We made an overnight stop here. Be aware that an additional park entrance fee is charged to campers, and that this is $10 for out of state residents. The sites are extremely neat and the concrete pads are easy to back into. All roads are paved. The park was quite empty on the Wednesday night we camped. Our site bordered a major dune along the lake shore, although climbing it would be quite an effort. Reaching the lake is easy with other paved access routes within the park. We would use this park and campground again, even as a stopover, in spite of the comparatively high cost. Our rating reflects the cost and lack of some hookups. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Great park but may be limiting on length for some. We have a 45' and length was tight. The sites are wide and well kept. Lots of nice families there. The beach is a short walk and beautiful. We will stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
All workers were friendly and helpful, clean and well maintain park. The only reasons we didn't give it a 10 was, no water, no sewer, no wifi. Do not camp by the comfort stations the fans are extremely loud. Lots of places to ride your bike, there is a nature center and tons of stuff for all ages. Beach is close enough to ride a bike or walk. Beware the entrance is not included in daily fee...if you are an out-of-state resident the park entrance fee is double. Also, weekend nights (Thurs-Fri-Sat) fees are $25 per night, week days (Sun-Weds) are $17. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Excellent campground. We actually found this campground last year when we were looking for some way to escape "Yogi's Ghetto Adventure" in nearby Portage. This simple state park campground is a wonderful stop for a long weekend. With no water or sewer, I can't give it more than an 8, but still definitely recommend it. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Since this park was redone several years ago, we have really enjoyed camping here. This time we arrived on a Sunday night and were very glad to have a reservation, as the campground was almost entirely full (signs read that it was full, so perhaps a few reservations didn't show). Very crowded, but most sites are large & spacious. Very nice paved pads, with plenty of room for longer rigs plus the tow vehicle, or multiple tents at a site. Agree with the previous poster who mentioned the sand getting all over the bathhouse floors - it goes everywhere! The park was so busy that the campground hosts were overwhelmed with extra duties, which is probably the reason the bathhouse wasn't too clean (though far from nasty) during our stay. Will definitely consider staying here again, but more likely off-season (spring or fall). We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a very nice campground, with sites in the woods that have enough spacing between them to give some privacy. We were there mid-week, and it was about 40% full. The on-line pre-registration process worked well (we are from out of state), and the park has some very nice trails to explore which go through the woods, up into the dunes and to Lake Michigan. The restrooms were pretty nice, but the sand from the area will be on the floor, and the campground had a nasty habit of cleaning them at about 8 am. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
What a beautiful park! After traveling around Chicago and all the traffic, it was just what we needed. Got set up in time to go to the beach on the shore of Lake Michigan to do some let stretching, photo taking, and watch an wonderful sunset. We could see the skyline of Chicago and with the sun setting it was a truly awesome. Nice level concrete pads. Sites were good size with good spacing in between sites. Wish we could have stayed longer and we would definitely like to return. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We loved this campground - stayed here twice on a recent trip. The sites are paved with cement and are very spacious. The bath houses are palatial and very clean. No matter where your site is, you won't have far to walk to get there. The only thing I'd like to see a little more of is privacy. There are no plantings between sites so it feels a little wide open. Not too far from the interstates. Would definitely stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very attractive park near attractive dunes on the lake. It's hard to fault anything with this park, except the lack of full hookups. Sites are large and attractive. Nice hiking trails through the dunes and along the beach. Fee includes a $10 non resident entry fee into the park We camped here in a Truck Camper.
This is a great state park. All the campsites have level, concrete pads and lots of space. There are trees around most of the sites that make them fairly private. The biggest draw of this campground, though is the lake and the dunes. There are miles of hiking trails along the dunes, most have a brochure. Be sure to check out the nature center you can get a birding list there and see many different species from their observation room. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
The campgrounds are very clean and spacious. The staff was excellent and extremely helpful. We locked our keys in our car and they sent help right away. Many trails to hike and the Indiana Dune beach is around the corner. The campgrounds have been upgraded with new showers and they were in the middle of building a boardwalk that will lead to the beach. It's very family friendly and I would recommend it to all my camping friends. We camped here in a Tent.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
June 2007
$25
We always enjoy camping at the Indiana Dunes. The campsites are spaced apart decently, there is plenty of shade, and the campsites are well maintained. My daughter loves to take her father on the trails up and down the sand dunes and out to the beach and nature center. There are often nature based activities going on each day at the nature center or the beach. Yes, you can hear the announcements on the life guard loud speakers. However, unless there was an emergency, I have not heard them go off every 15 minutes as stated in another review and at night time, they stop. Due to Emerald Ash Borer and other pests, the county is quarantined, so do not expect to bring your own wood in. You pay for your wood at the store and then it is delivered at your campsite. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Park is very clean, sites are large and paved. It costs an additional $10 per vehicle to enter the park but it is a one time pay so if you stay longer than one day you don't have to pay again. Staff is very friendly and keep the park up to very high standards. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Nice family campground, alcohol not permitted which makes it quiet. Spacious sites, nice playground area. Extra 10 bucks to get through the gate state park fee. Beach is noisy and blaring loudspeakers announcing rules & regulation every 15 min or so. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Beautiful state park CG, completely reconstructed in 2004, with paved/concrete pads, wide sites, electric hookups at nearly all of them; some sites are suitable for big rigs, others for tents only, most for rigs in between. New bathroom/shower bldgs are gorgeous, large, with nice big showers. Sites tend to be open, with a few large shade trees for each, but no undergrowth in between; very tidy CG. Camp store on site sells firewood, necessities. Trails over dunes and to the large public beach. Note: No alcohol allowed in this park. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Camper beware: this place is very run down. The bathrooms are awful! The kids went into the green pool but it was also awful. I will never go back and wanted to write this review to save someone else from wasting their money here. Oh, forgot to mention their wood prices are $1.00 per piece. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
The playground equipment is rusty, unstable, and questionable and we would only let our daughter use the swings. The pool was being shocked on our first night and even when it was "safe" to use had an odd purple color. One set of bathrooms were locked. The only usable bathroom had molding ceiling tiles and were generally filthy. Overall, most of the facilities were old, run down, and showing a lack of any maintenance. The campsites were open and sunny. The campsites were grass and pull-thru. If you were camping in a tent you could get in shade. Our campsite had 6 to eight inch deep tire ruts making moving our pop-up a pain as well as always risking a twisted ankle when outside. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This was a rather run down campground. The swimming pool had an interesting green color to it. This had been a church camp at one point and converted to an RV park. The sites are not defined but just hookup areas in a field. The electric boxes are for two sites and a little under powered if both sites are filled. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.