Midwest Meet Campgrounds

[GR8DAME]

Sandcreek Campground
Reservations needed
Cost:
     Water and electric sites $22.00/night
      Tentsite primative  $19.00/night
      cabins  $50.00/night
      $1.00 extra per dog per campsite/cabin
    One camper or tent per site 2 adults and up to         2 kids,additional charges for addition people.

Amenities
fire ring, picnic tables, showers and bathrooms, outdoor pool, playground for kids,camp store on premises, 20 minutes from Central Dog Beach by car

Impressions
A bit overgrown and rundown. Bathrooms and showers need upgrading and a good cleaning--make sure you wear shower shoes and get all your shots, LOL. Cabins are primative, have beds, stove, frig and air conditioners, but no water or lights, no cooking or eating utensils included.
The elderly managers said that although the rules say no large dogs are allowed in the campground and no dogs in the cabins, the owners may make exceptions. Nicole said she would negociate terms if this was our first choice.

Typical campsite at Sandcreek

Shower/bathrooms

Cabin at Sandcreek

Dunewood Federal Campground
No reservations allowed
Cost
Primitive only, no water or electric sites availible $15.00/night
One tent or camper per site

Amenities
fire ring, picnic tables, restrooms and showers, hiking trails, water stations availible, 10 minutes to Central Dog Beach by car

Impression
Fantastic campground for tenters and primative lovers. Difficult for campers/pop-ups with no electricity. Restrooms and showers newly renovated and very clean. Gorgeous wooded trails, shaded campsites.

Typical campsite.

Indiana Dunes State Park
Reservations needed

Cost
$10.00 non resident fee $5.00 resident fee to enter the park the first time only. Once campers are registered they get a free pass to come and go for the duration of their stay. Visitors will pay daily.
Electric hookups only $25.00/night
One camper and one tent or two tents per site not to exceed 6 people.

Amenities
water stations availible, showers, restrooms, playground for kids, hiking trails, nature center, camp store on premises, beach acess for swimming in walking distance. Dogs are allowed leashed on the beach away from the designated swimming areas. 20 minutes away from Central Dog Beach by car.

Impressions
Newly renovated bathrooms/showers were clean and had small separate private dressing area. Playground/ camping area well maintained, people swim area had dressing room, bathrooms, consession stand and life guard on duty during open hours.Hiking trails were well maintained , and mostly shaded sites


Typical campsite

Showers/bathrooms

Beach area

All of the campgrounds stated no alcohol, but Sandcreek said keep it discreet and it's fine. Indian Dunes said (and she will deny it to keep her job) if you don't get caught you don't get a ticket. If you are caught, it will be confiscated and you will be ticketed.
All the campgrounds also said that dogs must be leashed at all times, and of course picked up after. As long as there are no complaints from other campers, all breeds are welcome at the Dunewood federal and Indiana Dune campgrounds.
For those who wish, there are hotels available in Chesterton.
http://hotel-guides.us/indiana/chesterton-in-hotels.html
and also in Michigan City
http://www.superpages.com/hotels/michigan+city-in-hotels.html
All should be within a short driving distance of the campgrounds and Beach.
We can vouch for the Holiday Inn, Michigan city, our stay there this weekend was fantastic!
Don't forget to vote, we need to get reservations going ASAP
Stella

[MafiaPrincess]

I'm with Liz.  I do agree to leave my igloo home this trip though.  No promises on the next one..

[GR8DAME]

The other nice thing that struck me about The Indiana dune one is that it is a tad more expensive, but you can buddy up with someone on one site. Two tents can share a site, and it just got very reasonable, cost-wise.
Stella

[CujoandShamus]

lol at the elderly campground managers.
Bob is a diabetic and has to be pushed to work whereas Joanne has COPD but is a work aholic they are my sisters inlaws. They are good people and  the campground is usually a little cleaner, they have been back from Texas only a short while. The campground is a little run down but is very friendly.

[CujoandShamus]

By the way since it is only ten minutes from the house I will probably just travel back and forth. I go regularly to Sand Creek to visit the managers.

[CujoandShamus]

The Dunes you will have to get reservations quickly since it was closed all of last year for renovations. It fills up very fast. Very beautiful campground DNR comes around regulaly the park ranger does also. So if you do drink make sure it is in a cup

[CujoandShamus]

One more tid bit for all out of towners. DONOT bring your own wood you will have it conviscated. They are trying to stop the gypsy moth population. THey will tell you where you can go for wood.

[CujoandShamus]

http://www.nps.gov/indu/Activities/camping.htm
this is the websight for one of the campgrounds.

[Nicole]

A few more things that another local (me) would like to mention:

The Indiana Dunes State Park DOES allow dogs on the beach, however, the beach is VERY VERY VERY crowded in the summer. I would suggest that if we do choose this route, we still use Central Beach as our dog beach. We would not have a good time there with the dogs. Central Beach is WAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAY less crowded (usually the only people there are people with dogs).

The people at Sand Creek were very nice, but another thing about that place is that it is kind of difficult to get to and not very close to the beach. I could see people getting lost. Aaaaaand...it kind of scared me to be honest. There were also lots of wet and mucky areas, so I anticipate that the mosquitos could be bad there, too.

[CujoandShamus]

The bugs are really bad at Sand Creek. And it is a little out there. Too many turns for out of towners plus the work on 49 has everything just aweful.

[Nicole]

Yeah, it seemed like the bugs could be bad. Lots of standing water. And yeah, it could be a mess for out-of-towners.

[Nicole]

BUMP for those that haven't weighed in yet....um...Li n, Emily? Or will you just be coming for the day, Emily?

April? Hmmmm....anyon e else that is coming that hasn't weighed in?

[Kiahpyr]

I voted for the last campground. It looks nice, but whatever you feel will work better for us is fine with me.

[Nicole]

Okey-dokey!

[lins_saving_grace]

I voted.  Showers are a must.  I hate being stinky for three days.