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What it isAn informal gathering of TAB teardrop campers and friends at Brown County State Park, Nashville IN, May 11th-15th 2026. Reservations can be made 6 months in advance on the Reserve America site. Please feel free to come earlier and/or stay later.
The Nitty-Gritty
In November (6 months in advance), you will be able to book your campsite at Brown County State Park, Nashville, IN for this completely informal camping get-together. You will be responsible for making your own reservations.
Additional Info
Brown County is a large State Park, but ideally most of us can be in the Taylor Ridge electric section. However, if you require a good cell signal and/or a clear sky view for Starlink, you may want to consider the Buffalo Ridge section instead (Taylor Ridge is very heavily wooded). As with many State Parks, there are electric hookups, but no water or sewer. However, there are plenty of potable water spigots scattered throughout the campground, as well as dump stations. IMHO, there’s not a bad campsite in the park.
The park is dog-friendly (I’ll have Nixie, of course).
VERY IMPORTANT: There are 2 entrances to the park, but only the West entrance (off of SR 46 two miles west of Nashville) is RV friendly. The park doesn’t allow RV’s to enter via the North entrance, since that entrance has a historic covered bridge with a low weight limit and RV’s are NOT ALLOWED on it.
Things to do in Brown County/Nashville
Brown County is the largest State Park in Indiana, so there should be plenty of room for all of us if we book quickly once the 6-month window opens. There are great hiking and mountain bike trails, as well as canoeing and kayaking. There is also horseback riding in the park.
The park is literally right across the street from the fun little town of Nashville, IN, which has some great bars, restaurants, wineries, groceries, and cool little touristy shops. If you’re into whiskey (or dining for that matter), the amazing Hard Truth Distillery offers tours and is located just a few minutes from the park. Every time I go there, it absolutely blows me away, and I’m not even a whiskey drinker! If you enjoy Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe’s Music Park (https://billmonroemusicpark.com) is located in Bean Blossom Indiana, just north of Nashville, IN.
Things to do in Columbus, IN (about 30 minutes east)
Columbus is the home base for Cummins Engine, so it is a company town. The Miller family owned Cummins, and spent a large part of their fortune beautifying Columbus. They brought in world-class architects to design many of the civic buildings, to great effect. Columbus offers Architectural Tours, as well as a tour of the Miller House (designed by Eero Saarinen of St. Louis Arch fame). I highly recommend any of the tours. Many folks did them at the 2025 gathering, and I think everyone was pleasantly surprised at the outstanding architecture in such a small city.
Things to do in Bloomington (appx. 30 minutes west of Nashville)
Bloomington, IN, home of Indiana University (THE quintessential college town, in my humble opinion) is about a 30 minute drive west. Bloomington offers all of the amenities you’d expect to find in a beautiful college town with a large university.
Things to do in Indianapolis
If you have time, a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is highly recommended. The newly reopened Speedway Museum is awesome. And since it will be the month of May, there will be plenty of action at the track.
For you gamblers, there are at least 4 casinos within about a 2 hour drive of Brown County. The nearest is just south of Indy, Caesars Horseshoe Indianapolis. It’d be just over an hour drive north. 4300 N Michigan Rd, Shelbyville, IN 46176
https://www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis...
About an hour and a half south, near Louisville, is Caesars Southern Indiana.
https://www.caesars.com/caesars-southern-indiana...
List of Hiking Trails in Brown County State Park
1. LODGE TRAIL, Moderate, (.9 mile)—Joins with Trail 2 for a short distance to return near lodge. Walk through land wooded with oak, hickory, sassafras, beech and maple.
2. CCC TRAIL, moderate, (2 miles)—CCC-built trail with impressive stone bridges, stairways and retaining walls. Starts and ends behind the lodge. Passes near Lower Shelter and North Lookout Tower.
3. SADDLE BARN LOOP TRAIL, Moderate, (1.25 miles)—Traverses a variety of topography. Passes saddle barn and amphitheater and returns to lodge. Varieties of ferns can be seen in the ravines and on the slopes.
4. RALLY CAMPGROUND TRAIL, Moderate, (1.25 miles)—Starts near the front of the Rally Campground and leads through upland terrain to a deep ravine at the headwaters of Ogle Lake. Joins Trail 7 for a short distance. Meets with Trail 5 at Ogle Hollow Nature Preserve.
5. OGLE HOLLOW NATURE PRESERVE TRAIL, Rugged, (.75 mile)—Self-guided trail starts near the parking lot for Rally Campground and follows a slope wooded with yellowwood trees, loops through the nature preserve and intersects with Trail 4 from Ogle Lake.
6. STRAHL LAKE TRAIL, Easy/Rugged, (.75 mile)—Easy walk around Strahl Lake but challenging .5 mile-spur to the Nature Center.
7. OGLE LAKE TRAIL, Moderate, (1.5 miles)—A hilly, wooded hike along the shores of Ogle Lake.
8. HHC TRAIL, Moderate, (3.5 miles)—Extends east from west lookout, continues to near Hesitation Point, and then southwest to parking area at Ogle Lake and Trail 7. Trail was improved by volunteers from the Hoosier Hikers Council 2002-2007.
9. TAYLOR RIDGE TRAIL, Rugged, (3.0/2.75 miles)—Starts near site 324 in campground. No parking at trailhead. Travels ridge top beyond campground, dropping into adjacent valley to follow stream before looping back to ridge top. A 2.75-mile extension connects to Trail 7 near Ogle Lake.
10. FIRE TOWER TRAIL, Rugged, (2.2 miles)—Follows ridge behind fire tower before looping northward crossing deep ravines and hilltops. Passes CCC shelter.
FRIENDS TRAIL, Easy—Short, easy, paved trail, with benches and vista on flat terrain. Constructed by the Friends of Brown County State Park.
DISCOVERY TRAIL, Moderate, (.5 mile)—Self-guided nature trail. Brochure available at the trailhead at the south end of the Nature Center parking lot.
In Summary
If you think Indiana is nothing but cornfields, I promise Brown County will disabuse you of that notion. It is beautiful, hilly, spectacular country. You will be very pleasantly surprised.
Anyway, I hope you can make it to this fun gathering in May of ’26, and I look forward to seeing you!
Web Links
Brown County State Park website: https://www.in.gov/.../parks-lakes/brown-county-state-park/?
Taylor Ridge Campground Map: https://www.in.gov/.../files/brownco_taylor_electric.pdf.
Buffalo Ridge Campground Map: https://www.in.gov/.../files/brownco_buffalo_ridge.pdf
Brown County Indiana Visitors Center: https://browncounty.com/sho.../brown-county-visitors-center/
Canoeing and Kayaking: https://www.pathfinderoutfitters.com
Brown County Visitors Guide: https://browncounty.com/visitor-guides/
Thanks to Verna, here's a link to info on Indiana wineries:
https://indianawineries.com/...
Hard Truth Distillery: https://hardtruth.com/
Visit Bloomington:https://www.visitbloomington.com/...
Guide to the architecture of Columbus, Indiana: https://columbus.in.us/architecture-tours/
Mecum Indy Auto Auction: https://www.mecum.com
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum: https://imsmuseum.org
Indianapolis Motor Speedway: https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Bill Monroe’s Music Park: https://billmonroemusicpark.com
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Brown County State Park Campground, Nashville,IN,United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
