Hardin Ridge Recreation Area — Hotel in Bedford

It's amazingly clean, they are agreeably strict about nighttime quiet hours so it's not a great place to party but, with wide well kept campsites, its definitely the best campsites in the area for quietly relaxing with nature. They are fairly separated sites with plenty of forest to go around. Long trails and all summer long, they show old movies at a pretty sweet amphitheater. The beach just closed for the season, but they definitely have the nicest beach on the lake. There's a playground by the beach that is modern and what you might expect. The restrooms, for the most part, are always stocked and clean. (Fourth of July Memorial and Labor Day might be exceptions due to excessive traffic). Today, I put my book down to hang out with a deer at my site at dusk. (This concludes my five-star review last year in 2023 after camping here many times) 2024- totally different experience. New yorkers- never cared for them they show up like weeds. This used to be a quiet, beautiful place. This year, it's a wreck. Woods aren't cared for. Online reservations are now required, which favors the wealthy travelers. But the day of you can't make a reservation and the system says "first come, first serve" even if there's nothing left. Drove hours to find more of my boyhood town ruined by New Yorkers. Or if names were given according to favorite phrases, we could call them all, "yoyos." Among the more frustrating things, a nosy man who knows nothing about camping told me I couldn't be more than 20 feet away from my fire. I obliged, but that's not safety it's cowardice created from ignorance and the death of camping. There's 60 ft of campsite and a fine view of the tiny fireplace from all of it. The most frustrating though, it seems they now allow generators out here, so goodbye nature. Goodbye, animals. My favorite nature getaway now may as well be the construction site I work at to pay for getaways. Thanks for ruining the best campsites south of Indy. 2 stars is only because I'm nostalgic. I've only heard the sound of gennys and nothing else for the last 6...

Our stay started Thursday 7/28 and we rented two campsites until Sunday 7/31. Friday Morning we were approached by an older gentleman that came out of the white truck doors slammed and tone harsh telling us that there were only “two tents per campsite and that we needed to move them or we can take a $300 fine, or be escorted out by sheriffs” a few of the campers tried talking to him and tried to explain we had our tents on the highest level due to rain and use the other campsite for our daily activities and he would not take the time to explain why other than “creating mud pits” on the gravel our tents were on.

Big key point is we had two campsites for the 10 people and 4 tents with a kitchen canopy tent. The interaction was disgusting and set the tone of the employees and the nature of the campground. Show the rules that you’re trying to enforce or ask with kindness.

A few hours later around noon we were approached again by an older gentleman and older women we again approached with a door slam, no hello, and said the same thing and refused to talk to us as humans. I’m not sure if the culture of the work environment is hostile which makes employees feel they have a right to slam doors (maybe they doors need WD40 who knows) and not talk through concerns or show us this tent rule that is NOT listed on the website or rule sheet but it’s extremely unprofessional and bizzar that it happened multiple times.

Finally after this multiple members of the camping group went to the front gate for an explanation and were actually met with someone who could explain in a normal tone, but again no rules were shown to the campers- which is fine because this staff member could actually communicate well.

Regardless of these exchanges the campground as a whole needs a interpersonal communication course or new management. Would be a great spot if you didn’t have to be worried about the staff harassing you on rules that were no where...

We had an absolute blast staying here in late October!! It was incredibly beautiful!! There was plenty of hiking and stunning nature scenery to enjoy. We had such a spectacular view of the woods. We heard owls and saw adorable chipmunks. We also saw racoon and deer tracks. One night we heard a pack of coyotes singing. It was so cool!! And, to camp in a tent for a few days the price was very reasonable.

My only complaint is that there were some other campers who were utilizing leaf blowers for their site at like 8am. I found it very disruptive and rude. People come to these parks to enjoy the tranquility of nature. If you don't like leaves, dude...Perhaps don't go camping in Autumn in Indiana. Or better yet, invest in a rake or a broom. Leaf blowers absolutely do not belong at the park. They are very noisy.

I would like to make a suggestion to make the signs that lead up to the park bigger and little brighter. There were brown and blended into the terrain. That and they were so small if you blink, you'll miss them. So, it made it a little...