America’s Camping Report Card
Indiana
#17 of 43 for camping
Better than 62% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 3,612 written reviews from Indiana - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful park52
- beautiful place32
- beautiful lake23
- beautiful scenery23
- beautiful campground19
What campers warned about
- backed by airport fence1
- beach area1
- beach area storm damage1
- beach in poor condition; nuclear plant nearby1
- beach overgrown1
- Praised by
- 38.9%
- Warned by
- 1.3%
- Rank
- Better than 19% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.376 (±0.017, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- hiking trails22
- great hiking12
- great trails12
- lots to do11
- great hiking trails9
What campers warned about
- few hiking trails2
- limited things to do2
- no swimming2
- trail markings unclear2
- bass fishing tough1
- Praised by
- 39.7%
- Warned by
- 2.2%
- Rank
- Better than 95% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.374 (±0.017, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites24
- large sites16
- nice campground16
- nice campsites16
- great campsites14
What campers warned about
- sites too close together4
- site not level3
- double sites2
- no primitive sites2
- site too short for rig2
- Praised by
- 39.3%
- Warned by
- 8.1%
- Rank
- Better than 76% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.312 (±0.019, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- very clean66
- clean54
- well maintained42
- clean bathrooms32
- clean facilities26
What campers warned about
- bathroom cleaning timing2
- bathrooms not very clean2
- dirty bathrooms2
- a little dirty, sandy feet, forgotten items1
- ageing, not kept up1
- Praised by
- 33.9%
- Warned by
- 6.2%
- Rank
- Better than 64% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.277 (±0.018, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff67
- friendly and helpful staff18
- friendly people15
- great staff14
- friendly and helpful12
What campers warned about
- host rushing departure2
- very rude hosts2
- booth attendant refused entry1
- camp area personnel hateful1
- camp host conflict1
- Praised by
- 22.6%
- Warned by
- 3.0%
- Rank
- Better than 41% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.197 (±0.015, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bathrooms and showers29
- restrooms and showers18
- bathrooms8
- clean restrooms8
- restrooms8
What campers warned about
- bathrooms4
- bathrooms and showers3
- cold showers3
- no cell service3
- vault toilets only3
- Praised by
- 27.9%
- Warned by
- 10.9%
- Rank
- Better than 95% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.169 (±0.019, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet54
- quiet campground29
- very quiet23
- quiet atmosphere18
- quiet and peaceful17
What campers warned about
- airport and train noise3
- sites close together3
- gets crowded2
- highway traffic noise2
- loud music and yelling children2
- Praised by
- 15.4%
- Warned by
- 7.9%
- Rank
- Better than 41% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.074 (±0.015, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly6
- friendly people5
- dog friendly3
- friendly campers3
- great for families2
What campers warned about
- disabled family treated unfairly1
- discrimination toward handicap patrons1
- hostile political/social vibe1
- locals bully and disregard campers1
- loss of hobbyist gathering1
- Praised by
- 3.2%
- Warned by
- 0.3%
- Rank
- Better than 71% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.029 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- free camping12
- free4
- free campsite3
- reasonable price3
- can't beat the price2
What campers warned about
- $10 firewood fee1
- $350 for 10 days, a little pricey1
- $5 to swim1
- $50 for two nights not worth it1
- $57/night plus $15 entry fee1
- Praised by
- 4.0%
- Warned by
- 3.0%
- Rank
- Better than 45% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.010 (±0.009, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- close to madison3
- close to bloomington2
- close to everything2
- close to home2
- close to indianapolis2
What campers warned about
- few nearby stores2
- hard to find campsite2
- spotty cell service2
- tight getting around2
- 15-minute walk from car1
- Praised by
- 5.2%
- Warned by
- 5.7%
- Rank
- Better than 38% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment -0.005 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- good security2
- safe environment2
- security presence2
- walks safely2
- assured my safety1
What campers warned about
- air caused symptoms, left early1
- animal abuse reported1
- better locks needed1
- camper damaged during removal1
- can get lost on trails1
- Praised by
- 1.4%
- Warned by
- 2.0%
- Rank
- Better than 76% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.006 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy online reservation2
- easy online reservations2
- easy to get a spot2
- advance internet reservation1
- already made reservations to return1
What campers warned about
- book early2
- advertised price differed from total1
- all sites reservable1
- arrival timing mismatch1
- availability mismatch; booked out1
- Praised by
- 1.4%
- Warned by
- 3.0%
- Rank
- Better than 52% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.016 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- dog friendly7
- pet friendly4
- dog-friendliness2
- dog-friendly2
- quiet hours enforced2
What campers warned about
- rules not enforced4
- strict checkout enforcement2
- 10 pm locked gate1
- 11pm quiet-hours enforcement1
- 14-day stay limit1
- Praised by
- 1.0%
- Warned by
- 3.5%
- Rank
- Better than 88% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.025 (±0.007, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bugs weren't terrible1
- few bugs elsewhere comparison1
- few bugs in sealed toilets1
- few mosquitoes1
- freshwater jellyfish sightings1
What campers warned about
- raccoons at night4
- bad mosquitoes2
- cockroach infestation2
- extremely buggy2
- mosquitoes2
- Praised by
- 0.5%
- Warned by
- 5.6%
- Rank
- Better than 43% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.051 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 3,612 written reviews, 28% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Indiana and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Indiana vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.