My fathers side of the family and me would come here pretty much every year when I was a kid (going on 26 next month). All of the memories come rushing back. We've stayed there for weekends and short stays in a slew of different campers and RVs, as well as coming for day trips where we would set up a cookout at the reservable building across from the swimming beach. My papaw and I would then go down the nearby ramp to fish. Enjoyed it every time. Considering taking the wife and camper up there from Kentucky this October for our anniversary, let her see where a lot of my childhood was. Will update with photos, etc if we do go. read more

Everything at the boat rental. Before you leave the dock when renting a boat check all items so make sure they work there's no tears rips any damage of any kind. read more

This is a rather large campground with multiple restroom and shower buildings. Both electric sites for RVs and non-electric sites for tent camping are available. There is a large beach here plus boat rentals. The kids enjoyed the General Store and the Activity Center. Our tent camping site was number four of six in the "B" area. It was located in the back and had two mini trails that led down to the lake's edge. So we had our own mini beach for skipping rocks and wading. Only con is there is no direct route to Fourwinds Marina. You have to backtrack to South Bloomington. It takes about 30 mins. Bathrooms and showers are clean. There is electric in them for hair dryers and razors. We brought bicycles for the kids which really entertained them. read more

Paynetown State Recreation Area - Tent Camping Area B - RV Parks Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Lake Monroe is a beautiful get away located 10 miles southeast of Bloomington Indiana. 10,500 acres of water fill reservoir. We grew up going on Sunday's with the family. Good times had by all. 7$ gets you thru the gate 9$ for out of town guests. A Paynetown has a convenience store, boat rental, camping and a sand beach. I have rented boats there many times to host parties and family get a ways. The prices are a bit expensive however creating great memories sometimes have a price. The beach is a perfect spot for a quick cool down from the heat we have been having. Enjoy! read more

Paynetown State Recreation Area - Family time - RV Parks Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

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Really pleasant and relaxing area right along Lake Monroe! The sunsets are amazing! And some of the camping spots are on the water which is really nice. Many ppl fish along the banks and there are walk in tent camp spots as well as electric back in spots. The have restrooms & shower houses but unfortunately none were open when we went yet but still charged the same for camping there. We took a van to camp in so the set up and clean up was really easy and having the back doors open to the lake sunset was really fun! Definitely a cool camping area and would return, with everything up and running would be a great spot for family and friends to hangout and have a fun nature adventure together. read more

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A very well-kept campground. The family activities they hosted in the evenings were great to keep the little ones entertained and educated. The bathrooms were fairly clean, the playgrounds were well-maintained, and the camp suite store had some key items, rounding it the nice amenities offered. They don't really enforce the quiet hours (or didn't when we went), so be prepared for that. read more

Yelper Katy E. and I came for a quick fall weekend getaway to escape the city life in Indy. Given that it was fall time, most state park campgrounds were completely booked. Neither of us had been here, so we decided to give it a shot. Getting here is super easy - it's basically right by Bloomington. So don't fret if you forget something as you're a quick 10 min drive from all the mall/shops in Btown. We stayed in the primitive area (P45). There aren't clear instructions sadly, so we had to go to the check-in station, then we ventured through the electric sites to find site 45, but it was definitely taken, so we went back to the gatehouse to find that the primitive area is actually located OUTSIDE of the campground area, so you have to do a U-turn, which was silly to me. Electric sites are very, very small and crammed, as a heads up. Our site was in the middle of a circular road. It had great views of the lake and was a short 1 minute walk to the restrooms/shower house. It was surrounded by campsites, so be aware that it did get noisy at times due to the loud radio/music playing by a nearby campsite. That being said, it was great to get away and explore this year. The hiking trails here are a bit slim and I wouldn't recommend coming here just for the hiking. We ventured over to Brown County to hike instead. read more

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We ventured down to Paynetown for a fall weekend get away and it was most everything we had hoped for! We camped in the primitive area which had large spacious spots and ours (P45) had nice view of the lake! Unfortunately, we weren't given good directions upon checking in and didn't realize that we actually had to turn around from the check in to get to the primitive area- clearer instructions would have been nice. As we drove through all the electric spots I began to feel claustrophobic, so many RVs next to each other and so little nature. If you want to bump up against your neighbors, consider electric. If not, maybe go primitive or somewhere else. It looks like you can rent pontoon boats during the summer season which would be convenient! Bath houses were clean and conveniently located. There was not a dish washing area near us. There were a few short hiking trails, but we drove a bit to get to longer ones. read more

Paynetown State Recreation Area - Our campsite in primitive - RV Parks Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

This was my second time camping and I had a lot of fun! We got a campsite that was just off of the water in hopes of having a great view of the lake. The campground was clean for the most part and beautiful with all of the fall colors coming out! The bathrooms seemed like average campsite bathrooms (nothing different than the last camping trip). It is a pretty large campground so you can wander quite a ways while looking at campers you might want in your future. The biggest let downs of our stay at Paynetown were: 1: the attendant at the park admission gate wasn't very friendly and inviting (which is a large part of the camping attitude, being friendly and inviting to others). 2: the campsite we had was very small. It didn't provide much room for privacy. Other campsites around us were larger or plotted out better. The inconsistency is what bothered me. 3: we didn't know about any trails to hike or walk due to not getting a map at the park admission gate. So all of our activities took us out of the park. I would recommend spending a weekend here! After all, camping is what you make of it! read more

Paynetown State Recreation Area - RV Parks Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

It's always a wonderful time! Great body of water plus family and friends makes for a perfect day or weekend etc. Been going since I was a child, whether it be camping or just boating. Both or either are great. read more

Great place to camp! Very friendly staff meet you at the gate. Extremely relaxing atmosphere. And so close to things going on in Bloomington also! In the area that we were camping, the bathrooms could use some updating. All in all a great experience. read more

The swim beach is tiny. Maybe ok if you have little kids but don't expect you are gonna be able to swim to get exercise, it's just not big enough. Seems like a good place for camping and boating but not for anyone interested in an open water swim. read more

Not too sure what else Paynetown has to offer other than the campground. The only map we were given upon arrival was of the campground, and I would have really liked to know if there were trails, boat access ramps, and fishing docks. Paynetown is located fairly close to Bloomington and Nashville, so you're not completely out of luck for things to do. As far as the campground goes, there are plenty of spots up for grabs. You just gotta reserve early enough! The spots with the best views of Monroe Lake go quickly. The restrooms/showers are average for campground comfort stations. I've seen better and I've seen way worse. Going this time of year meant gorgeous colors, Halloween decorations at campsites, and chilly mornings. One disappointment was our campsite (site 130). It was significantly smaller in size compared to other sites, even though the map gave no indication of that when I reserved. It ran parallel to the road, with a sharp drop off into the woods, giving us a pretty skinny area for two tents and two SUVs. The other surrounding sites were great in space and some even had awesome views of the lake! read more

This was a lovely park to stay for a few nights while visiting Nashville. Lots of trees, quiet camp sights, and many of the spaces are staggered so that you are not looking right at another camper. Not a ton of hiking or biking available, but a pretty park about 20 minutes from the city. We would stay here again. read more

By far the best camp site we've had all year if you can find a spot near the shore, grab it. The sites in the interior seem a little too close together but the parameter sites near the water are large, shaded and a beautiful view. read more

We had a great site. Loved the area, people, beach, lake and activities. Would definitely return!