Indiana State Fairgrounds Campground

I stayed at the Indiana State Fairgrounds while the fair was going on. This meant I paid $5 more a night (normal price $30) for the privilege of being jammed in with a whole bunch of other RVs (most of them were fair participants) in a grass field. Up side was that there were full hookups and you could get into the fair itself for free via the shuttle that stopped at the campground. Downside was that you were packed in like sardines so forget privacy.

The lot I stayed at is only used during the state fair as the “normal” campground is inside the fairgrounds itself (the lot I stayed at was just outside), so I have no idea what the “normal campground” is like, but I suspect it isn’t very glamourous.

I was visiting friends in Indy, and taking a chance to look around. The fairgrounds actually has a pretty darn good location for exploring the city and some of its restaurants, etc.

I liked it because the showers and restrooms were very clean and heated. There was washer and dryers in the women's facility, can't speak about the men's. I stayed there while it was snowing, water was accessible for each site. Easy to get in and out of also, but bring your levelers, can be a heck of an incline to park on when on the west side.

This is a fair grounds I think most of the lots are on the level grass in another area.

I arrived on July 20th after a long day. Like their website said, I chose a spot and leveled my RV. Then I called security to pay the fee and get my utilities hooked up (the electric box is padlocked). They told me "sorry, you can't stay here." We have a bunch of people coming in tomorrow to set up for the fair. The fair starts August 3rd and the website says nothing about camping being unavailable in July. After 10 futile minutes of trying to convince the security guy (and his supervisor) that I'd be gone by 6 am - the answer was still no.

The location of the fairgrounds is in the heart of a dirty, filthy inner-city disgrace. I'm actually glad they kicked me out, I found a nice campground further north in the middle of corn fields. If you like to be surrounded by depressing, old, filthy, crumbling inner-city infrastructure than this place is for you. Indianapolis is the armpit of America.

Camping here is weird. We pulled into the fairgrounds on a Saturday afternoon and attempted to follow the online directions, but the road inside the fairgrounds was blocked, so we ended up driving around the edge road. We passed a small group of rigs, then kept going and found a larger group along the rear fence - backed in side-to-side really close to each other. We stopped and asked a security guard who happened to be in that area helping folks pay if we could park there and he said 'yep!' We were about the grab the last site (squeeze in), when we realized all these campers were full of dogs. There was some sort of dog show going on. We haven't had great luck with 'dog people' - show dogs are loud in our experience.

So, we kept chugging - and settled on parking in a camping area across the street from the actual fairgrounds that we had seen when we were pulling in. The site was back in on a weird half concrete, half asphalt pad thing. The lock on the electric box was not done, so we set-up and plugged in. No one came to say anything, so we stayed for two nights before finally chasing down security to pay them before leaving (it was a challenge!)

However, this lot - on the East side of Fall Creek Parkways across from the fairgrounds - was great for our stay. It was adjacent to the Fall Creek Green Way trail, so we had great running opportunities. The camping is close to the city, so we were able to pop in and out when we wanted by car. While the camping area was surrounded by roads, it was much quieter than we expected it to be at night. 50A/water/sewer. The bathrooms in this area were closed. There were a few rigs that looked to be decently seasonal there - but otherwise, a few dog-show folks that had chosen this area left on Monday morning.

We saw folks in tents and cars in the camping areas within the fairgrounds, so I guess you can do that too. We would definitely stay here again for its proximity to the city and running trails.

Verizon was good - AT&T tower was overloaded.

For being a fairground, giving this a 5 star. Security guard was very friendly and helpful. We stayed when there were no events, so there were very few campers. Great location within the city.

Easy in and out for our 40 foot fifth wheel. Grassy sites with sewer, water and electric. Dump station and restrooms available. Lights are really bright at night and the walking trail is very busy right behind the RV’s.

They let us switch sites to one that was level. Only four campers and the security guard so no problem switching. Brightly lit parking lot and interesting to walk around the fairgrounds when no one was there. Full hookups.

We ended up here because there was nothing else available near Noblesville. There were several spots open, even though they said only one available. You park on grass, but, it's firm. There are so many security lights on that it's like daylight all night. The spots are very close together. It was quiet, and people were respectful. Google took us to the wrong entrance and directed us all over the narrow, crowded streets of Indy 😐. Be sure to come in on 38th! There was room to pull through in the Coalyard parking area.

Monan Campground directions: Enter from E. 38th Street entrance at Coliseum Ave and head north into Fairgrounds. Turn left (west) at roundabout and drive straight to Monan row which backs to west fence of fairgrounds. We elected for water and electric only. There is a dump and full hookup sites are available. We enjoyed the walkers and bikers on the public walkway behind us and the birds in the area. We walked around the deserted grounds to stretch our legs. Lights come on overhead at dusk and there is some noise from the bikers on the trail. Book on line prior to arrival and security unlocks your electrical box. 2023 price is $45 plus tax and fees is about $51 per night.

First let's be clear about where the camping is! The Monon Campground is on the west side of the fairground. Use the main entrance off of E. 38th Street to enter the fairgrounds then head west past the grandstands. The camping area is along the fence with the Monon trail running behind it. There was a lot of construction going on which made navigation a bit more difficult. It did not look like the Coalyard campround, located on the other side of the Monon Trail, was open. Sites are back-in, grass and gravel, and sloped up from front to back so make sure you've got extra blocks for your tongue jack. You also have to back up over a curb which presents its own challenges. No trees. You have to get to your site then call security to get someone to come unlock your electrical box, which took over a half hour. No-frills camping for sure. It was surprisingly quiet at night tho and suited our needs (working in town) just fine. We did not use any of their facilities.