Shipshewana Campground South Park — Hotel in Shipshewana

We made a reservation for the entire month of July. As fulltime, traveling RV’ers DW and I will state that our stay was one of the finest RV campground experiences we have had.

From the moment we entered the office we were treated like family. Cindy, the park manager, has created an atmosphere that projects teamwork, customer service, and a true desire to make everyone feel welcome and part of the family. Our check in was handled by Judy whose perpetual smile melts away the stress felt at the end of a long day on the road. Check in took only a few minutes after which we were escorted to our assigned site.

One of the first things DW does is check out the laundry and facilities. She found them virtually spotless and well maintained. And as an avid reader she was pleased to find a free exchange library where she actually found a couple of books she had not read. There is a meeting room available for use by groups as well as a covered pavilion that can handle about 50 people. Ice, fire pits and firewood are also available through the office.

There are horse paddocks on each side of the park. One accommodates a Clydesdale mare and her foal and yearling. At times you can reach across the fence and pet them. Weird though, they do not like apples. Across the park in the other paddock are two beautiful Morgan horses. They do like apples. At the back fence is a pasture containing cattle that will also come up to the fence to be pet.

Our site was one of the narrower ones. But we liked the location. Once we were set I noticed I was positioned so that when I extended the awning the branches of a small tree were brushing it. I decided it would be fine. However, about an hour later, without request, the park maintenance man, Bill, and a helper came by and trimmed the offending branches. Thought that was above and beyond. And during our month long stay, they came around and cut our “lawn” twice. If anyone has any issues with the utilities within the park one need only call the office. Bill, or one of his team will respond quickly to resolve the problem. Again, to make sure your stay is as pleasant as they can possibly make it.

To many, what there is to do and see in the area is as important as the park itself. Shipshewana offers a multitude of attractions for the adult traveler. You will have already noticed the horse and buggy traffic, accompanied by the rhythmic clip - clop, clip - clop of beautiful horses, which is a daily presence. But watch out for the horse apples.

We started our sightseeing with the Menno-Hof, which is a guided tour museum that takes one through the history and lives of the Amish and Mennonite peoples of the area. I would suggest this be your first visit. Thereafter the flea market should be on your list. It is open only Tuesday and Wednesday. You will find hundreds of vendors with thousands of items to add weight to your RV. We suggest that you walk or ride your bike as the traffic is bumper to bumper in and out of the market. It’s less than half a mile from the campground. Across the street is Yoder’s General Store where you will find an eclectic collection of items.

There are plenty of places to eat but we found three we really enjoyed: Das Essenhaus, the Blue Gate Restaurant, and the 5 & 20 Country Kitchen, each with a menu lineup that will satisfy any appetite.

A few comments about Bill: He is an Army guy, a Vietnam Veteran and one of the most patriotic persons this old, retired Chief has had the pleasure of meeting. Don’t let his gruff voice intimidate you, as he is really a big Teddy Bear. He hand makes quilts, which he donates to organizations that raise money for the benefit of Veterans. In addition, he collects drinking water bottle caps that also go to a Veterans charity. This one provides dialysis services. Each bottle cap is worth 3 minutes of dialysis for a Veteran.

So next time you head to Northern Indiana put the Shipshewana Campground South Park on your list of places to stay. You will not regret it. Tell ‘em Bob sent you. And start saving your bottle...

Location is great within walking distance to shops. Bathrooms have hot showers. But, my God! I felt like I was at my mother's house with signs EVERYWHERE. Do this, don't do that, even how to throw away your garbage (and yes, they check on you. I saw a worker look into to the dumpster immediately after I threw in my trash bag.) They are OBSESSIVE about dog poop. They have designated cans throughout the park lest you contaminate their dumpster with dog poop. As if it matters! The whole place smells like cow and horse poop and flies swarm into your vehicle and camper when you open the doors. I get it that people who don't pick up their dog poop are beyond annoying; but just start slapping a heavy fine on the violators. Why ruin everyone else's time with a barrage of signs and admonishments. They also have a designated promenade walk for dogs so you feel like you're in a funeral procession walking your dog. The owners must not own dogs. Dogs like to sniff around, especially in different environments. They see the world through their noses. Doubtful my dogs had a good time here. I was glad for the laundry facility but one of the washing machines kept prompting me for more and more quarters. After I put in about $1.50 more than i should have i finally banged on the box and it finally worked. I ran out of quarters for the dryer and told the office. The guy magnanimously said he could "give me" the 75 cents I needed. He meant I need not buy a whole roll of quarters. He "let" me buy 4 with a dollar. I felt like they thought they were doing you a favor by "letting you" stay there.

I have a truck camper and drove it to town so I'd have a place to put my dogs (at other places that wouldn't be dog friendly.) When I came back to my site (which was designated departure the following day) my stuff was gone. I asked a worker and he said he put it away because he has instructions to clear away left-behind stuff. Maybe they should also instruct him to read the departure dates on the posts.

They should tell some of those big rigs to keep the volume down on their tvs, stereos, and loud mouths. Those are more annoying to your other guests than dog poop.

I read some of the other reviews and was surprised no one else had issues with the signs everywhere. I camp A LOT, all over the country, with my dogs and have never experienced anything like this. Maybe they should just hire some more maintenance people. They charge enough for the sites. I'll look around for another camp ground next time I come to Shipshawana. If you don't want to feel like you're in kindergarten again, I'd suggest you...

Well, I’ve got a slightly different take on this campground than most. It is convenient to the town and flea market. It does offer full hookups though for the price ($45) it should. It does not include cable tv and I wasn’t able to get any channels on my tv during the day. We requested a pull thru site and got a very short one on the corner. We were barely able to fit our Class C and towed truck, I was worried we would get sideswiped over the course of 4 days. The majority of the roads are gravel and sitting outside resulted in dust filled lungs caused by people in a big rush. We felt like lower class citizens as the vast majority of campers here are driving luxury buses up to the million dollar range. It seems to be a place to out impress your neighbors. The reviews that state this is the best campground ever are most likely from people who cannot fit their mega buses in any state park and experience real peace and tranquillity. To them any park that they can just get parked in is great. The fire pit rings are old truck wheels that you can’t cook on and for the most part campers can’t have campfires because the fire rings are less than 6 feet away from your neighbors. The bathrooms and showers are very clean but I was a little bit miffed that there is a box in the bathroom for tips after paying $45 per night. First time I’ve seen that. If you want shade that’s also hard to come by as most trees are very small. Our son visited us for two nights and we forked over another $10 for the privilege of having visitors. The grass on our site was not mowed when we arrived and they did not mow it while we were here. Overall, I would say it’s ok but overpriced and not on...