The Parke County Fairgrounds, 1 mile north of Rockton on U.S. 41, plays host to a number of events each year, including auctions, the Parke County 4-H Fair each July and the Maple Syrup Festival in late February and early March. It also provides up to 400 campsites for the Covered Bridge Festival in mid-October, as well as group camping for other special events throughout the year. The camping area is open to tents, trailers and RVs, with electric and non-electric sites available a first-come, first-served. No reservations are accepted. Campground amenities include running water, restrooms, showers and an RV dump station.
Rockville Lake Park, set on the shores of the 103-acre namesake lake, has more than 160 campsites -- some with lake views and electric and water hookups, plus two small camping cabins. Other activities and attractions include boating and fishing, a swimming beach, disc golf, playgrounds and picnic areas. Raccoon State Recreation Area in Rockville includes tours of a circa-1880s roller mill, an archery range, boating and fishing on Cecil M. Harden Lake, a swimming beach, hiking trails and more than 300 campsites, including 240 with electric hookups. Turkey Run State Park near Marshall, set amid sandstone ravines and forests along Sugar Creek, has 213 campsites, all with electric hookups, plus fishing, hiking trails, tennis courts and a saddle barn. Other accommodations include the Turkey Lake Inn and furnished cabins.
Peaceful Waters Campground in Bloomingdale has electric and primitive campsites set along the shores of a private fishing pond stocked with bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish. Other activities include rental canoes and paddleboats, disc golf, volleyball court and bath house. Turkey Run Campground in Bloomingdale, about 1 mile west of Turkey Run State Park, has tent and RV sites, many with electric hookups. The campground also includes a general store, bath house, volleyball and basketball courts, swing set and live entertainment on weekends. Fallen Rock RV Parke & Campground in Brazil is home to 160 campsites, more than 50 of which have full hookups. The campground also has a stocked fishing pond, as well as bath house, camp store, restaurant, hiking trails and dog park. All three campgrounds also have camping cabins for rent.
Sugar Valley Canoe Trips allow you to combine camping with a canoe or kayak ride down the Sugar River. The canoe trips, ranging from one hour to 21-mile overnight trips, take paddlers under four covered bridges and through Turkey Run State Park and Shades State Park. Depending on the trip you choose, primitive camping is available at the Up the Creek campground near Turkey Run State Park or at primitive canoe-in campsites at Shades State Park, part of which lies in Parke County. The Up the Creek site also has primitive one-room camping cabins that include on-site picnic tables and fire rings, with a bathhouse nearby.
