Clendening Lake Marina & Campground

We have visited this campground many times , we love to kayak and they are are setup with very nice kayak launches , the lake is amazing fishing spot with 9.9 hp boat restrictions. the locals are very nice.

This is obviously an active summer vacation spot. In March, on a weekend, we had the place to ourselves and it was gorgeous. Lakeside spot, snow flurries, quiet except for the woodpeckers. It is a bit of a drive from the freeway, but worth the effort. Cell service is very weak, but the wifi worked for us. Showers closed but vault toilets available. They did have a mandatory two night stay, which they should reconsider for this time of year. Make sure you ask for a level spot if you are in a shorty van…some are quite steep. For anyone who likes a private spot in nature for an overnight, I recommend.

All the employees were sweet and helpful. We stayed in a primitive site just like we like. It was peaceful and relaxing even though we were not right on the lake our view from our tent entrance was amazing. We were able to rent a fishing boat and relax on the water. Unfortunately i didnt catch the monster i wanted to 🤣 the park was clean and the guest were all nice and respectful. We will definitely be back!

My family and I had never gone tent camping before together, since my husband and I were kids. I have chronic pain and was terrified to go due to my difficulties. This place was amazing!

PROS:

The shower houses are individual big rooms to use that include a shower with a seat and toilet. They do also have handicap parking&camping spots right by the shower house, no smell even being 89 degrees.

They also have amazing prices for renting out a pontoon, it’s only a max 10 mph. I was able to comfortably fish for 4 hours on this. For the boats we were allowed to park down below right by the docks so I wouldn’t have to walk the hill.

When you book online it needs to be done 2 days out, from where we live (Columbus Ohio) the reception at the camp was very very hard to hear on the phone. It is easier to book online then see them at the office when you arrive, they close at 7 pm. Checkin is at 4 pm and checkout is 2pm for camp set up(you can set up sooner if no one is there)

We were lucky to get a walk up electric spot, although hilly it was beautiful! We were right by the private dock and the residents were very kind, some offered us worms or help with our fire. Even though we were by the public outhouse you could not smell anything until right by the outhouse.

You do need a special plug for the electric, we didn’t realize this and did not bring one. I was panicked at first since I needed a fan to get through the 89 degree weather in a tent but the front office has spares you can borrow! They are a lifesaver up there and so kind, if we could have tipped we would have.

We caught plenty of fish up there for all 3 of us, including my 1 st grader, all we used were worms and was surprised how much we caught.

All in all we were really happy and even convinced my parents to come up with us next year 😊

CONS:

The drive up was very hilly and lots of buggies. Be careful sometimes the road disappeared and you don’t see the buggy until right there; the road speed is 55mph but we only went between 35-45.

There is no cell service up there so be prepared, we lost it for about 20 minutes before the camp site. We have sprint. Make sure to pack a old school map so you can get around, there is a family dollar store in town, about 4 mile drive, if you forgot anything.

Most neighbors you have our yearly members, this is great for peace but limits the spots they actually have open to rent out by the lake and have electric. We were hoping to get a better spot in the future but they only have a couple of non yearly spots available even a year out.

As a guy born and raised camping and being in the outdoors, I was concerned that when I married a 'city girl' she wouldn't be into camping unless our first experience was a good one. Took her and my two young kids here and had a blast! Although I reserved my site on the phone, it was not crowded at all and easily could have drove in and picked one. The site we chose was in the woods and was well maintained and quiet. When we checked in, the staff and rangers gave our kids gift bags with some cool things to do while we set up our tent. The nights were very quiet and almost no cars or even people you could hear (same as morning). The view of the lake was great - even from the woods.

Pontoons are available to rent!

The cons: there were almost no campsites available on the lake because the RV's had taken those spots for the season. There is ZERO cell phone reception (we have gone there with both ATT & Verizon) but we weren't there to play on cell phones. :)

Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures - I recommend googling this place to see pictures. They also have a website.