the best bet for larger rigs. As stated above, some sites are better than others. There's a uniformity here that's missing from the other loops.
Stay away from sites 393& 395!!! These sites are literally right on top of the dump station! As always watch for pit toilets near the sites.
400 loop is a smaller loop next to the 200 loop. There's only one shower house for both loops. Avoid site 444 & probably site 454. These sites are VERY close to the dump station.
500 loop is also smaller& has some nice sites tucked by themselves in the trees. There seems to be more privacy brush on this loop with SOME sites.
512 is close to the shower house. 511 & 513 were somewhat secluded.
If you have a boat you want to tie up at the dock, go for the 100 loop. If you can't get it, be aware there's no parking near the trails to the lake. You can park by the bathhouse & walk.
The shower & restrooms are atrocious!!! Worst looking buildings since Spring Mill SP! Dirty & need an entire overhaul. In fact, raze the buildings & build new ones! They're "cleaned" once a day. Suuuuuure they are. There was actual poop on the door of one of the women's toilet stalls the whole time I was there. Mold & spiders& dirt in the corners. Looks like the last upgrade was in the 50s.
GuideLovely little quiet campground and spacious park with plenty to do for 1-2 days. Staff is non-intrusive, and the site has plenty of room to camp about and roam. Find your own little quiet corner and unplug for a few days. It's better than Ohio's only National Park!
Note: the DNR trail maps are inaccurate but well worth your time, so research your trials well or you'll get a bit lost. Trail signs are also very confusing. Bring plenty of water as posted 'mile' hikes quickly turn in 5 mile hikes. I recommend walking the 'Wetlands' trail around dusk.
ScoutFirst time taking out my 1988 pop up and it was a blast. Our site was HUGE! Plenty of space to play bags with good canopy coverage and have many guests at our fire and a short drive to the kayak launch. Kayaking the 13 lakes can easily last from morning to sundown. All in all it was a great weekend with the family!
ScoutI've gone camping here multiple times and each time has been a fantastic trip. Can't recommend enough.
GuideEquestrian trails and campgrounds are popular here. Horse rides sold on site. There is a nice hotel that sometimes hosts events actually located in the park. Come tobagginging and ice fishing in the winter and then pamper yourself in the hotel, or visit in the summer and have a beach day or easy hike with the family. Great spot for Pokémon Go because of the available cell service.
GuideMy family and I go to Chain O Lakes for short hikes, kayaking and camping. We come here out of convenience, since we live twenty minutes away. The campground is decent. There are no backpacking spots. There are a handful of paddle up camping spots that are very hard to reserve. The beach is often overcrowded with local partiers, drinking and smoking, and leaving trash everywhere. After peak hours these people clear out and usually aren't actually camping there. Overall, a great place for families hiking with small children or those who camp just to relax.
GuideIt was my first time camping with my bf's family and we had a blast! We booked several sites and the sites that we got had a good amount of trees caving in so it was nicely shaded. There was a nice dock for fishing and the bathrooms were clean. We found a cave as well so some of us went to explore it!
ScoutHorseback riding, swimming at the beach, fishing on the dock. Took my children and their friends they looked it
TravelerEnormous park, very clean and grassy. The staff was very helpful and friendly. We stayed there for 1 night only. The bathrooms are nice and clean, also has a nice shower.
TravelerBeautiful would go back every weekend if I could live it there
TravelerThis is an extremely large campground. About seventy-five percent of the sites are electric. We stayed in Site 255, which was not electric (booked last minute). This site was fairly level but very close to other sites…wouldn’t recommend it. However, Site 269 (next to Site 277) afforded great privacy and was large; among the non-electric sites this was the best I saw. I did not survey the electric sites, but I’m sure the site matters a lot. Non-electric sites are $20.00, plus a $9.00 park entrance fee.
There are numerous walking trails, along with horse and bike trails. Additionally, there are boat rentals, horseback rides, pony rentals, swimming, nature center, and a restaurant at the inn.
This is a family oriented park. Extended family groupings are very common. Nevertheless, people and their children are well behaved.
I would recommend this campground for two days or more. A one day stay will mean you probably won’t see much of this wonderful park. The only reason I gave it a four was that even in mid-September it was packed.
GuideGot to camp 9/10 and will be staying thru 9/12. Lot 102 is perfect! Shade the majority of the day, very back of the camp ground and close enough to walk to everything! We got up Saturday morning and rented a row boat for the day. Spent the day checking out the lakes, then hiked a couple of the trails. Trail 1 had a huge snake on a tree that I found fascinating lol. Great neighbors made it the perfect weekend get away! Will definitely be back! The staff is amazing, the restroom/showers were clean, and the whole park is very well maintained. I have Verizon and had no service from Albion all the way to the park. My wife has ATT and had spotty service in the park, just FYI
TravelerWe stayed at site #99 which is fairly easy to find and somewhat secluded from the main camper section of the campground. The site and neighboring sites are non-electric which makes you have to be creative if you need an air mattress. The site is partial sun midafternoon. The campground can get busy and loud but for the most part everyone was was respectful of others.
Chain is perfect for kayaking and canoeing with 9 connected lakes and 11 total. A couple lakes are perfect for boat fishing as long as you have an electric motor only. Overall, in my opinion, this is one of the more underrated state parks in Indiana. Worth the trip up north away from the more popular parks in the southern part of the state.
GuideWe 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.
GuideDid the 9 lake challenge. It was a new first. Love the camping area.
GuideThis is the campground that sparked my love for camping! Its not the fanciest or modern but it's filled with families weekend after weekend that share the same passion for true camping. Lot's of people cooking over their fires, hiking the trails, getting out on the water and talking around campfires late into the night.
Site 311 isn't my favorite but getting a site is better than not going at all.
Sites- gravel/grass and always groomed! Bathrooms- older, lots of iron stain the walls from well water but cleaned multiple times throughout the day! Staff- great! They have lots of hosts that will help you throughout your stay. Playground - centrally located and HUGE! Kids will make friends at Chain O'Lakes. Activities - if you like to be outside during the day you have plenty to do!
No seasonal campers which adds to the energy that flows through this campground.
GuideThis was our first stop from NY to CO. We didn’t have a lot of time but enjoy the time we had. Lots to do in this park and we want to go back and spend more time on our next trip East.
GuideWhat a beautiful park. So much to do, beach, hike, bike, horse back ride. Campgrounds can be crowded, lots of families, lots of kids. Campground 3 was a little tight for our 38 ft Class A, but certainly doable. Choose your spot wisely. The park staff were very friendly, very helpful. We needed to move spots, and then had issues with the electric. Everyone we dealt with was very accommodating, helpful, friendly.
GuideThey have a snow tabaggon my kids love it, a nice inn, and amazing staff!! All very affordable.
GuideGreat fishing, clean , pretty alright place!!!
ScoutWould give 5 stars except for the poor cleaning of boathouse near campsite 007.
TravelerWe stayed in campsite #26, it was wooded, clean and quiet. I'm only giving 4 stars because the showers could have been a little cleaner. This is our 2nd time staying here and although we didnt use anything 3lse we would stay here again. Bring bug spray and citronella candles, lots of mosquitoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Montpelier, OH?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Montpelier, OH is Pokagon State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 46 reviews.
