Dunewood Campground

We went to Dunewood last weekend. We stayed at site 58 (walk-in section). We had a great time! The space between the sites was amazing. Bring a beach wagon to make your arrival and departure a little easier. And the person we checked in with was so sweet!

Beautiful campground with friendly camp hosts. Some of the trailheads are inside the campground. The trails are amazing!

The host is super friendly and informative

I bought 2 campsites next to eachother for 12 people, which is a normal thing to do at any other campsite. I booked this for me and my classmates so we could make s’mores and sing worship songs while we celebrate being finished with high school. 2 minutes after quiet time, we were told we needed to leave for being too loud and for having too many people. We got no warnings, no “please keep it down” no second chances just told to leave or the cops will be called and there would be a $250 fine charged to my card. Even after we apologized for being too loud and told the park ranger that we didn’t realized it was already passed quiet time, she proceeded to tell us to at we should be sorry after every time we apologized. We asked her that if we got quiet could we stay since we spent the money on it, and she told us no because we had too many people and we should’ve known to be quiet. We had 12 people and 2 campsites, which can both hold 8 people. I have never once been to a campground that hasn’t let the people at the two campsites hangout with each other, especially when we spent the money for both of these campsites. At the end of the day we got screamed at, got no warnings, got kicked out, got threatened to be charged $250 for doing nothing, and got no refund on the money that we spent to have fun. I will 100% not be coming back and will be telling other people to not come here. Terrible experience.

We camped here in mid May; the weather was perfect but there were lots of ticks in the camp site, crawling on the tent, table and equipment. Weirdly there never got on us. Other than that, bugs weren't a problem. All the Mather sites seemed nice and private but you could hear traffic all night long. The restroom and showers were nice and clean; there was always hot water, and the kitchen sink area was nice. The drive to the beaches was easy and quick, and there were a lot of trails when you want to do something not on the beach.

Super friendly and helpful staff. Newly paved road and parking pads. Reasonable showers; nice restroom. So many mosquitos and other flying insects that it was difficult to be outside. Since it was the end of Memorial Day weekend, the dumpster was full to the top by my site.

Staff and volunteers were very friendly and helpful. Roads and parking pads are all freshly blacktopped as well. It is near industrial type areas so expect some train noise throughout the stay. It is no fault of the camp site’s, but the ticks were atrocious. We pulled two dozen off our tent and gear before packing up. If you go, ensure you treat your equipment and spray yourself with repellant made for ticks, they’re very prevalent. Bathroom facilities were kept clean and were nice for the stay as well. Overall would stay again if in the area, just would treat everything for ticks.

Well spaced sites with plenty of woods around. Clean, modern bathrooms and showers.

The directions to get to the campground were a bit confusing, but once there, all went well. Much more wooded than I had anticipated.

We went to the Dunewood campground for a couple of days of car/tent camping during the weekdays, and we had a good time. First, the booking process was easy on Recreation.gov. When we arrived at the campground, checking in with the hosts was easy as well, and since it was our first time there, we were shown the direction to our spot on the campground map.
When we arrived at the spot, we were pleasantly surprised by how clean, private, and quiet the whole campground is. Mind you, we were there the week before Memorial day so the temperature and quietness are given. The restroom and shower facilities are quite clean, better than some "three-star" hotels that we stayed at over the years. The ATT phone signal for the entire area is at two bars, good enough for a quick download of maps.
Across from the campground entrance is the Great Mash trail, which is very shaded and full of birds. I suggest you walk from the campground across Road 12 to Broadway. From there, you can get to the Marsh trail and walk to the shore. Plan to bring snacks and water because it will be quite a few miles of walking to and from the Lake Front Drive.
For the Marsh, I recommend a full hiking setup to avoid ticks in hot weather; for the shore, casual clothing would do. The Calmulet bike trail is good for a hybrid or mountain bike, but it is a little bare to enjoy. The rest of the Dunes you need to drive to from the campground. There are a few dunes that were closed for maintenance when we were there, but there are still a few for you to enjoy. Wear sandals if you are hiking on the dunes or just walking to the beach.
The town of Chesterton is a couple of miles away, that is, if you want to get groceries and enjoy some good meals. Overall, we like the area. As an older couple, the quaint nature of the area appeals to us. The hikes were easy and also easy to get to by car, bicycle, or even on foot. Overall, we probably need a whole week to explore the whole area.