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4.5
69 votes

Shades State Park Campground

South 890 West, Waveland, Indiana 47989 USA

$$
Reasonable
  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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Reviews of Shades State Park Campground

3 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

5.0 Access
5.0 Location
5.0 Cleanliness
5.0 Site Quality
5.0 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 5G

Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on October 21, 2023

AT&T 4G

Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on August 27, 2017
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Reviewed by
Campendium

August 27, 2017
Rated

Camped Mon-Wed ($16/night rate), August 21-24, 2017.

There's much beauty to see here, with awesome hikes through deep ravines, sandstone cliffs, streams and beautiful forests. Sugar Creek runs through Shades and another beautiful state park, Turkey Run, which is just down the road. When camping, you pay the entrance fee once ($9 out of state/$7 Indiana residents). This also covers the entrance fee at Turkey Run, so you don't pay again if you want to visit that park and take advantage of their amenities.

Shades is more low-key, and the campground is all non-electric. There is no camp store, but the main gate sold bug spray, ice and firewood. Going there after the Indiana kids returned to school & during the week meant the park was pretty much empty.

There are 4 loops to the campground. Most all sites are large with vegetation on each side for some privacy; some had a little path between sites. Many were wooded & shady, with no grass; others though were grassier and more open. Pads are back-in (some longer than others) and are paved with a cement stopper at the end. All had a picnic table & fire ring with movable grill.

We had no cell service in the campground, but when we got to an area by Trail 2, we suddenly had service (maybe 1 or 2 bars).

Shower house was clean, with hand soap dispenser, hand dryers and a fan at the ceiling to circulate air. There are 2 regular-sized shower stalls & 1 handicapped. Handicapped had a hand-held shower head. The other 2 had somewhat low shower heads; had to bend down a bit to wash my hair. Husband said the men's shower, you had to continually push a button to keep the water going (not so in the women's, just a regular on/off handle).

Vault toilets were open type with screens, and 2 stalls with no doors (mens: 1 stall & a urinal). Not messy, but the one by us was smelly.

Water spigots were throughout the campground and had a drinking fountain on the opposite side of spigot. Also there were aluminum can recycling bins, which was nice. For RVs, there is a dump station and a water fill station.

Maintained trails were nice and wide; some have stairs and bridges across ravines, a couple have ladders. In other places you walk a creek bottom or alongside running water. There is also the adjacent Pine Hills Nature Preserve, with more hiking trails.

Other activities: you can fish in the pond within Shades. Sugar Creek access for kayaks and canoes is at Deer's Mill Covered Bridge. There's a place there to rent kayaks or canoes for river excursions (Clements Canoes - they also have tent camping & cabins). Hiking at Shades and Turkey Run is absolutely gorgeous. Turkey Run has an Olympic-sized pool, a nature center, an Inn, a saddle barn, tennis courts, and historic structures. Between Shades and Turkey Run is Lake Waveland, a 248-acre park with camping and more activities. Lake is large enough for motor boating; to get into the park to launch a boat is $7.

Gas station is down the road in Waveland; they have some food supplies but don't have booze. The bar nearby has carry-out though.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $16.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 93

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Reviewed by
johnpechette

  • 1 Review
  • 0 Helpful
October 21, 2023
Rated

We stayed in the middle of October and had no problems, other than a Verizon cell signal that varied between zero bars and one bar. We were basically incommunicado. We finally got two bars on a hike via Trail One. We stayed at Site 50 and enjoyed it, but with dry camping, we had to constantly monitor our water and battery usage.

Was this helpful?
johnpechette would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 4

Site Number: 50

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 5G

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Shades State Park Campground

South 890 West
Waveland, Indiana
47989 USA
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Hours

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Good for fishing and hiking.

  • Check
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unavailable
    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Check
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Last Nightly Rate
16.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
20.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
16.0
Max Length
41
Max Stay
14
Primitive Sites Count
105
Sites Count
105
  • Unavailable
    Swimming Pool
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Check
    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Unavailable
    Airstream Only
  • Unavailable
    Alcohol Prohibited
  • Check
    Boondock
  • Unavailable
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Class A Only
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Equestrian Facilities
  • Unavailable
    Equestrian Sites
  • Check
    Fires Permitted
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    Firewood
  • Check
    Firewood Restrictions
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Unavailable
    Group Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Luxury Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Check
    Paved Roads
  • Check
    Permit Required
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    Potable Water
  • Check
    Primitive Sites
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Check
    RV Sites
  • Unavailable
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Tent Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Tents Prohibited
  • Unavailable
    Water Front
  • Unavailable
    Water Hookup
  • Unavailable
    Water View
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