(60 votes, average: 4.05 out of 5)
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This camping area has long been a popular destination / overnight camping area for equestrians. Other campers are also welcome although the facilities are geared to provide for horses. The camp is along Tower Ridge Road in the center of the Charles Deam Wilderness area, approximately one mile from Highway 446. Brooks Cabin is a visitor information site open on weekends during the recreation season. The camp also is a trailhead for the Charles C. Deam Wilderness trail system. (It may not be one mile) Pit toilets.
Stayed here 2-22-23. Had place to ourselves, felt very safe , site was clean , no water source which we found interesting given it’s a horse site. Would stay again
Stayed here in a Truck Camper (RV). Harold Hurlbut would stay here again.
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Going back
Cool place. I went in January and almost had the place to myself. Hiking/horse trails connecting to the camp ground. I’ll be back
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. Max would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 0 0
Good place, not alot to do. But big place, plenty of room.Good cell service.
Is this review helpful? 0 0
Nice place to park for free
We got there on Sunday night and had plenty of space to choose from. Only 8 other campers in the area. Was quiet. Pit toilets. We drive a van camper but can accommodate any size rig.
Hippienomadz would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Easy, clean and beautiful.
This campground was very easy to get to with a long bed truck pulling a 32 foot travel trailer.
We came off season, but there were still other campers here--mostly equestrians.
We felt very safe as the sheriff patrols the camp grounds.
All in all very quiet, great roads and quiet location.
Oh and my review of the AT&T signal was actually 5G. So, that's another plus.
Stayed here in a 32 foot-long Trailer (RV). SteveUnreal would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Not a friendly place for someone in a tent
Spent 8 days. 1st 5 were great. Campsite when I arrived was horse poop free by day 5 started finding small piles left around my campsite. Odd considering I put my tent far away from any of the horse trailers. Tent campers were sparse. Lots of RV's. Cell reception for Verizon was 1 bar sparaticly.
Stayed here in a Passenger Vehicle. SassyNomad would not stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 0 1
Quiet, Clean & Free
Great boondocking spot, plenty of flat land making leveling easy. Wide open so solar charging was easy. We were there for 7 days and while they have room for probably 50 or 60 rigs there was only 3 or 4 of us there most of the time.
- pits toliets
- quiet
- clean
- dumpster available
Although intended for horse trailers we did not see a single one there in our 7 days. Plenty of flat land making leveling easy.
Stayed here in a 28 foot-long Trailer (RV). Kyle Shore would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 5 0
Quiet and clean
Perfect for a quick stop -- I stayed here one night, arriving around 11pm and leaving before 8. Great for no frills sleep, felt perfectly safe. Area was clean.
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. itsemilycate would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 2 0
It's mainly a Horse Camp, but anyone can camp there
Nice place to camp, clean, one shelter with picnic table,dumpster, bathroom, no electric or water, Hardin Ridge Recreation Area is down the road for a fee..I would camp there again, and it's close to a paved road
Stayed here in a Passenger Vehicle.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Just a grassy park with horse poop
Read a lot of good reviews about this place, but if you're in a tent, especially after the rain, it's a little disgusting.
Got in after dark, noticed a few cars and tents on the grass directly. It was a little tricky to find level ground. Quite a few mosquitoes. My tentmate got bitten up pretty bad by something, fleas
After we woke up, we noticed horse poop everywhere. It looked like a lawnmower ran over horse poop and spread it all along the field. We decided to camp at the Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower down the road instead.
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. Zzz would not stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 1 1
There are a bunch of pull-off camp areas along the road. Just beyond the tower, actually. I have stayed in several and most a horse trailer can't get into so you're safe from being offended by manure in a horse camp. ;)
Is this review helpful? 2 0
Nice little spot, though not at all deserted
The Hoosier National Forest in one of the only areas in Indiana that provide free camping, oddly enough, so I stayed here the other night on my way back north with a little Aliner I had just purchased.
After reading the reviews here about how deserted the place generally is, I figured that the fact that I'd be showing up at like 2am wouldn't be an issue. BUT when I pulled in, I was shining my headlights on all kinds of tents in the area (probably 10 or so anyway). So feeling a bit sheepish at the point, I tried to get set up as quickly and quietly as possible (and in the process, decided to just tolerate being parked on un-level ground).
In the morning, I walked around a bit, and took a few pictures which I'm attaching here for reference.
It's just a nice quiet place to be (except if you have noisy neighbors, of course), and it's too bad more areas like this don't exist elsewhere in the state.
On a side note, I smiled and waved at a park ranger as I was pulling out, and he just stared at me. Maybe I was on his sh!t-list for arriving so late at night, and maybe he's just an ass. I dunno. Anyway, lesson learned - don't assume it's deserted, and try to avoid showing up late at night.
Stayed here in a 15 foot-long PopUp Trailer (RV). Tim G would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 3 0
We stayed here in early November and loved it. Would have liked to stay longer but the weather got too cold. Hiking is great. During the week there was only one other RV and one horse trailer in this large area.
Stayed here in a 32 foot-long Fifth Wheel (RV). suzan would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 3 0
Really nice place, my family spends most of hunting season there we hunt squirrel, deer, and turkey. Great hunting and great people. Not many people there during the week but on the weekends it gets kinda crowded. Lots of wildlife and lots of good people stay there. Vault toilets, clean, take a candle in there and close your eyes and your right at home. No water or electric. Great trails and nice open spots for campers.
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. Billy would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 2 0
Very spacious and awesome!
Very spacious camping area pretty close to a paved highway. The campground was set up in a figure 8 with 6 (3 men, 3 women) vault toilets on either end and the center. The large, covered picnic in the center was a nice touch! There were a few spots with corrals for overnighters with horses. We saw lots of day use folks stopping in to use the trail access, so it's recommended to not park too close to those areas if you want your privacy. On that note, there were some great moderate hiking trails with one that lead right up to the lake. We also recommend checking out the last remaining fire watch tower that's a few miles down Tower Rd from the camping area. Fantasic views from the top of the 130ft+ tower! We stayed for 4 days, and could have many more days of adventure filled. Will certainly stop by again when in Indiana!
Stayed here in a 25 foot-long Class A + a Toad (RV). 3weeniesandawinnie would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 4 0
Very clean
Very nice campground for relaxing. Not a lot to do in the area of not into hiking. We loved it
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. Rebecca McCray would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Will be bacj
Just stayed here and it was awesome! Vault toilets very well maintained. There was probably 20 other campers. Several horses, couple van dwellers,and 3 tent campers. Plenty of space we were able to set up multiple tents and sunshade still not having any close neighbors. Roads are well maintained. Wal-Mart and shopping is around 12 miles for those forgotten or last minute needed items.
Stayed here with a passenger vehicle and a tent. angicat1 would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Great spot to spend a night or two.
Green grass, quiet, hiking trails, vault toilet, and a dumpster. We stayed here 04.08.18 to 04.11.18 and everything was pretty quiet. This would be a great spot to spend a night or two, but not really a destination spot in our opinion. You pretty much just drive around and park in an open spot on the grass. Not many level spots, but we were able to grab one near the entrance to the hiking trail. We also had 3 out of 4 bars of Verizon LTE, which is nice after a few weeks of off-grid camping. We visited Spring Mill State Park (about an hour from here) and would DEFINITELY recommend it! Spring Mill has Caves, a Pioneer Village, Hiking, etc.
Stayed here in a 21 foot-long Class B (RV). Born2Explore would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 8 0
Great place!
I love this place! Grassy undesignated sites, outhouses, covered pavilion with picnic tables. It is set up for horses, which were around on the weekends, but during the week in Oct, almost no one else here. Hiking trails, dumpster,no water. Some traffic on road, very quiet at night.
Stayed here in a 16 foot-long Trailer (RV). LJK would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 4 0
Going on a weekend means neighbors - also could mean folks in large trucks flooring it around the campground at 2am. Still, a nice enough place to stay.
A would stay here again.Is this review helpful? 1 0
Safe, clean, beautiful, and best of all FREE!
Stayed here for the weekend. Not crowded, a few friendly campers were there. Felt very save and left camper unattended to go sightseeing. The entry road is packed gravel and less than a mile and smooth with the tress cut so you dont have to worry about height. The West side seems to be more level ground. We stayed on the East side (we ran our onboard gen all night) to stay away from the other campers. It rained all afternoon and night. In the morning there was standing water everywhere, but the ground is a sand base. We had no problem getting our 43' toy hauler out( didnt even spin the tires!). We WILL be back, this place is beautiful. Be careful when leaving route 446 is a fast road just make sure you are clear to pull out!
Stayed here in a 43 foot-long Fifth Wheel (RV). Newblue would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 4 0
Quiet stay
We stayed over night at Blackwell Horse Camp in January on our way to Texas. Not too far out of our way. We had the campground to ourselves. It was nice and quiet. It had been raining so we were unable to get out and explore. No gravel pads, all grassy areas, so we parked on the circle drive after we attempted the grassy area.
Stayed here in a 35 foot-long Class A + a Toad (RV). MissKitty would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 5 0
A few different sites if you keep going past the coordinates. Road in is pretty good (gravel). Pretty quiet. Occasional cars. Cell signal for T-Mobile is on and off.
Stayed here in a 15 foot-long Trailer (RV). Lynzgarr would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 3 0
This is a GREAT place. spent 3 days and loved it. easy to find and easy to get in to. We have a 38' Class A and had no trouble in or out. Gonna go back and stay longer next time
rjadventures would stay here again.
Is this review helpful? 6 0
Several more dispersed campsites indicated on map at horse camp.
Is this review helpful? 1 0
Spent a lovely 3 nights/4 days here. Only noise we heard was an owl, LOUDLY! Well kept. Lots of sunny areas for solar. 4g 2 bars on Verizon Jetpack.
Is this review helpful? 3 0
I stayed here for two nights while visiting a friend I have who's at IU in Bloomington. I found this to be an excellent location. A little off the beaten path, on a gravel road for a few miles, but once you turn in, there's a big field with some fire pits scattered about. You just park up on the grass anywhere and set up camp. Lots of RVs and horse people (since it is a horse camp), but I had no issues just car camping here. Toilets are vault, but well maintained. No running water that I saw. Highly recommend if you need a place in the area. The Hoosier National Forest is a very nice place. Also the Fire Tower is a few miles further east on the gravel road, and it's a gorgeous place to view the sunrise. It's 110 feet tall.
Is this review helpful? 8 0
Wonderful recreation and relaxation destination, especially during the week. Very peaceful except for some nearby road noise. Campground can get busy with horse campers on weekends but this friendly group is usually out on trails during the day and pretty quiet at night. Large CG does not have water or showers but there are several vault toilets scattered around. There are no designated sites or fire pits. This is in Indiana's only designated wilderness (Deam Wilderness and also Hoosier NF) and wildlife and trails are abundant. (be cautious of copperheads and rattlesnakes) This is my favorite backpacking destination in Indiana. I spend several nights here every year, either at Blackwell, Hickory Ridge or off the trail. Sycamore Trail is for hikers and backpackers. The rest are multi-use. Grubb Ridge Trail is very scenic and Peninsula Trail gives access to shoreline camping on Lake Monroe. Nearby attractions are Lake Monroe, several State Recreation Areas, Bloomington and Heltonville.
Is this review helpful? 5 0
Nice place to camp. Plenty of space. This place is huge. There were several other campers here, some with horses, but this place is so giant, you won't be on top of anyone. Highly recommended!
Is this review helpful? 7 1
Stayed here with my two girls. Only 2 other campers, we camped all the way on the other side away from them. Peaceful. You do hear a low rumble from a road, but it is not disturbing. Sadly, no horses...or any wildlife sightings while we were here.
Is this review helpful? 9 0
Been here a few times and love it. Last stay mid March, 2024. Was cold, but did get some nice sun. Only a couple other campers and some cars parked for overnight hiking.
Dvrcdlady would stay here again.They have added a drinkable water spicket in the upper area!
The campground was marked with spray paint and stakes and reservations are required for the eclipse week in April 2024. Will return to normal "first come" after that.
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