Best Glamping near Bluffton, OH

great like campground on Ohio’s biggest inland lake

This Ohio State Park is in a small quaint town. Good sites, nice beach + a real swimming pool. Many places for fishing from shore OR launching your boat ! There is even lots of wildlife especially of the pink vriety !

Campground had a nice well maintained pool with lifeguards. Campground had clean bathrooms and showers, and everything was well maintained. Would have liked more hiking trails. Only hiking trail is rather boring. The camper hosts nag about a lot of minor things that we’ve never experienced out of the several Ohio state parks we’ve camped out. So I would say average place.

Van Buren State Park is very easy to access from I-75. It has tons of trails and a pond. There are a few places to car camp or RV camp nearby. I love getting out of town and visiting Van Buren State Park, and I have lots of good memories. It gets 4 stars because I now live in Montana and Montana camping outshines Ohio, but I can't bash on Van Buren State Park at all.

Really enjoyed this campground for the short amount of time we were in the area visiting family The park and facilities were very clean, sites were well-spaced, there is a nice walking/biking trail, and had full hook-ups.  This campground is associated with Historic Sauder Village – a living history destination in northern Ohio. (You can get discount admission to the village if you stay in the campground.) The campground filled up on the weekend but emptied out on Sunday. The RV sites are long, level, and have either 50 amp full hook-up or water and electric only. Tent sites are scattered along the pond which made for a nice view; except, the ridiculous number of geese meant there was poop everywhere along the shoreline and throughout the tent section. Staff does haze the geese but it was not enough to keep them away during the afternoon.

A fee is charged to enter the historic village or you can ask for a “shoppers pass” and visit the stores inside the village. Located on the grounds (and within walking distance of the campground) is a restaurant, bakery, gift shop and hotel (which has an indoor pool, hot tub, and game room campers are allowed to use). The restrooms, laundry, and showers were very clean and relatively new. Other amenities include basketball, shuffleboard, horse shoes, splash pad, volleyball, corn holes, lake for fishing, and free WiFi. There are a couple of covered group picnic areas available for anyone to use which is nice if you have a big group wanting to get together. 

The campground is about four miles south of the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90) which is pretty convenient if you are just passing through and looking for a place to stay overnight. The town of Archbold is pretty small but does have a decent grocery and restaurants. The nearby town of Bryan is larger and has a really funky brewery/restaurant housed an old church (Father Johns).

Aawesome camping spot sites aren't ideal but nice scenery

This is a superb campground with Xtra large lots, great staff and even better camp hosts. Spent Christmas here and got a pleasant surprise. They brought us gifts. Totally unexpected but thankful. We love it here and never hesitate to return.

It’s not going to win any excitement prizes but if good time away with peace quit and wonderful natural views then this spot will work perfectly

We were there for a group meetup so the campground was very accommodating. However, it would be an entirely different experience for weekend solo camping. There are a lot of seasonal campers and then our group.

Your family will love the amenities. The sites are very close together. Whatever you do, do not come before the 2 pm check-in time because they will charge you even if you’re with a group!

This park has lots of seasonal sites and it’s set up nice for large group camping. We visited this park as a group camping event hosted by the Wandering Wagners and it was a nice location for this event. If we were camping there just for the weekend there is not much to do in the way of hiking or exploring. They have a small swimming area and a bound pad for kids. Van Buren state park is within walking distance so we spent time there playing disc golf and geocaching.

Our plans were changed so we lost our reservation. However they let us stay for free at the back of the campground. No power or anything. But it was nice of them to help us out.

Very nice, clean, people and staff very friendly. You must reserve a spot by phone or online only, no walk ins. I made my reservation while standing at the visitor cabin

Since Van Buren State park is an easy 20 minutes away from home for me, i visit there often. it is clean and quiet, they dont get too busy and loud. the horse camp is nice with some new pens to keep your horse instead of them having to be tied up. They keep the restrooms clean, but no flush toilets, which dont bother me. My only complaint about Van Buren State park is that there are no shower facilities.

Tried it for the first time. It was quiet and relaxing. The camp host was nice and friendly. Kids loved having the playground so close to the camper. Will be back soon.

I love this place. Its a smaller campground with only two loops of sites, but its flat, shaded, and comfortable. No showers, but clean and sturdy pit toilets with centralized well water..

Campground is small but well maintained. Hiking is great. Probably better for people with horses. Electric did not work at all sites. Pit toilets did not seem sufficient for all camp sites.

We stayed during the week for one night. Campground was clean and quiet, had electric hookups at most sites. Host was very friendly. They also have a camp area for horses. Only criticism is you have to drive to another area of the park for an RV dump.

Difficult to get potable water. Only electric on the sites. Some sites don't have electric hookup. Dump station is in a completely different section of the state park. We arrived around 8 pm and check-in station was already closed. Luckily they have a sign with name and site number. Not much to do other than trails.

I came cross country skiing here in early January and it was absolutely amazing. It is cold but the terrain is simple for first time skiers.

Wide roads, good guidance, quite at night, nice laundry, easy to get to. Good water and 30 Amp connection

This was our last camping trip of the year and it was cold. The campground was nearly empty so that was nice but the surrounding area was very crowded. There was nearly no area on the lake that didn’t have houses. The campground was clean and well maintained. There are sites that have access to get out on the water via a small canal. Some sites had good shade, and others had no shade. Overall it was a nice place, but the lake seemed very busy, even in cold weather.

This campground has an awesome pool! It has large campsites, perfect for family camping. The people are friendly and the starry nights are great!

a lot offered here for every type of camper

Traveling with a dog is not always easy, but I throughly enjoyed my stay. Will be back again, happy it wasn’t full of people. Wifi strong, Verizon service great, premium electric (I have 30amp and there was a hookup), no water as it’s winter meaning no bathrooms (there is a porterhouse). Clean sites and friendly folks.

PROS 

Able to reserve 144 days prior to arriving 

Very nice campground but the design leaves a lot to be desired 

Friendly camp hosts who were busy picking up trash in common areas and cleaning sites Moveable picnic table 

Metal fire ring with cooking grate 

Site D45 level asphalt parking pad surrounded by grass 

Great view of lake from D loop; some had water access at rear of site 

Quiet except for campground party animals who kept it going into the wee hours of the morning 

Coin-operated laundromats in non FHU loops $1.50 wash and $1 dry 

Free WIFI available and able to connect at campsite 

Dump Stations at Park exit have complimentary hoses 

Camp store sells hard dipped ice cream 

14 miles from the Airstream Service Center in Jackson Center 

CONS 

No senior discount

$6.50 reservation fee for self made on-line reservation 

Basically the FHU loops are out in a field…no privacy from neighbors and no shade what so ever 

Grass around sites desperately needed mowed, if you could get thru the large mud puddles 

FHU loop D has narrow roads and require driving on grass to back in trailer and some campers in other sites had to move their vehicles 

Short length of campsite required creative parking of tow vehicle 

Damn Canadian Geese poop every...what a mess! 

Site number on electric utility box 

FHU sewer connection at the back of the campsite so bring the looooong stinky slinky FHU loop D had tiny toilet building, but no showers; showers were in non-FHU loops 

No entry gate personnel on a Friday afternoon to accomplish check-in. Went to park office next morning and was informed no check in required prior to Memorial Day. Never saw a Park ranger driving thru campground