Introduction:
This is a nice, small, FHU campground owned and operated by a Christian ministry that uses the campground for various retreats and events, but also permits the general public to rent sites.
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The Basics:
Overall Rating: 3.9/5
Price per night / Discounts: $38 / None
Campground website: Cedar Lake Ministries Campground
Our Site #: 28 - FHU
Privacy Rating (how spacious and private do the sites feel):
3.75/5: The site spacing here was decent, and there were trees throughout the park and surrounding the camping area. It certainly wasn't like some of the state parks we've stayed at, but as private campgrounds go, it was pretty good.
Location Rating (accessibility to points of interest or to major highways):
3/5: We used this campground as a jumping off point to visit Chicago. Getting into the city was do-able, but a bit of work. We took the commuter train in from the East Chicago station. All told, it took us over an hour to get to Millenium Station downtown. It worked for our purposes, but it wasn't what we would consider convenient. If you're just looking to explore northern Indiana, it's certainly not a bad location; there are huge commercial districts not far away that offer all the necessities. If you're trying to explore Chicago, I would try to find something a bit closer in.
Site Quality and Big Rig Accessibility Rating (utilities and accessibility of campground hook ups):
3.5/5: Site quality was pretty good, though the utilities were somewhat oddly placed. It took some maneuvering to get to the various hook-ups so, if you're going to stay there, we suggest making sure you have extension hoses and cords.
Technology and Customer Service Rating (online resources, reservations, and staff):
4/5: They have a pretty helpful website where you can see what spaces are available for your dates, and I believe you can make your own reservations now (when I booked our stay, I had to call for a reservation). Customer service was very efficient and friendly. To be honest, we were a little nervous about staying somewhere that was owned and managed by a religious organization. They do have rules about alcohol use on their website and in the confirmation email we received after booking our stay, but no one said anything once we were at the campground. We were respectful of their rules and no one made an issue of anything one way or another.
Internet Availability Rating (Verizon coverage or campground wifi):
5/5: Wifi worked well here and our Verizon hotspot also worked.
Summary:
There are not many options for RV camping in the suburbs of Chicago. This wasn't a bad option for exploring the city though it take a long time to get downtown (when using the commuter rail system). The campground is very small, but the spacing is decent. We felt we had everything we needed, but we were happy to have extension hoses and cords on hand. The only complaint we had was their quiet hours didn't start until 11:00 p.m., which is much later than most places we've stayed (usual is 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m.) There was a big group of tent campers having an event at the campground while we were there and they could be very loud late at night. While they weren't technically in violation of the rules, they were pretty inconsiderate of the other people staying at the campground. 11:00 is awful late for people to be banging on drums and yelling outside your door. Other than that, we thought this campground was a very nice place to stay while we were in the area.
