Indiana Beach Camp Grounds — Hotel in Yeoman

I came here back in the mid 80’s thru the mid 90’s and not much has changed. That would be a good thing considering I loved the 80’s, but I mean things really haven’t changed—as in they haven’t been kept up, updated, or maintained. That goes for the park and the campground.

The campground: The golf course is worn down from the years of neglect and the surrounding pond is nasty looking with some sort of algae floating on top. The signage is the same. Most of it can’t be read because of the lack of maintenance. The park itself is a very pretty setting. You can not put up a clothesline per the rules of the campground, but it seems like they let the seasonal tenants do as they wish; building elaborate porches, erecting garden sheds, graveling their own lots, etc.

The campsites are mostly dirt as the gravel has been worn down over the years. I paid for a deluxe site and it is a quagmire (minus the giggity) of mud and debris. Everything seems to be muddy or covered in dirt. The picnic tables are weathered and covered in moss.

The bathrooms are disgusting. Walking by the row of toilets, each looks like they’ve been peed in and not flushed. Why? Because they use antiquated yellow fluorescent lights. The hand dryers in the bathhouse I used didn’t work. Literally the most modern thing I have seen is the automatic toilet flushers. The shower stalls are nothing short of disgusting. The bottom of the shower stalls are again showing more than their age. Missing tiles, tiny stalls, lack of hooks, and no heat or air conditioning. The worst part? A push button that provides you with 2 seconds of water to shower with. Some shower stalls have been rigged with zip ties to keep the water on for you, but is this really necessary? The water temp is set at a decent temperature for me, but that may not be everyone’s cup of tea. There is no adjustment.

Quiet hours begin at 10...unless you’re a seasonal tenant. It seems they are free to do as they wish regarding the sites and the rules of the park do not pertain to them. Look at their website and see what they say about noise. Monday thru Thursday they have a roving patrol...our last night there was a Friday night and the noise level was worse than I have ever seen at any campground. Drunks, blaring music, yelling back and forth over corn hole game, rambunctious kids allowed to run amuck, etc etc. This, ladies and gentlemen, went on until about 5:30 am. Never once did I see the “security officer” make a round. Apparently he only works those aforementioned days.

The amusement park: Same as above for condition. The rides are good, and in the off season we were able to walk right into every single ride we wanted to go on. A few were closed, but plenty were open. We bought season tickets and planned to come back for Halloween because we always take a trip for some epic Halloween adventure, but when we leave this time, I’ll likely say goodbye to Indiana Beach forever. We drove 700 miles from Tulsa to come here as I sang IB’s praises to my wife only to come away with a mediocre experience at best.

The upstairs lounge was severely dated as the restaurant looks like a retired 70’s disco/strip club. The carpet was disgusting in the dining room. The bathrooms...I can’t even describe the odor in there but it must be from some sort of bacteria that has been allowed to run rampant. The food and service was good and moderately priced though. I am nothing if not intellectually honest.

Summary Indiana Beach is a far cry from what it used to be and who knows if it will ever be restored back to its former glory. The years of use and neglect have taken their toll and it may just cost too much to repair what damage has been done to the parks and their reputation. For my money, next time I’ll try Holiday World. Just like there’s more than corn in Indiana, there’s also more than one...

Check in is a breeze with two big pull through lanes right in front of the office.

The actual "deluxe" campsights are nice. Just a gravel drive, fire ring with no grate for cooking, but they do have a separate charcoal grill. The pic nic table is built on posts cemented in the ground in the middle of the concrete pad. I loved that because the table could never flip over!!! Nice and sturdy for dog tie out as well. Pretty big patio area with an awning tie down loop in the ground. We got a full hook up site with water and sewer. That makes it so easy to camp!! Not too many of the deluxe sites available, so be sure to make reservations early.

However, all of the sites share one electric post for 2 sites, (50/30/20) so make sure you have a step down for 50 to 30 amp service if both campers need the 30 amp or a combo if both need the 50 amp service. The people in the 2 sites next to us had to move because they didn't have them. (and when they moved they got gyped out of full hook up sites).

The bathrooms have not been updated. There IS hot water which is nice, but the shower only stays on for 15 seconds at a time, you have to keep pumping it up again. Unless you remember to bring a zip tie with you to the shower, then you can make it stay on as long as you want. But security goes through and cuts off the zip ties daily.

Camp store on site is well stocked with a few groceries, toys, water shoes, tools and propane and 22 lbs of ice is $6.00. (A little high, but right there on site is so much easier than schlepping it from Wal-Mart which is about 3 miles away.)

They have mini golf, an arcade, a pizza/ice cream shack and a splash pad all on site and access to the pool across the lot at the KOA Campground. (owned by the same people I think)

Multiple fill/dump stations and dumpsters available, although they were over flowing and VERY stinky in the extreme heat. They definitely needed a Saturday trash pick up. Roads are not paved and full of chuck holes, it had rained the week before and roads were muddy.

We went on a holiday weekend. EVERY site was full. The security did NOT enforce the "ABSOLUTELY NO FIREWORKS" rule they had posted. (Our poor dog was mortified). They make a point to cut off the zip ties in the shower, but don't bother to enforce their own rules???

Nor did the security people enforce the noise rules. Quiet time is supposed to be from 11pm to 8 am. Instead, one night we endured the "long term camper" (folks who live there all season) neighbor's amplified singing and bongo drums played badly out of time with YouTube music and the next two nights with LOUD Hispanic music blared before 8 am and all day until 2 am. It was horrible!!The rude campers brought in giant boom box karaoke machines and flood lights. We could not talk or hear at our camp site over their music and had to put tin foil on the windows to block the flood light. They did not control their children from constantly kicking their ball onto our site, under our camper and near the fire. We were interrupted 3 times during one dinner. Really??? Control your children people!!!! Or better yet, GET OFF YOUR STINKING PHONE AND PLAY WITH THEM! But that part is bad parenting and not the park's fault. We did not call security as there were 15-20 people on their 3 sites and only us 5 on our site, and we did not want to cause an international incident.

We were at the amusement park most of the time anyway. It is very close and you could drive or take the trolley back and forth. It runs every half hour or so, but not on a regular schedule. With the season pass we went back and forth to eat so it wasn't so expensive and mostly to get out of the sun for a bit,...

Started the IB experience around '93 and continued every year through the glory days until 2005ish Let's reflect...

Clean bathhouse. (Toilets and showers) Regularly maintained Facilities and Mechanicals. Grass on campsites, Adequate paths, roadways, and signage. Superb outdoor activities as in lake life, fishing, kayaks, pickup football or volleyball games, bike rides, endless friendly adventures never permitted the phrase, "I'm bored". The park never had "downed attractions", or dirty rides, restaurants, water, etc.. From water thrill shows, to teen dancing, and boardwalk shenanigans, things were fun, safe, and most of all Entertaining for families of all walks of life.

To shorten this saga...The facilities and grounds were cared for and improved feverishly to provide Family fun. Families planned, booked, packed, loved everything IB had to offer, and continued this year after year. I'll never forget helping parents plan meals and lists for the trips months in advance. Always looked forward to it. I've since had children, starting in '08. My wife (Same Tradition and memories throughout the years) and I along with other family decide we would carry this Annual tradition on for the next generation. Took us 3 years (skipping a yr. Or 2) after repeated miserable failed experiences year after year to decide we will never waste our time again.

This is hard to Type as I reflect on Innocence, Puberty, Adolescence and the beyond to all the memories and life experiences that were made while adventuring on our IB Vacations.

I truly want to believe something will change and avoid the reality that presents the hard truth year after failing year that Nobody with any real monetary interest, values, traditions, or Decision making authority will actually take any initiative to return this former Gold Mine memory maker back to its glory.

How many Millions of dollars do you have to willfully deceive out of people's hard earned money to invoke investments proactively back into a family friendly fun place that generations paid for times over.

The Framework, Infrastructure, clientele, memories, and Loyalty still encircle what we all remembered. Close this place down for a season or 2 and reestablish IB to the place in Indiana that people from across the country would travel to calendar after changing calendar because a few simple manageable principles used to exist in a business operations plan. I challenge current Owners to look, listen, and ask tough questions about the memories of what once was and the potential of what could be. Indiana is spending Alot of tax dollars to reimagine and reinvest into communities and businesses just like what IB offers Monticello, Lake Shafer, and other surrounding communities to flourish. People are busy, Families are struggling, Traditions are dying, Memories seldom made, and Summer after summer children are seemingly losing touch with what it truly means to "Go play" " Have Fun" " Be a kid" "Get Lost" "Be careful" "Check in" "Blow some stink off" "Dance in the Rain" and most important of All " Be Innovative" " Be a Problem Solver" "Figure it Out" "Be Observant" "Be Compassionate" "Be Friendly" "Be Unique"

IB...