Best Equestrian Camping near Alpha, OH

Autumn is the best time to camp in Ohio. Lots of small bathrooms. Lake access. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the fact there was no quick reentry. Had to wait for rvs in front of me to register.

This is part of the Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metro Parks) and it is at the Twin Creek metro park.  This is an old boy scout camp (Camp Hook) back in the day. 

During these COVID-19 times we wanted a place to park that wasn't the traditional Ohio State Parks camp site. We didn't want to share a common bathroom/bath house or playground area.  We picked this as the Twin Creek camp site only has 3 camp sites within the park.  Even then they are out of side from each other. You can somewhat hear the other two camp sites (rarely).  This meant with two little ones we wouldn't have to constantly remind them to socially distance or put on masks.  We were alone but had plenty of park supports. We had two great park volunteers/security stop by to make sure we had everything we need. 

The nice thing about the Dayton metro parks is that each night in the front county camp sites they include a bundle of fire wood. This is not the small sad bundle that you often buy at gas stations or other markets.  This is a huge bundle. It is dry and cut in an easy to use manner. It is also kept in a little box so it is dry even if you do have weather while camping. If you wish to add an additional bundle of firewood the price is very reasonable at $10.00. I do this every time I camp there to support their campsites/metro parks. I have yet to use up their firewood in the box when I camp for a whole weekend. It is also nice that we don't have to put it in our cars so less clean up after camping. It also helps with the whole burn local fire wood so you are not transporting bugs. Or you don't have to cross your fingers and hope someone close by sells firewood. 

The nice thing about their site is the additional tables made it easy for us to socially distance.  When I camp at local state parks and we only have one table it can be tricky to keep coolers, food, and people separated. We also were able to have kids do craft at one of the tables while we were preparing meals. This camp site is listed as a 10 person camp site. There is no water on site so make sure you bring all the water that you will need. 

We also were able to hike the easy trails around the camp site. No need to put the kids in the car unless we wanted to.  Which we still did:) 

We drove into town and discovered a covered bridge that I had missed on an earlier camping trip. (Germantown).  This town also has the Florentine which is one of the oldest inns in Ohio. It was closed while we were in town but it is well worth a stop. The town also has a community pool as well that you can buy a day pool pass. 

The campsite does have two spots that would be neat for a wedding. You can reserve an amphitheater. 

The campsites during peak season are $20 during week days and $28 for weekends. I still find this to be one of the best values for camping in Ohio. Especially, when you consider the level of privacy that you have on these sites.  The vault toilets are one of the best as they are always clean. We have hand sanitizer and toilet paper. We didn't have to share our vault toilet with any other family units. 

All of these small touches really made COVID-19 camping with kids much easier. We look forward to being back at this camp site in the fall. 

Here is the website to make a reservation https://www.metroparks.org/rentals-permits/reserve-a-campsite/?id=786190&api=facilities&type=camp

East Fork State Park is a popular spot for horse enthusiasts. This was discovered upon choosing a spot in the "horse loop" and receiving a suggestion to take a different site. With a successful discovery of a site without road apples we set up in the woods. If you looked at our site from the road you wouldn't even see us. It was nice to be set back from the other campers in our own private space. It is an enjoyable camping location

Friendly, clean, family oriented. We have stayed in both the general camping spot as well as the horse campground. Love them both.

Lots of room! Privacy, some sites have accommodations for several tents as well as full hook up for campers. Some are adjacent to the playground There are tons of things to do: Miniature golf Disc golf BMX trails Small dog park Golf course Horse camp

Great Park, several access points to the unlimited HP lake.  Recently lucky enough to watch scull Rowing races .   It is a big Park, and lots of campsites and very busy.  Total of 34 miles trails.  this is combined with horse, hiking and biking trails around the lake.

Check your address, this park is in two locations. Very nice and well maintained. Look online before you reserve each area has its own unique set up. Site A: set up for horses w/trail(no stalls). There is a horsemanship camp too. B: The "outer" sides have good size tent areas C: is bigger more open/ sites close but still plenty of room Pavilion/playground D: open and more sites E: has some more secluded areas in the back F: not as open , more privacy, shade G: playground and basketball court Same set up as F just bigger and cottages H: more open in front area, big, spread out area. Some very secluded spots in the back. Sort of like the suburbs. (I /J/K/L did not look at) Paved bike route and boat ramp

About a 20 minute drive between the day use and campground. Horse, bike and hike trail, beach and several other activities on the far side

General: Huge state park with over 400 sites. All are pet-friendly and electric. About 20 are FHU. While tent camping is permitted, certain sites are not recommended for it as there would be no place to pitch a tent. One loop is for equestrian camping but when we were there, I only saw one horse trailer, and the rest were occupied by RV campers. 

Site Quality: All camper pads are paved and most appeared level or just very slightly sloped. A picnic table and fire ring complete the site. Some sites have more trees to provide privacy while others are closer together with little separation.

Bath/Shower House: Not all loops have their own bath house and the I loop where we stayed was one of them. We used the one in the H Loop. The bathhouses were clean, and the shower had nice hot water, however, it doesn’t seem like there were sufficient facilities for how large the campground was (H Loop had two showers, two toilets, and three sinks). Hooks or shelves would have been appreciated.

Activities/Amenities: Many activities can be enjoyed here including mini golf (small nine-hole course), soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, corn hole, boating, and bicycling. Playgrounds are in several loops (I saw them in C and G). Rentals are available but most are only in season (ended September 30). There is a nature center and several hiking or paved biking/walking trails. There is also a camper beach for boating and swimming.

When we reserved months earlier, we knew that our first night (a Saturday) was 100% full as we got the very last site. What we did not know is that there was a HUGE Halloween celebration complete with 30-40 decorated golf carts parading through the campground. The road was closed until 6:45 pm (we arrived around 7 pm) and cars lined both sides of the approximately two-mile road! If that's your thing, great but it wasn't necessarily ours!

I appreciate that this park encourages so much outdoor activity, but it is not very pedestrian-friendly. I walked the road from one end to the other and there was no shoulder and, in many spots, no place to safely step off into the grass. I’m guessing it is assumed you will either have a car or golf cart to get around. 

One final note: for a park so close to a large city (Cincinnati), I was surprised the cell service was so lacking (on Verizon). We eked out one and occasionally two bars of 4G.

THIS IS A GREAT PLACE TO JUST GET AWAY FROM EVERYTHING AND RELAX.  IT IS BEAUTIFUL TERRAIN TO RIDE ATV'S, HORSES, YOU CAN HIKE, FLY KITES, BRING THE KIDS POWER WHEELS OR BIKES YOU CAN EXPLORE THE CREEK OR JUST SIT IN THE SHADE OR NEXT TO THE FIRE AND TAKE IT ALL IN. ITS STILL ONLY 10-15 MINS FROM TOWN IF YOU FORGOT SOME SUPPLIES.

What an outdoor lovers dream! Boating to fishing to disc golf you will not get bored! Enjoy a few hours or the day hiking one of eight trails or all of them. If you have horses take them out on the two loops especially for them. Lodge, campground, cabins so many options. The campground was clean, quiet and serene. Only electric at the sites, but 2 of your favorite fur babies are welcome.

This campsite is HUGE. Has over 400 campsites and the first 17 have places you can keep your horses! Something I have never seen before. Some sites are not okay for tent camping and when we got there we had to go back to the office to see if we could change our site. Lucky for us you get one free site switch a stay, so that was nice. The beach is big but unfortunately no dogs allowed. It would be nice for them to include a section where dogs were allowed so we could enjoy. We spent our day on the trails instead. A lot of RV camping but overall it was a great trip!

Hueston Wood, a real gem. The park is about 3000 acres with a beautiful sailing / fishing lake. There is a beautiful lodge and golf course, archery range, and plenty of hiking paths and equestrian paths.

The biggest issue for us was the description of the site at C36 was nothing like the description. We approached the staff in the office and they expressed no concern in helping us. One camping family left due to the office staff's attitude.

Ok, now for the positive! We met one of the volunteers, Gary, who was able to find us a site to hold our 34 foot motorhome. He made our July 4th weekend, couldn't have been more accomodating. 

Sites have 30A electric and there is plenty of potable water available around the campground, just not at the site. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table. At the A and B loop there was plenty of space around the site to spread out. 

The dump station is fairly new and can accommodate 2 RV's. Though most site are grass, some have gravel, but the A loop sites are full hookup and concrete or paved (but not all flat). When setting reservation and with an RV over 20ft, shoot for A or B loop.

The grounds are just beautiful, hiking trails great but not all marked well. A place we will return.

This was a last minute reservation and only available due to a cancellation. The campground was full for the weekend. The campground is pretty big with different types of sites. Some are smaller, close to neighbors while other have seclusion with trees. From past experience, if it rains, some of the sites do flood. We had great weather this weekend. The site we reserved had a hill right next to the passenger side/door side of your camper. If you had a big camper, it might be tight to open your slides and an awning. You most likely would not sit right outside your camper door. In fact, the fire ring is behind the site and up a small hill. We set up our ez-up in the back and out of the way, it worked for us. There was also a path that led you into the playground. Speaking of playgrounds, you will hear a lot of kids if the weather is nice. We were right across from the camp host (very nice lady) and very short walk to the bathhouse. The bathhouse had 4 flushable toilets and I think 3 showers. The showers did not have benches in the stall, only on the outside directly across. With a full campground, the bathrooms were kept very clean with the amount of people using it. We walked around and noticed a lot of bathhouses and another playground. We took a hike that led us to the lodge - it was an in and out and just under 5 miles. On our way back we stopped at the camp store which was well stocked with items you may need or not. There is a putt putt course, frisbee disc course, horse trails, dog park, nature center, golf course and more trails nearby. There are plenty of things to do if you like to keep busy or are trying to keep kids entertained. (The bees and stinkbugs were out and about while we were there.)

This was another brief stop on my long journey back west. The state park is beautiful and the sites are pretty nice. I did not spend enough time here to give a thorough review, but what I will say is that this site is nice if you need a campsite for a couple nights while passing through Ohio. Seems there are a lot of good options for water fun at this site!

My wife and I had a great time visiting Hueston Woods and visiting the Raptor Center. Located north of Cincinnati along Ohio’s border with Indiana.

We stayed here with our pop up camper and felt right at home. The bathrooms and shower houses could use some updates and there were no full hook up sites when we went but our site was nice and quiet.

Our dog, loved the miniature golf and visiting Acton Lake.

This camp ground is pretty standard for Ohio State Parks. It does have a cool new sleeping option. Yurts! We enjoyed our time in the yurt.  They also have trails that are easy to tackle and well marked at this park. 

We were able to easily have the kids in one bed and we were in another bed.  The small fridge and microwave made it easy to pull a meal together. The fan kept us cool. 

Water is a short walk away and so are restrooms. You have to bring in local fire wood for your camp fires.

We camped here in our camper in early July 2017. There are a lot of things to do in the area. We visited the Ohio Caverns. The tour is worth the money, the "gem" mining was fun for our younger kids. There are two swimming beaches, the public one and one in the campground. The campground one is smaller a short hike to get to it. Both are ok, but nothing impressive. The campground is clean and overall a good value. It was a busy weekend but not as loud as I figured it would be. Yellow Springs is a great, funky town. Many great places to eat. Dark Star Used Bookstore is a must see every time we visit.

We camped here in late spring. It was still pretty cold and even got a little snow one night. We were pretty much alone in the campground. The sites were huge! No water in our site but we did have electric. The rolling hills in this part of Ohio are beautiful. There is a huge lake that you can access from the camp ground. It was still really cold when we went but my understanding is that the fishing here is excellent. The restrooms looked brand new. There was a lot of downed trees, mostly ash trees. So this made for easy gathering for firewood. The campground staff was really nice and welcoming. This is a huge state park with a variety of accommodations. Overall excellent place.

This is your standard Ohio State Park campground.  It has the usual parking, water, restrooms, camp store, and activities. 

East Fork is rather nice as it has the lake and long trails.  Just be prepared if you go on hikes to get turned around.  The park is huge so not everything is in the campground area.  If you drive around to the other side and do some of the trails over there be aware that two trails use blue blazes.  They could use more blazes on the trails in general but watch out for the two blue blazes in the same area as it got us turned around. 

This is great when you want to get away from the city but you don't want a long drive.

I've stayed here in the past and Cowan Lake does not disappoint. The B site campground is all non-electric tent camping, and far enough away from the larger RV pads that it's a quiet little campsite! Also, these sites are super close to the bathrooms on the beach, which were very clean during our stay. I was incredibly impressed, because the beach gets pretty busy during the day. The beach itself was clean (for a lakeside beach- there are geese, it's Ohio) and the lake was gorgeous! I will say, the only MILD annoyance is that some of the other campers would drive to the parking lot in front of our campsite and park there into the evening hours to fish or head down to the docks. I'm an early riser, so the headlights and car doors slamming were mildly annoying after about 10p. Not enough to make me choose a different campsite, but worth noting. We rented a tandem kayak and explored the lake, and the equipment was all in good condition. The Commisary is pretty limited but they do have a small kitchen and ice cream, as well as the basics like firewood and ice, as well as the boat rentals. Overall, one of my favorite lakeside campgrounds!

Wow! Beautiful place, huge lake, very peaceful out by the water.

Campground was not the best- sites were VERY close together, with most of the campground completely exposed with no shade. It was like trying to relax on a huge parking lot jammed with RVs and people. At most of the sites, you'd literally have a family up against you 20 feet to the left and a family 20 feet to the right. This might be fun for kids, but not fun if you are looking for some peace and quiet.

The bathrooms were average for Ohio State parks- icky and grungy, but not gag-worthy. I'm used to the ickiness of state park bathrooms, so I wasn't grossed out. The showers and toilets nearest my site had big puddles of standing water full of dirt, bandaids, plastic wrappers and other gross items floating there the duration of the weekend. One sink was full of dirt the entire weekend. Showers were hot though, which is always a plus.

Great place for kayaking. There was a little free library, which is a great idea. The snack bar was hopping the whole time. They need to make more than one pot of coffee at a time in the mornings (1 pot when they have 249 sites? They are missing out on $$!!), but I only buy coffee on the morning I'm packing up.

Overall, I enjoyed it here, but I'd only go if there are LOTS of free sites and you know you aren't jammed up against 2-3 other groups of people.

Hueston Woods State Park, Oh.

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/huestonwoods 

Campground Overview: Hueston Woods State Park is very close to Miami University...in the Southwest area of Ohio. The direction we traveled from the south took us on numerous winding country lanes through farm country that actually meandered in and out of Indiana and Ohio.

(Disclaimer: I am a tent camper, preferring backcountry sites of solitude and privacy...so take my reviews of campgrounds with a grain of salt). 

The campground area is separated not only by roadway, but a short walk, ride or drive from the reservoir, docks, boat rental beach area and tiny nature center. 

The Campground Office sits at the campground entrance and does offer quite a bit of camping items for its tiny size should you have forgotten anything. The cabins and lodge are on the opposite bank of the reservoir. The tent site area was sparsely occupied and the particular area was empty that I chose. 

All campground sites are line of sight, no barriers or buffer between neighbors(something I do not enjoy)...the trees are mature and tall so offer no privacy. Noise/sound travels so when full, you’ll likely hear your neighbors conversations. 

Unknowingly, it appeared every weekend in October has a big Halloween emphasis, so the upper campground was sold out. I was advised the lower non electric loop would also be sold out...which reinforced my gratefulness for midweek camping. 

With the vast old growth forests, dried/dead branches for firewood was plentiful for a chilly night(38) fire. We evaded the impending rain for once and pressed on. Weekend campers experienced heavy storms as we left. 

There are several hiking trails and biking trails. Streams were dried up at our visit. A cool restoration covered bridge was a short hop from the campground. The lodge has a restaurant, a gift shop, an outside pool and a nicely equipped activity room for older kids complete with numerous arcade games, pool table, and ping-pong table. There is also a token tiny exercise center-Key card entrance for lodge stayers. The A-frame lodge, though nostalgic, needs some TLC and updating(especially the exterior). 

Traffic noise is noticeable, especially during quiet hours. While not excessive, it’s disruptive. 

Deer sighting were plentiful as were chattering tree rats...ahem, squirrels, sorry. Woodpeckers stayed busy overhead. At dusk an overly friendly“masked trash panda” encroached seeking to share my delectable and perfectly toasted s’more...having to be chased off(unfortunately, it appeared he has been fed by campers to be that bold). Other small birds were plentiful as were migrating Canadian honkers. 

Housekeeping notes: In the larger non-electric loop newer restrooms existed...modern bathrooms and showers were clean and stocked with TP. No paper towels offered, only electric hand dryers. Bathroom stalls, like the showers, utilized shower curtains rather than lockable doors. In my tent area...antiquated wood shed pit latrines...that truly needed razed. 

I did not have time to walk any trails, but talked with mountain bikers that spoke favorably. There were several marked trails near the reservoir area. 

Final Thoughts: It was a nice choice for a stop-over as I drifted north. However, I would not want to stay when it’s busy or on the weekends. The reservoir beach and watercraft fishing appears a big draw...and I wish I had brought both my bicycle and canoe.

Cowan Lake State Park is near Wilmington, Ohio and they have been making a lot of improvements to the park.  It is a great location between Cincinnati and Columbus with easy access from the highway.  This is good if you want to meet with friends somewhat in between.  It isn't too close to the highway so you don't hear the road noise as it is a few miles away but it is an easy drive to the park. 

They have been revamping the Nature Center to make it more accessible to folks as they have recently added a ramp. The Nature Center actually has two buildings side by side used for different purposes.  Then behind the Nature Center they have a location where several birds are located in cages.  Then next to where the birds are kept you will notice a new paw print trail that is a short but informative hike.

The commissary has great pizza and ice cream.  We also bought our firewood and ice from them as well.  We didn't need to leave the park.  We had a few trails to pick from and picked two of the shorter ones for members in our group.  

The cabins have been revamped as well.  They are all close to each other so if you wanted to have a family reunion or a get together this would be a great spot to do so.  At the end of the main road it will lead you to the lake.  You can use the dock to put your boat out (kayak and certain motor boats).  Folks are fishing at the lake or simply enjoying the beauty of the lake.  

The beach is simple but that is part of the charm.  It is clean and we were able to swim on the hot days that we had while camping.

This was my second visit to the park. Some things have changed:) The park was very busy over the holiday weekend.  The movies were a highlight and the Friends of Hueston Woods had some tasty snacks you could purchase.

We opted not to swim at the beach but it is quite lovely. It wasn't over run with Geese.  You have a sandy area, grassy area, volley ball area, and playground. It is one of the better beaches for Ohio State Parks in the southern part of the state.  We bought a day pass to the pool at the lodge. This was a wonderful evening swimming late into the evening past sun set. 

In 2020, some of the campsites are being improved (see sign below). We camped on the RV side in our tent. This area is more populated and the bathrooms are better. It is more "groomed" the grass and landscape.  If you go to the primitive campsite side the grass is mowed but it has a more rustic feel to that side of the camp ground. 

The red covered bridge that is near by you can either drive to or walk to from the primitive side of the camp ground. The bridge is still beautiful but be prepared that folks have taken to writing on the bridge. Some of it is chalk or mud but it doesn't follow LNT. Not a fan of names or other tidbits on the bridge. 

The nature center here does a great program as we were able to look at various birds of prey. This was a highlight. 

We thought about renting kayaks but didn't want to wait. They don't do specific time slots so it is a wait around approach. We had better things to do than wait around. We went out on the trails. Some of the trails were better marked and others were not clearly marked.  We were able to figure it out but it was a bit tricky. 

**Photos and videos are not uploading fully so I will be back to upload more at a later time.

Cowan Lake State Park - A friend and I were able to kayak on the lake the night of a Friday the 13th moon. It was beautiful. Sadly, no pictures as I do not have a water proof camera. The next day we also went out for another paddle under the bright sun.  The boat ramp and parking lot is easy to use and has a good layout.  They do have some tent sites close to the boat ramp area and you can see the lake from those tent sites. 

Our campsite did not have any trees but they have planted a lot of new trees. I assume this due the previous trees having to be cut down due to Emerald Ash borer damage. Our campsite didn't have any shade but others did so you really have to pick wisely. 

The trails here are easy and short.  I loved the informational boxes and tags that they had on the trees or plants.  This is helpful if you have little ones with you or if you are like me and just like to learn about the animals/plants on the trail. 

The park also had a lending library and walking stick lending program. I thought these were simple but memorable features for this park. 

Our campsite was close to two different bathroom structures.  One right behind our site was toilets only. This did mean that sometimes folks would walk on the edge or through the camp site at times.  The other bathroom structure was further down the road and it had both toilets and showers.  The larger bathroom had an ADA shower in it as well. 

The camp store was well stocked and you could rent bikes from the store. These bikes were often all over the campground so be extra careful when driving in the park.  They do have the orange flag but as they are low to the ground it is hard to see them at times. 

The cabins here have both a fire ring and grill. This isn't the case at all Ohio State parks so it was a nice surprise.  They also have a porch that is screened in with a view of the lake. You are not able to walk down to the lake from the cabin but it is a lovely view. 

For those who want to "Walk-On" camp please take a look at the photo of the neon yellow paper as how the park approaches this will be different in the future. 

**Not all photos or videos uploading so some information may be missing. I will try to upload again later.