Love the idea of camping, but don’t want to rough it? Stay in a family cabin at Chain O’Lakes! You’ll find all the things you need to feel at home right smack dab in the middle of the great outdoors! Many thanks to Chain O’Lakes State Park in Albion, Indiana for hosting our crew in a family cabin for two nights.
Chain O’Lakes is a beautiful escape from the city with 2, 718 acres to explore. There are nine connecting lakes, plenty of water for fishing, swimming and canoeing, and over 23 miles of hiking trails to enjoy nature on foot!
Be prepared to go off grid! As we were road tripping and getting close to Chain O’Lakes State Park, I realized I had no service on my phone. There is no wifi. How would I get my work done? Momentary minute of panic. Ha! I was able to use my husband’s Sprint phone’s hotspot to get done what I had to do without having to make a trip to town. You’ve been warned!
When we arrived at our family cabin, we all just went, “Wow!” My husband wanted to know if we couldn’t just stay here and forget the rest of our road trip plans. It is so beautiful and peaceful! Especially for my boys, there’s just nothing like getting them outside, and this was doing it in style.
Family cabins are available for rent mid July through October 31. Each cabin is 850 square feet with living room…
full kitchen…
bathroom…
master bedroom with a double bed and a second bedroom with two sets of bunk beds perfect to accommodate six. Since we are a family of seven one of the kids also slept on the living room couch.
The cabin is rustic and you will need to bring your own bedding, towels, soap etc. There is no air conditioning but fans keep the cabin cool in the summer and wood stoves keep you toasty warm in the winter.
My favorite spot was the screened in porch.
We spent much of our cabin time out here relaxing, feasting on the beauty, and listening to the sounds of nature.
This was our view from the back porch. I imagine it’s all green now!
In the summer you can play in the sand or swim on the beach. We were there before the beach was open and the weather still a little chilly.
We absolutely loved taking a scenic hike around the lake.
Our guide Kaitlyn took us over the river and through the woods–I had to say that!
My kids are so curious about everything and Kaitlyn was so knowledgeable in explaining to the kids what they were seeing whether it was fungi on trees…
fresh signs of beavers…
beaver lodges…
or signs of spring.
My favorite part of the hike was the areas we found covered in trilliums!
The trail following the lake shore is one mile around and begins and ends at the beach. It was perfect for the family to stroll taking our time.
Also, don’t miss seeing Stanely Schoolhouse at Chain O’Lakes State Park. The schoolhouse built in 1915 is on the National Register for historic places.
It was in operation as a one room schoolhouse until the 1950s! In 2012 it was restored to interpret it’s original history.
We loved imagining life back in the day at Stanley Schoolhouse!
Our two nights at Chain O’Lake went by so fast. This is definitely somewhere you will want to plan to stay the week and just unplug and enjoy family time together. Learn more about the park here>>> Chain O’Lake State Park. Reserve a family cabin and enjoy the gorgeous Indiana woods, lakes and trails.
What an absolutely amazing looking state park! I would love to just spend some time in the lodge and explore the area. That school building looks amazing as well.
It really is a beautiful place to explore!
Now this is my type of CAMPING!!! I love the great outdoors but am not a fan of sleeping in a tent! I would love to take my family here!
I’m with ya! I really like having a bathroom and shower.
i love the cabin life! My family isn’t used to the rustic part of it, so they aren’t a big fan, but boy, I feel really nostalgic when I see posts like this one!
Aw! I grew up roughing it when it came to camping, literally a sleeping bag under an orange tree. lol This is definitely luxurious for me.
My family wants to go camping but I’m not with staying out doors. This looks so peaceful. It had to be incredible for your husband to want to stay and forget the rest of the trip. Glad you guys had fun.
It’s the perfect compromise! Yes, it was so nice. I’d love to go back and stay longer.
Over the river and through the woods hahaha! And man those beavers went to town didn’t they! This is totally my kind of getaway! I love the woods and cabins!
lol My kids absolutely loved seeing the signs of the beavers. They wanted to sneak out at night and try to spot one. They didn’t win on that one. lol
What a beautiful area! Looks like it would be real fun exploring and spending some quality time together with the fam!
Such a great spot to take the family to step away from technology and just unplug as a family unit. Love it! Glad yall had a nice time!
Thanks so much. It was so relaxing!
Wow, this places looks so neat! I love how they have the cabins for rental. Get an education trip and some family fun in all at once!
Please go back and rent canoes. Going through the lakes are great. We live close enough to do it, a couple times a summer, using our kayak.
Oh canoes looked like a blast. I was a little nervous to take my younger kids though. Next time for sure!
what a great place to take the kids. It’s good for them to explore nature
That sounds like it’s such a fun place to visit with the family! We’re excited to travel to a few different places this summer!