Best Glamping near Aurora, OH

Beautiful area for a get away in Ohio. The beach is never too packed. You can take kayaks out and venture off around the shores.

This park is one of my favorites in Ohio at this time. Most of the sites are some what private. There are many trails and even a fog park next to the lake.

Stayed on a premium patio site and loved it. The campground and staff were awesome. Level site, great hook ups, awesome WiFi and cable. Clean facilities, 3 lakes (one with a fishing pier), 2 dog parks, and super friendly staff. 30 min to Cleveland. Walmart, gas stations and restaurants within 5 miles. Just off Ohio Turnpike, but can't hear it. Definitely recommend this KOA

Ranger Review: Morsel Spork at West Branch State Park

**Campground Review: **

This state park was very welcome after our first two unlucky Ohio state park experiences. We had no trouble pulling in at 3 pm on a Sunday after Labor Day with no reservations and snagging a very nice spot (Site 50 backs up to Kirwan Reservoir). There are two loops that are on Jay Lake where there is a beach; it was understandable that there weren’t any water view spots that had not been reserved here. A very quiet park that is well-maintained with lots of amenities. Even the rumbling of the nearby trains was on the quiet side! Nice playground with toy stocked sandpit, volleyball net, cheap laundry ($3 per load, wash and dry), dishwashing sinks, showers, and clean bathrooms. There was even a step stool for kids to be able to reach the sinks. A staffed store(9am-7pm on Sunday, 11am-7pm Monday– Thursday and 9 am– 8:30 pm on Saturday) with basic supplies and, of course, t-shirts and sweatshirts. Some of the sites have a slight grade so be cautious when selecting. Many trees that provide separation between sites. Several short hiking trails. A side note: I only saw one non-Ohio license plate besides ours in the entire park, almost like it is an Ohio secret (not anymore!)

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**Product Review: **

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I have the opportunity to test products. At this campground, I tested the large  Morsel Spork from Outdoor Element. I have to admit that when I unpacked my box from Outdoor Elements, I was surprised at how LONG our morsel sporks were(we have other sporks that are much shorter so I was expecting these to be a similar size) but then I saw a photo of someone using it with their freeze-dried meal and it was an aha moment! No need to dirty another dish because this mighty spork can reach to the bottom of the pouch with no problem! These sporks are also sturdier than others we have used. The rubber scraper edge is a nice touch – would be great for getting the last delicious bits of meals from the freeze-dried meal pouches and I’m thinking also in glass or plastic containers. A very nice addition to our camping tools.

Booked a one night stay a day ahead of time on Ohio State Park site with full hookup.  when we arrived the site had been given away by staff to move someone from a noisy area.  Gave us the choice of a couple of other electric only sites.  Found one right near the water and couldn't have been happier!  Site 222 was on a cul de sac right across from the water.  Site is probably under water in early year.  Had a Pileated woodpecker visit us within 10 yards.

Can't say how nice Wilma from the park office was.  She was very apologetic and at the end of our stay gave us a gift card to use for another stay.  Both Wilam and the camp host checked on us to make sure we were happy.

Bring your kayaks and bikes.

My friends and I were going to a festival in the Northeast Ohio area. The festival camping was full, so we stayed at this location for a night. The sites are very affordable if split between little people. This very family orientated campground has a gravel road system connecting a ton of camp spots, RV locations, mobile homes, a playground, a swimming lake, and a even a fishing lake. The ground itself is huge, so kids can have fun and run around with other kids in nearby sections of the campgrounds. Overall there are a ton of amenities and very friendly staff. We told the office lady we would be back late at night, and she gave us a special passcode to the gate. That was super kind of her. The land isn’t particularly pretty and the campsite for tent camping are rather close together, but it’s a good location overall for RV’s. I wouldn’t recommend this location if you’re trying to enjoy nature, because sites are pretty close together and certainly not secluded. There are positives for tent campers including water taps, outlets, trash receptacles, bathrooms, and hot showers.

West Branch is one of the best-known family campgrounds in NE Ohio. And it's not hard to understand why. Full amenities, clean facilities, and a nice lake round out the picture of a great place to get some family R&R.

Here's what you can expect:

1. It's Busy. 

Like, really busy. Be sure to book early as spots fill up often. Sites are fairly close to each other, but most people seem respectful of space and limits. 

2. It's Accessible.

West Branch is a quick drive from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, and Youngstown - hence the draw. if you live anywhere close, there's no reason NOT to check this place out!  

3. It's Fun (but a bit loud) 

If you're looking for quiet, West Branch might not be the place for you. Since the lake has not real HP limits, you'll hear boats motoring quite a bit throughout the day. 

4. It's got everything :) 

Seriously. There's nothing else you could want. Hiking trails, swimming, a fully stocked office for the essentials you forgot. 

Quick tip: Bring swimsuits. There are plenty of places to swim in the well-kept beaches or off a boat. West Branch is a great family getaway for summer swimming!

This is a really nice family campground and day use area. There are lots of activities centered around the lake and beach area. It has a store and other recreational areas. There is a lot of day use activity around the lake. The majority of RV’s I say were seasonal with full long-term hookups. There were just a few short-term travelers. The area I was camped in was called Lower Meadow, and they had apparently received a lot of rain because they had recently added large stones to define the RV site area. It was not ideal but seemed to work ok. The spacing between sites is not great. I was right next to the maintenance area which included buildings, tractors, lawn mowers and other equipment. A lot of the better campgrounds have those things set apart. There is convenient access to Cuyahoga NP and shopping in Akron for major resupply needs

I chose this campground for its proximity to Cuyahoga NP. It's located somewhat close to an industrial area, so it's not really that quiet but is a good place to stay if you want to be near Cuyahoga or Cleveland (relatively) inexpensively. It was, however, one of the most expensive campgrounds I've ever stayed at! I was there at the end of August and a tent site w/ no amenities was over 35 bucks for the night.

The showers were free (unusual camping bonus), but all the bathrooms/showers were in pretty rough shape and not that clean. Getting around the campground is also pretty confusing because the roads are pretty winding (like most campgrounds), but none of them have street signs.

The campground served its purpose for what I needed, but I probably would never stay here again given the choice.

Pros: closest camping to Cuyahoga National Park, safe, professional (labeled envelopes with information at check-in and wood delivery) Cons: bathrooms weren’t cleaned or restocked as frequently as necessary (overflowing trash cans, TP empty by 5 pm), shower curtains/showers had mildew, truly dirty bathroom floors, had to drive 1/4 mile to the one trash dumpster, unlevel sites

One more thing: there’s a significant raccoon and skunk problem along the section with water/electric back-in spots. We got to know our neighbors very well over two nights as we helped each other fend off multiple raids by entire families of raccoons and one very large, very bold skunk. We lost two camping chairs to the skunks because there was no way to fight them off once they moved into our shelter and, even without spraying, skunks tend to leave a scent behind on anything that’s fabric.

The price is okay in that it is the closest to the national park and the next closest campgrounds are the state park campgrounds (West Branch and Mosquito Lake), but the state park grounds are MUCH nicer and about $15 less per night. If you have the time to drive and can plan your trip months in advance to get reservations, West Branch is a better alternative.

I had a tent site and it wasn't bad. The site next to me was blasting music but turned it off around 8 so I won't dock points. The bathrooms were clean and it was easy to get to from the highway. There was a lot of road noise though. The tent platform was level and clean. I would stay again.