Best Campsites for Halloween in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky

By Matt | October 15, 2019

What’s more fundamental to being a parent than intentionally scaring your children, disguising their true identities, and sending them on their way to beg other people for candy?

Doing all those things while camping.

If you, too, like adventure, check out some favorite haunts in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, where you can live out your dreams of being the Clark Griswold of Halloween.

NOTE: My goal for next Halloween is to literally be declared the Clark Griswold of Halloween. Is this a thing?

Be sure to check my tips at the end to make your haunted camping experience as smooth and hassle free as possible.

Best Campsites for Halloween in Ohio

Thousand Trails Campground
1786 OH 330
WIlmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-5883

Between Cincinnati and Dayton lies the Thousand Trails Campground where you can trick-or-treat your way around the grounds or shake in your shorts on the haunted trail. The campgrounds feature a lake for fishing and canoeing, mini golf, and my personal favorite: a hot tub!

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Caesar Creek State Park
9000 Center Road
Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 488- 4595

Show off your decorating skills and spookify your site at Caesar Creek State Park. Here, you can trick-or-treat, play games, enjoy a bonfire, watch movies outdoors, carve pumpkins, bump along on a hay rack ride, participate in a costume contest, or get lost on the haunted trail. This is one of our favorites because there are so many activities that your children are sure to be entertained and worn out enough that they don’t notice you’ve raided their candy stash.

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Best Campsites for Halloween in Indiana

Brown County State Park
P.O. Box 608
Nashville, IN 47448
812-988-6406

Brown County State Park in Indiana, hosts Halloween in the Hills. This event features a trick-or-treat trail along with contests for campsite decorating and pumpkin carving. Brown County State Park is Indiana’s largest park, and includes hiking and mountain biking trails and horseback riding. If you’re not afraid of heights , climb the 90-foot (you read that right) fire tower to watch the leaves change color.

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Buffalo Trace Park
1540 HWY 150 NE
Palmyra, IN 47164
(812) 364-6112

Palmyra, in Southern Indiana, hosts Halloween camping at Buffalo Trace Park with activities for campers and non-camping guests. So if camping seems too terrifying (because it really can be), you can come visit, participate in the activities, and then leave for home where you have, you know, a real bed.

Campers can trick-or-treat in the morning, and non-campers will trick-or-treat in the evening. There are games and campsite and costume contests as well.

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Best Campsites for Halloween in Kentucky

Blue Licks Battlefield State Park
10299 Maysville Road
Carlisle, KY 40311
(859) 289- 5507

One of Blue Licks (admit it, you just giggled) Battlefield State Park’s largest events is their annual Halloween celebration. Visitors are welcome, so there is no need to stay onsite to participate in the festivities, although it is a lot of fun! Visitors can enter costume and pumpkin carving contests (even pets, too), make tie-dye T-shirts, listen to spooky stories, or play a round of haunted mini-golf. Decorate your campsite for a chance to win a free weekend stay!

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Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park- Mammoth Cave
950 Mammoth Cave Rd.
Cave City, Kentucky 42127
(270) 773- 3840

If you’re smarter than the average bear, and I suspect that you are, you already know of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Cave City, Kentucky. You probably know, too, that every year they host 400-500 kids for trick-or-treating, a haunted forest, arts and crafts, pumpkin carving, costume competition, and a cabin/campsite decorating contest (1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize awards given). While you’re there, see if you can hunt down (sorry, no pun intended) Yogi Bear and Boo for hugs!

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Once you’ve picked your haunt, consider the following tips:

Five Tips for Halloween Camping with Kids

1. Pack lots of floss for all that candy your gremlins are sure to eat
2. Don’t forget to pack heaters and hand warmers in case it’s cold. If your kids behave, you can even share with them.
3. If you’re a dad on a budget check Marketplace or Nextdoor for dolls and other creatures to creepify your campsite. You can’t go wrong with glow in the dark spray paint, either.
4. Pack extension cords for your lights. You will want to plug them into the campsite outlet, rather than running the electricity through your camper.
5. The most important thing to remember: Be sure to inspect the candy. (AKA take all the good stuff.)

PS – If you need more tips, you can see all of my wife’s camping tips here. But I think for most dads, what I’ve shared is all you need.