Indiana
5 unique places to glamp in southern Indiana
Want to explore southern Indiana’s natural beauty, but not so into sleeping on the ground? Love the outdoors, but worried about the high number of ticks this season? If you’ve been looking to spend a night in the woods but want some of the comforts of home, southern Indiana has more than just full-on outdoor camping or booking a night at the inn.
“Glamping,” also known as “luxury camping” or “yurting” combines the quiet and serenity of outdoor camping with the comfort of basic indoor amenities like an elevated bed, a solid floor, and a well-lit space. Plus, you don’t have to pitch your own tent.
Glamping can vary from more bare-bones canvas tents to “tiny cabins” accommodating a wide range of needs and experiences.
Connect with nature: Here are the best campgrounds (and parks) in south central Indiana
What is glamping?
“Glamping,” a portmanteau of “glamorous” and “camping,” is living and sleeping in a secluded, natural area (often a tent or dome) that combines the natural elements of camping with the basic comforts of home living. Among the most popular “glamping” sites are yurts, which are round, portable tents originating from nomads in Inner Asia.
Glamping has grown as a recreational activity in recent decades, first in popular safari sites in Africa and Thailand, and then in the U.S. in the 2000s and 2010s as the appetite for high-comfort camping grew.
If you’re looking to try it out for yourself, here are a five glamping experiences in southern Indiana.
Yurt in Madison with lots of room
Accommodates: Seven
Key amenities: Bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom with shower, heating and electricity
Average cost per night: $180
This two-storied canopy yurt (with a sunroof!) in Switzerland County sleeps up to seven and comes equipped with three beds (two queens), two adaptable couches (a futon and a double sofa bed), a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and a hot tub. The isolated yurt is also just 30 minutes from both Clifty Falls State Park and the Belterra Casino Resort.
Plus, the property has two goats, Blaze and Taffy.
Check out the listing on Vrbo.
‘Getaway’ Tiny Cabin in Brown County
Accommodates: Four
Key amenities: Bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom with shower, heating and electricity, basic toiletries
Average cost per night: $115-145 (25% off through August with code “SUMMER2024”)
“Getaways,” modular cabins built in the style of the viral “tiny homes,” have cropped across the U.S., strategically placed within an hour of major metros with the goal of helping people escape from the hustle of daily life. Equipped with “everything you need and nothing you don’t,” the tiny cabins come fully stocked with kitchenware, oils and seasonings, shampoo and conditioner, picnic tables and patio chairs, books and playing cards, a mini fridge, and of course, firewood and s’mores supplies. Plus, to encourage visitors to disconnect, each tiny cabin comes with a cell phone lock box.
The “Getaway” campground is about 10 minutes east of the Brown County State Park entrance off 135 South.
Check out getaway.house/brown-county/.
Sleeping Bear Tipis and Wagons in French Lick
Accommodates: Four
Key amenities: Cots, fire grate, picnic table, nearby bathrooms and showers
Average cost per night: $55-65
A more bare-bones (or bear bones?) stay, the tipis at Sleeping Bear Retreat in French Lick offer basic amenities like an elevated bed and clean bathroom facilities, while not straying too far from the original ideals of camping.
For those who need a little more comfort, Sleeping Bear also offers covered wagons — yes, like pioneer wagons — with electricity, air conditioning and heating.
Sleeping Bear’s campgrounds feature a shelter house, a giant chess board, catch and release fishing, a volleyball court and other outdoor activities. Sleeping Bear also hosts paintball games and manhunt games at nearby grounds. It’s also just west of the Hoosier National Forest, close to the Springs Valley State Fish and Wildlife Area and the Tucker Lake Dam.
Check out sleepingbearretreat.com.
Hilltop Dome in Vevay
Accommodates: Six
Key amenities: Bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom with shower, heating and electricity, washer/dryer, TV, wifi, kitchen appliances, hot tub
Average cost per night: $175 (plus Airbnb fees)
This mostly glass “geodome” on a 42-acre private property is about as premium as glamping gets, with a canopy bedroom, an outdoor patio, a hot tub, a full kitchen, pre-stocked books and board games, a living room with a TV, and more. The dome sits on top of a hill, offering stunning views of the surrounding varied terrain.
The dome is within 15 minutes of Clifty Falls State Park, Madison and the Belterra Casino Resort.
Check out booking availability on Airbnb.
Camper RV in Poland
Accommodates: Two
Key amenities: Bedrooms, outdoor kitchen with grill, bathroom, outdoor shower, heating and electricity, TV, wifi
Average cost per night: $72 (plus Airbnb fees)
For those who have always wanted to spend family time in an RV but haven’t gotten the opportunity, this Coleman Lantern LT camper in Poland offers a classic camper experience, plus some extra elbow room with a spacious outdoor patio. The camper features a queen bed, bathroom and living room area, while the outdoor space adds patio seating, a grill, an outdoor shower, a drip coffee maker and a minifridge.
The Poland camper is only about 4 miles east of Cagles Mill Lake, built in 1952 as Indiana’s first flood control reservoir. The lake is abutted by two state recreation areas (SRAs), Lieber and Cataract Falls, which combined offer opportunities for hiking, boating, fishing, swimming pools, waterslides, and scenic views of the falls.
Check out booking availability on Airbnb.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com. Follow him on Twitter/X at @brianwritesnews.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Hamilton County teen on Friday said he’s excited for his first convention as a voting delegate.
Jackson Massillamany, who just turned 18 and graduated from high school in May, is no stranger to politics. His father, Mario, is the chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party and his mother, Amy, serves on the Hamilton County Council.
Jackson said he signed up to be a delegate at this weekend’s Indiana Republican Party convention in Fort Wayne after Mario asked if he was interested.
“It’s kinda cool to see how this is done and what my dad actually does,” he said. “At first, I wasn’t really excited for it, but I’m here now and I’m having a blast.”
Mario Massillamany, who is a contributor to “All INdiana Politics,” said Jackson is the youngest delegate at the convention. He said he has been taking Jackson along to party functions ever since he was an infant.
“It’s a great opportunity for him to get more active and involved in politics, and I think we need to try and get the younger generations involved in our political process,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity for him to come here, have a good experience and then go back and talk to his friends about why it’s important to get involved.”
Jackson will be one of 1,800 delegates tasked with picking a nominee for secretary of state. It’s a closely watched race. Current Secretary of State Diego Morales, who is seeking a second term, has faced numerous controversies since he took office. Knox County Clerk David Shelton and conservative activist and 2024 gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour have been running against Morales for months. Last month, Max Engling, a staffer for Sen. Jim Banks and a 2024 congressional candidate, joined the race at the last minute with Banks’ backing.
The Republican winner in November will have to face Bayh family scion Beau Bayh, a Democrat, along with Libertarian Lauri Shillings and, potentially, former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who is running as an independent under the Lincoln Party label.
Mario said he’s telling Jackson to keep his eyes and ears open and to meet with all of the weekend’s candidates.
Both Massillamanys said the key to getting young people to vote and to get politically involved is to, first, encourage them to register to vote and, second, to elevate more young people who are in politics.
“I feel like many people are scared to be involved in politics because nobody else younger does it,” Jackson said. “So, like, me and other people my age, being able to reach out to others to try and get involved, I feel like, is the best way for people my age to get involved.”
Delegates to the 2026 Indiana Republican Party convention will make their selections on Saturday. Besides secretary of state candidates, they will choose nominees for state treasurer and state comptroller. The current occupants of those offices, Daniel Elliott and Elise Nieshalla, respectively, are running for second terms and are unopposed.
Government reporter Garrett Bergquist will be in Fort Wayne on Saturday and will have a full report on the results of the convention at 6, 10 and 11 p.m. on WISH-TV.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man is dead after a shooting Thursday night on Indy’s near east side, police say.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, just after 8 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on a report of a person shot.
When officers arrived, they found an adult male inside an apartment with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services transported the man to a hospital in critical condition, where died shortly after arriving.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene to begin the investigation.
Crime Resources
Gov. Mike Braun asked state regulators to reconsider their decision to greenlight a $71 million rate increase for AES Indiana, doubling down on his condemnation of a move that could leave Indianapolis residents with higher electrical bills for years.
Braun wrote in a June 18 news release that he had asked Indiana Utility Counselor Abby Gray, who heads the office representing ratepayers in proceedings before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, to petition for a rehearing of the AES rate case.
Gray indicated in the release that her office would submit the petition shortly. No petition had been posted on the IURC’s online docket as of this story’s publication.
The rate increase, which was approved by the IURC on June 17, was substantially less than the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It was also less than the amount proposed in a settlement last October between AES and major electricity consumers.
But the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which Gray leads, came out strongly against any increase to AES’s base rates. In September, the OUCC called for a $21 million reduction instead.
As the Republican Party grapples with rising discontent over affordability, Braun has used opposition to rising utility rates to telegraph that he’s committed to keeping costs down for Indiana residents. He signed a law in February that allows the state to make rate-setting decisions that reward or penalize utilities based on metrics including affordability.
In March, he told reporters that he would take on Indiana’s five investor-owned utilities, describing himself as the “new sheriff in town.”
And after the IURC voted 3-1 to approve the AES rate increase, he wrote in a post to X that he was “deeply disappointed.”
Braun wrote in the June 18 news release that he had appointed Gray, a longtime OUCC lawyer and judge, to her current post because he knew she “would help me fight for Hoosiers.”
According to AES’s estimates, the rate increase will cost households an additional $5 per month for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity they use, beginning in July. A second hike will take effect in January.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
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