$24 / night

Camper submitted image from Shawnee State Park Campground - 1

Camper submitted image from Shawnee State Park Campground - 2

Nature

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Facilities

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People

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Buildings

Established Camping

Shawnee State Park Campground

16 Reviews

About

State Park

Welcome to Shawnee State Park Campground, nestled in the scenic hills near West Portsmouth, Ohio. This place is a haven for those who love the great outdoors, offering year-round camping with a variety of accommodations including tents, RVs, cabins, and even glamping options.

One of the standout features here is the seclusion of the tent sites. They're tucked away in the woods, providing a private and peaceful camping experience. If you're into hiking, you'll love the trails that start right from the campground, winding through the hilly terrain and offering some truly beautiful views.

For families, there's plenty to keep everyone entertained. The campground boasts a small lake perfect for kayaking or paddleboarding, and there's even a mini-golf course and an outdoor movie theater. Kids will love the playground, and the nature center offers educational activities and trails to explore.

Amenities are top-notch, with electric hookups, drinking water, and clean shower houses with flush toilets. Pets are welcome, and you can easily find picnic tables and fire rings at most sites. There's also a small campground store for any essentials you might need, though it's closed during the off-season.

Visitors have praised the friendly and helpful camp hosts, as well as the well-maintained grounds. The park is known for its quiet, peaceful atmosphere, making it a great spot to relax and unwind. Just be sure to bring all your supplies, as the nearest town isn't too close.

Whether you're here for the hiking, the lake activities, or just to enjoy some time in nature, Shawnee State Park Campground offers a fantastic escape from the hustle and bustle.

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Location

Shawnee State Park Campground is located in Ohio

Directions

Directions to the first tent at Turkey Creek Lake: In Scioto County within the boundaries of the Shawnee Park and forest, from Route 125 turn on the Resort Lodge/Cabins Road. Approximately 1/4 mile turn left at Turkey Creek Lake. The tent will be located near the parking area, beach and lake. Directions for the 2nd tent near Roosevelt Lake: In Scioto County within the boundaries of the Shawnee Park and forest, from Rt. 125 turn onto the Campground Entrance Road. The tent is on the right side of the road along the creek before arriving at the campgrounds. The tent will be located near the Roosevelt Lake and boat rental parking area.

Address

4404 SR 125
West Portsmouth, OH 45663

Coordinates

38.72810396 N
83.18009954 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Hike-In
Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Available
Verizon
Available
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Good

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Cabins
Tent Cabin
Equestrian

Features

For Campers

Market
ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Sewer Hookups
Water Hookups

$24

/ night

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Reservations

(866) 644-6727

Andy B.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 6, 2023

Amazing tent sites, for Ohio

Tent camping sites were set back, in the woods, down a private path (about 75’) and totally secluded.

The park had a clean, nice outdoor movie theater, mini golf, and a lake with rentables.

Month of VisitOctober

(14) View All

Shannon G.

Legend

Reviewed Feb. 26, 2023

Hilly and Pretty

This isn’t a very big campground. And some of the pad lengths are really really short. You should know that on the campground map they have written the pad lenoon them which is great. There are two shower houses which are really nice with flush toilets and showers. The only thing about the showers is there is no bench inside the stall and not really anywhere to hang your items so you will get wet. Shawnee State Park is very hilly. There is a campground store, very small and closed during the off-season. The comfort stations are also closed in the off-season, but they are spread out throughout the campground. Some sites are really best fit for tents only or you can hammock and at the actual tent sites they have nice tent pads for them. There is a playground, putt putt course, small lake that you can kayak or paddleboard in. They’ve got a great little nature center with lots of trails and again it’s hilly so pick your trails wisely, but very very pretty. We were the only people on our side of the campground.

Site95

Month of VisitMarch

(20) View All

Anna S.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2022

Wooded, beautiful area

Stayed one night because I was running the 39 mile backpacking loop in the morning with my buddies. I've run here numerous times, this was my first stay. This campsite was up a little hill from parking - there was nowhere to camp right at my car. It was tucked away and perfect. Shawnee is amazing for trail running - very rugged, remote, challenging. I will camp again next time I run it!

Site99

Month of VisitAugust

(10) View All

Amanda S.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 19, 2021

Beautiful Setting

We arrived on Friday afternoon a little before check in time and were allowed to check in and go to our site. We stayed on campsite 61 which is just long enough for a 23ft camper and our truck to park next to the camper. The drop down from the pad was a little steep with no stairs. The campground is very well kept and free of litter. The view from our campfire was an amazing 100ft drop off to the creek below. The campground was very well set up for many different types of recreational vehicles and RVs. The trails start right at the campground by site 86. The camp hosts were very nice and helpful. The only problem we had was that the campground was sold out of firewood and we drove down to Friendship to buy it at the gas station. The dumpsters are not in the campground but just outside in a parking lot by the beach.

Site61

Month of VisitOctober

(10) View All

Kenpocentaur K.

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2021

Little Smokies in Ohio

In the short videos I posted you will notice that I did not add a transcript. Please turn on your Google Accessibility for Live Captions to access the spoken information within the video clips.

Shawnee State Park (Little Smokies of Ohio)

Has a great ranger/naturalist (Jenny) she made the days go by in a memorable way as we were able to do a creek crawl with her one day, kayaked for free with her on the lake, and had several other activities that we enjoyed. ODNR has a gem in Jenny as she was able to tailor the events to a wide range of abilities, interests, and ages.

Cell Phone service is weak at the park. We didn't always have a signal at the camp grounds but if you go over to the lodge you will have a signal. You can also access Wi-Fi while at the lodge if needed. The lodge has a restaurant that you can eat at if you wish. They also have an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, and an indoor hot tub. If you camp at the state park campsites you can pay for a day pass. This is a great thing to do when you need a change of pace or if it is rainy and you want to swim indoors. They even have a game room (old school arcade).

Near the Shawnee State Park is a dairy bar that my family has gone to for many years. It is a part of the tradition to get Turtle Sundaes. https://www.facebook.com/Buckeye-Dairy-Bar-Miniature-Golf-166451746787194/

In the Shawnee lodge if you look closely at the main mural you will notice Raven Rock. We totally overlooked this while we were growing up. Thanks to the internet we now know this is a nature preserve. https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/raven-rock-state-nature-preserve

Our first campsite was number 12. We arrived at 5:55 PM and the camp office closes at 6:00 PM. The gal waited for us to check out the site and we promptly came back as she did indicate it was a rough site. This site and 13, 14 is what I would expect for a backpacking campsite. Not for a traditional car camping non-electric campsite. If we had any older or younger family members with us it would have been inaccessible. We didn't like the walk up to the site and the big draw back was the table in the poison ivy. We promptly for the 1st time in my camping career paid a fee to switch to a new site. Luckily the park was not super busy as it was a weekday.

Bathroom access such as the stairs, bathroom stalls ADA, and other access points will need to continue to be improved for those with mobility issues. This would have greatly impacted my friends and family had they been with me on this trip.

The showers in the bathhouse are motion sensor based. That means if you get too far from the sensor the shower will turn off. Also, make sure you take your shampoo items etc. out with you before you get dressed as if you reach back in to grab your items you will promptly get sprayed.

Another favorite spot is the fire tower https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/copperhead-fire-tower Please make sure to respect the fire tower as it is one of the few fire towers that you can still go up in and look at the beautiful view. You will not have a signal here so make sure you also ask about how to get back as we didn't have a GPS signal for the way back and just explored our way back to civilization.

The park was not super busy while we were there in June. It is a well kept secret as I found this to be one of the most charming parks that I have been to in a long time. I suspect the cell phone signal and location has impacted folks coming to this park compared to others. It isn't super close to a major city but for me that is part of the charm.

For those of you who like to mountain bike do check out the new mountain bike trails. I cannot report on those as I am not talented enough to go out on those trails;)

SiteCampsite 12 nonelectric but switched to another site non-electric 89

Month of VisitJuly

(72) View All

Elana C.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 27, 2020

Forest camping

Such a neat campground where many spots are on the side of a hill and the campfire ring is above or below it on the hill.

Marc H.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 9, 2020

Family Campground

I stayed at Shawnee SP campground in August 2020 (Friday night). This campground is geared towards families with kids, especially with RVs. It has all of the amenities: electric at most sites, water, flush toilets, showeres, laundry. There’s a small lake at the campground with a swimming beach and canoe rentals. They also have a gift shop and miniature golf. North of the campground there is a lodge with cabins and larger fishing lake. The campsites are very close together and the campground was full when I was there. It was surprisingly quiet at night. I prefer a little more privacy and separation from other campers. Looking around the campground I’d say that Site 8 is the best site for car camping or RV camping. There are 2 tent camping sites (111 and 112) that provide separation from other campers but you have to park and carry your gear back to the sites

Christopher F.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 25, 2020

Great little camp gound

Most of the campsites have great privacy, despite being fairly close together. The beach is very nice! There are plenty of trails for the hikers, and 2 lakes if you're the boating/swimming type. Lots of elevation for Ohio.

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Jarrod M.

Guide

Reviewed May. 31, 2020

Quiet and good hicking.

Nice Campground, electric but no water at the sites. Lots of good tent or small camper spots, but be selective if you have a camper bigger than 25ft. I recommend site 82, 83, 85, or 78. Great trails, nice lake, plenty of shade and creeks. Not much access to a good town for supplies so bring what you need. If you want to take a drive for a great hole in the way steak house try The Ribber. But go early 45 min wait at 4pm and it gets worse.

Tori W.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2019

Beautiful Appalachian scenery

Nice campground in a beautiful area. Restrooms and shower houses were very clean. Beaches could use some improvement, the smaller beach had goose poop all over. The larger beach at turkey creek was a little better with sand but not one of the nicer beaches I’ve visited. Very quiet campground was very peaceful and relaxing!!!

Lisa S.

Ranger

Reviewed Apr. 16, 2019

Outstanding jaw-dropping slice of beauty

Nestled close to the Ohio River and the Shawnee State Forest, you will find rolling hills and valleys that offer serene beauty and picturesque landscapes. Wildflowers run rampant throughout this enchanted state park, and deer, raccoons, and turkey frolic throughout the more than 1,160 acre paradise. Challenge your family members for a round of mini golf or basketball, or set out on a geocaching adventure. Cruise along one of the numerous hiking trails and or set off on a relaxing ride on the two bridle trails. Rest your head at one of the campsites offering a dump station and showers, or stay in a cabin. If neither of those are your thing there is a beautiful lodge that provides swimming pools, a game room, and breathtaking views of either the river or forest.

James W.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 7, 2018

A Challenging Backpacking Loop

We took a group of Boy Scouts on a five day backpacking trek of the entire Shawnee Loop. It was a very challenging five days with a lot of up and down hills.

The entire loop is around 36 miles. There are seven campsites along the trail, and all but one has water access, which was really nice on our trek.

The first day we hiked from the trail head parking lot to Camp 1. The camp was a small, secluded grove down in a valley. This made for a nice cool off from the day's heat. The camp has a large grassy area and several smaller campsite offshoots.

The second day we hiked to camp 2 and stopped for water. Unfortunately the water supply seems to have been compromised since we found leaves in the water coming from the faucet. Luckily we have our water filtration system so we quickly filtered the water and were on our way. We then hiked to camp 3 which is very close to Camp Oyo. This was a nice, large camp right next to the creek. We had tons of space. The only bad thing about this campsite was it's proximity to the main road. We heard cars going by all night.

The next day we found a beautiful view on top of the one hill just off a logging road where we stopped for lunch. There was even a picnic table. We then went on to camp 4 which, unfortunately, had been trashed. There was garbage everywhere, likely due to this campsite being close to a road. So, as good boy scouts we cleaned up the trash so that the next group could enjoy the camp. This camp was much like camp 1. Grassy area, small creek, lots of shade in the valley.

We then went on to camp five and we quite disappointed. This is barely a camp at all. It's just a long trail to a small grassy patch. Barely enough room to set up a decent camp. I think this camp has not seen much use.

When we hiked to camp 6 the next day we found the crown jewel of the trail. Camp 6 is absolutely beautiful. The camp is in a pine grove and has a substantial creek running through the middle complete with fairly large fish! Although there was no water access in camp six we were able to refill water thanks to the stream and our filters. We were very bummed to not be camping at camp six.

We then went on to camp 7 for our final night. Camp seven is just like camp 1. It's down in a cool valley with an open patch for tents and lots of good trees for hammocks.

Overall it's a good hiking trail, and very challenging. The only thing I would like to have seen more of would be a more interesting trail. Which cant be helped, really. There aren't any interesting rock formations or caves along the trail. And the views are OK. Nothing too spectacular. My thought is that you do the Shawnee trail for the challenge of the distance, terrain, etc. It's a good training trail for longer treks. I enjoyed it greatly, but don't see myself coming back for some time.

Sitecamp 1, 3, 5, 7

Month of VisitJuly

Dan L.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 1, 2018

Pumba was next door.

Very friendly staff. We checked in early evening for an over night on our x country trip after visiting Serpent Mound NatIonal monument. Good Tent site with electric. Good bathhouse and quiet on Tuesday.

carrie S.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 15, 2018

Remote & primitive, but nice

We were told that the site we’d been assigned was room enough for 52’. Our RV is only 34’ so that would be more than enough. we got there and it was maybe 20-24” in length, with no wiggle room because one end was the park road/driveway, the other end a hill. Luckily, they did have a half dozen or so other options for us to move to. Most sites are only 30 amp electric, no sewer or water hookup, which can be typical of state parks. There is absolutely no cell service in the Campground. the lodge at the top of the hill has a weak signal, but is better than nothing if you really need to check in with outside world.

Shelly S.

Legend

Reviewed Jul. 6, 2017

Preparation is key

Shawnee State Park was totally without any phone signal. Right on the border of Kentucky, in Ohio, you are in the small town almost South.

Beautiful countryside, fortunately I was on Rt 125 when I lost all clue where the park entrance was. Then I saw the Shawnee Range and kept on driving. Definitely get a map because the whole park offers a lot of out door opportunities.

Backpack trail, 23 and 40 miles loops with 7 camping areas, register and enjoy. Equestrians get 70 miles and primitive camping.

The camping area is small ( a good thing ) the restrooms are clean and basic. Showerhouse and laundry. The attendant was super helpful and knowledgeable.

Month of VisitAugust

(21) View All

Kelsey H.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 21, 2016

Wonderful - but need a car

The hiking was beautiful and accessible - the campsites were equipped with tables and fire pits - the firewood was plentiful - but you need a car if you're going to see everything. We drove every day, which we hadn't anticipated, but once we saw what was available, we were more than happy to drive to see it! The falls and the nature were incredible and we had an incredible weekend. You'll love it - bring a nice camera! Oh, and a car ;)

Make sure to consult a map beforehand and decide what you want to see most. Your cell service may be spotty, so it's good to have a plan on the front end just in case. And if you do in the summer or early fall, bring some bug candles or bug spray.

Oh and BE CAREFUL with your gas. There aren't a ton of gas stations around, so make sure that you don't drive around and run out of gas too far from a gas station. Be aware of where they are a plan accordingly for a great experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to camp at Shawnee State Park Campground?

Camping at Shawnee State Park Campground can starts at $24.00.

Does Shawnee State Park Campground have RV hookups?

According to TheDyrt.com, Shawnee State Park Campground has water hookups and sewer hookups.

Are fires allowed at Shawnee State Park Campground?

Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Shawnee State Park Campground, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

Does Shawnee State Park Campground have wifi?

No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Shawnee State Park Campground does not have wifi.

Is there cell phone reception at Shawnee State Park Campground?

According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is available, AT&T is unknown, and T-Mobile is good.