Charlestown State Park is a great, quiet campground for us to get away in our RV. We love that all of the sites are paved and most of the full-hookup sites offer a lot of privacy.
There is always a bathhouse close by and they are usually very clean. Staff is always super nice.
We prefer Charlestown because the hiking trails are wonderful, there’s lots of paved roads for biking, but the lack of a pool means that there tend to be fewer kids and it’s a lot more quiet than some of the neighboring state parks. There is a great boat ramp for the Ohio River so many campers are there to spend time in the river on their boats.
Charlestown State Park is known for its great hiking trails, particularly the Rose Island “trail.” The short, paved Rose Island trail is family friendly as long as you are prepared to take on the steep hill on the way. Once you cross over the beautiful new bridge, you are on your way to a self-guided tour of the ruins of the historical theme park that includes a gravel pathway and river views. I have been on all of the trails and they are all beautiful and great for a day trip.
The campground itself was also very nice. Our group camped in tents but we were outnumbered by camping vehicles. The bathroom facilities were incredibly clean and fairly new. We enjoyed a trailhead on our very own camping spot!
Highly recommend!
the hiking is really nice but sometimes the trail seems to disappear. keep in mind where the trail head is just in case you lose your path
1st time campers with our travel trailer. Enjoyed rose island trail lots of cool history to learn. Also enjoyed trail 6 with the waterfalls.