Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Caldwell? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. With our help, you'll find the best Ohio equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.
Located in eastern Ohio, Salt Fork State Park encompasses a diverse and beautiful landscape featuring forested hills, open meadows and misty valleys decorated with winding streams. This magnificent state park is Ohio’s largest state park, with 17,229 acres of recreational facilities available to visitors. Salt Fork State Park camping is possible at more than 200 individual campsites, open year-round.
$23 - $34 / night
Pets are permitted on all sites. Sites 44-60 are electric. Sites 1-43 and 61-95 are non-electric. Sites 65-81 are tent camping only.
This recreation area is part of Dillon Lake
Blue Rock has an upper and lower camp. Blue Rock's small family-friendly campground offers tranquil non-electric sites as well as equestrian-friendly sites in the upper camp. The lower camp has two Sherman Cabins and includes one latrine and a flush restroom. Pets are permitted on all sites. Check-in for campsites at the Camp Store, where snack foods, camp supplies, souvenirs, ice, and firewood can be purchased in season.
Latrines, picnic tables, water, dump station and fire rings are provided
Showers for registered campers at the Camp Store
Playground
Reservations may be made up to six months in advance online or by calling (866) 644-6727.
Off-Peak Season: From Nov. 1 to Dec. 5, latrines are available. The lower camp is open with sites 51 to 102 available. The upper camp is closed.
$17 - $50 / night
There are 78 primitiive campsites and one group site available for organized groups. Latrines, waste drains, picnic tables and fire rings are provided 10 sites are available for campers with pets
Mountwood Park Family Campground offers 87 campsites suitable for tents, trailers and recreational vehicles. The campground has 16 full hookup sites, 64 sites with electric/water and 7 primitive sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Multiple bathhouses are located throughout the campground offering hot showers and clean restroom facilities. Firewood, ice, souvenirs and camping supplies are available from the campground host while on duty. Families can enjoy a variety of campground activities throughout the season. A playground and New Nature Trail are also available for registered campers.
Want to go camping but not in a tent? Then try one of Mountwood’s Primitive Cabins located in Mountwood Family Campground. Each cabin comes equipped with electric, two sets of bunk beds, ceiling fans/lights and a table with four chairs. Each Primitive Cabin has a fire ring and a charcoal grill and is located near the bathhouse and playground. Maximum occupancy is four pe
Do you want to have a lake view from your tent? Do you want to step outside your campsite into your boat and start fishing at the morning first light? If so, one of Mountwood’s five Lakeside Campsites is for you. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. The Lakeside Campsites are rented on a first come/first serve basis and are available for rent year round.
We have a horse camp too!
$20 - $40 / night
Primitive camping is allowed at no charge at the trailhead, but only during the horse and mountain bike riding open season.
Guide
Easy pull-thru site for our small travel trailer. Each pull-thru is set-up for horses, but RVs are allowed (according to NFS website). Maybe because it was Halloween night, maybe due to hunting season, I dunno, but there seemed to be more traffic than expected for this road. Our only neighbors got a little... rowdy, but it was okay.
Campsite fee is $15 on the honor system. If you have a National Park's Golden Age or Access pass, they honor a 50 percent discount.
I had good 4G ATT cell service. Worked well, with no drops. Data was a bit slower than usual but still good.
The only facilities here were a single pit toilet (surprisingly clean) and a trash can at each site. There may be more services during the height of the season, at least water for horses, but nothing else I could tell.
A short distance further down the road, just after it turns to gravel, at the Old Stone Church trailhead, there are grassy places to back in smaller campers/RVs. And even further down the road, after it turns back to asphalt :D, there's a private campground with utilities, I think, but we only saw it and didn't check it out.
Traveler
More trails to add to the collection.
Guide
Was a “okay” small area to stay at for free. There was a lot of bees, yellow jackets. The bathroom was clean, but the "non-flush" toilet was just gross.
TravelerDated, but pretty clean bath\shower building with clothes washer and dryer ($2). Sites in C-loop are far enough apart to not feel too crammed together. Power pedestal has 20, 30 and 50 amp service. 30 amp worked fine. Lots of trails, allowing dogs on leash. True, other amenities are a drive of at least a couple miles to get to. ATT service was fine for streaming using ROKU and my phone as a hotspot. Paved, level pads, but not long enough for largest trailers. Check size if you have one. Sites at South end of loop get the most shade
TravelerAlways love going to salt fork. Bathrooms are always clean and I appreciate having wash racks for the horses. If i had a complaint it would be that the campground is always pretty busy
Traveler
Very quiet campground with little to no other riders around. Only complaint would be the non equestrians staying in the equestrian area
Guide
First time at this park booked last minute so options were limited wasn't sure what leftovers we would get but ended up with 2 great sites. We lucked out and had 2 trees just right for hammock relaxing but it seems like lots of sites have no trees just depends on the section of park not alot of privacy between. Sites but there huge so you don't feel stuffed in next to everyone. Shower houses are limited 1 in each section but plenty of flush bathrooms located all over and kept very clean. Internet works very well verizon and att.
LegendSomeone cancelled and this amazing site fell into our lap. I always put a ridiculous amount of time into finding sites that match our wants/needs list. This campground has very few sites that make the cut, but F08 was perfect. Backed up to the woods, has a view of the lake, shade, privacy, hammock trees, medium size, electric, bathroom directly across the street, water and grey water dump directly across the street.
Everywhere we camp, we color code a campground map with sites we like/dislike. This campground had about 7 sites we liked out of over 200. There are almost no sites with shade or privacy, many are small and oddly angled towards the road. They do all have 15A, 30A and 50A hookups and newer, level pads. The bathrooms however are very outdated. They still have the spring loaded faucets that you have to hold open and the men's shower houses is still a shared room for your things and changing. Worst of all, the water pressure was terrible and constantly changing.
This campground is in one of Ohio's largest state parks and is very popular. Which is why a lot of these negatives are pretty shocking to us. Like the never developed D loop. You would think for such a large and busy park, they would want as many sites as possible and to update the facilities.
One of my complaints about all of Ohio's state parks is the lack of tree preservation. Almost all of the state parks just clear the land to install power/water. You'd think a Ohio State Division of Wildlife State Park would take a bit extra care and attention to preserve some of them which also makes for a much better camping experience.
Overall, the positive rating isn't for the campground but rather the almost 20,000 acre state park. It is insanely huge and has many, many places to see and explore. There are beaches (even a private one for the campground), boat launches, hunting roads, historical house/cottage that is a museum, a cave and more.
Lastly, The Dyrt never seems to map the campground correctly so I couldn't do their cell network tests. However, Mint/T-Mobile and Verizon had pretty strong 5G. It slowed down a few times but was there the entire time.
TravelerParking for regular cars is 100 yards before restroom (the others are for horse trailers only). Close to the restroom there’s a picnic table, tentspots and a manual water pump. A lot of insects, humid and dense deciduous forest surrounding the trailhead. The Kinderhook trail was overgrown. The Paw Paw trail on the other hand was very smooth, dry and wide. The trail leads to the top of the hill.
ScoutArea is dedicated to horse trail riding. Nice clean area just off main road.Can camp here in certain spots. Not much area to camp. No fire rings, one picnic table. Definitely only for very small camper, car camp, or tent, small group. Nice trails. Seem to be well maintained. Does have a small hand pump water spigot. Has no flush vault toilet. No hook-ups of any kind. I did not camp here due to severe weather warnings. With att had 2 to 3 bars cell service.
TravelerAbsolutely loved the short overnight stay. Perfect sunset and sunrise experience, the grounds are kept well, bathroom/shower house is as clean as can be 😻🥰 perfect for families!
Guide
Stayed one night. OHV trails closed for winter. Hiking allowed year-round. Most campsites inaccessible during off-season. Pit toilet closed for winter. Probably busy on weekends during the season. Nice place.
TravelerStayed here for two nights. Saturday was super busy, and we snagged the last available spot with a fire ring. The second night we only had one tent near us. There are plenty of pull-off areas on the road leading up to this trailhead that were being used night one as well. There were restrooms and several fire rings. Cell service was available, but not great.
Scout
Small campground, lower camp sites are pretty close together but it's treed and shady with a creek running through. No one was here during our stay so felt like we had the campground to ourselves. Newer flush toilets near the group camp sites are nice. Camp store has showers for camper use. Really pretty lake!
Traveler
Stayed at a non-electric site for a weekend after Labor Day. All adjacent campsites were empty. It was great with silence and space, but would be considerably less enjoyable during peak times. Showers and restrooms were acceptable and what you might expect from a state park. The lodge on the opposite side of the lake offers great food and drinks.
Scout
Only stayed for a night but it was very quiet and only a handful of other campers. All the sites seemed relatively level. Some of the electric hookups had damage but being able to choose your spot upon arrival helped. We arrived in pouring rain and had no issues with our campsite when we could see it in the morning lol.
Bathrooms and showers were relatively clean and accommodating.
Seemed a lot like a hidden gem and I definitely recommend. Especially if you have a dog. Across the street, the park portion of this campground has a dog park, playground, historical site and pond for fishing
FYI . Most of the sites seemed small so it might be best for smaller setups. Also I did not see any pull through sites.
GuideThe site was a good size, but not secluded. Decent hikes around the campgrounds
ScoutBurr Oak campgrounds is so relaxing and quiet I would recommend finding some wood early or buy it I'm not sure if you can bring your own so check before you do. The non-electric site's atr a little hilly but we slept in our Kia Soul next to the picnic table and fire ring
Scout
Stayed 2 nights at camper cabin in April. Lake Hill Cabins runs the campground and boat rentals. The prices advertised on their website are not accurate. Expect to pay about 25% more. The cabins are supposed to have solar lighting. There is a handwritten sign saying the lights don’t work taped to the light switch.
ScoutThere’s access to bathrooms and showers, there’s also a plug in right where we camped which was a plus but didn’t need it. The park was empty and if it was busy you would be close to other campers
GuideThis is an extremely primitive place that is not run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is run by the same woman who runs the boat rentals at several other state parks in SE Ohio- this is her business. There are very few amenities here. There are pit toilets, potable water towards the front, and that's it. There is a road that runs alongside the entire length of the campground, right at the edge, so you can hear cars and coming and going, especially at night. I was here in late October, so I can't attest to whether this place has a loud party atmosphere like many other state parks, but it seemed pretty chill, probably due to the fact that you can't reserve a site in advance- you pay when you arrive, and pick your spot then. The boat house's hours said they were still open for the season, but I arrived long after they were supposed to open according to their hours listed on the door, and I never saw a person all day. So I went to go rent a boat at a different place. All in all, the campground is fine, just the traffic along the road was a bit annoying, and the sites are not very wide- you are close to your neighbors and there is nothing separating the sites.
ScoutSites are only rented in person once you arrive, they have clear instructions at the entrance. Sites were nice and level, but a bit on the smaller side. Plenty of trails for hiking around the park.
TravelerWe stayed in the A8 campsite. Sites aren't too close together, spots aren't level but not awful. The bathrooms were the worst state park bathrooms I have ever used. Expect to use your car a lot at this park as things are spaced pretty far apart.
RangerI stayed at Dock 3 - NOT the main campground. These are non-electric/primitive. There is a vault toilet and a spigot. Perfect little spots on the lake. Table, firering. Only complaint is the streetlight in the parking lot was very bright. But it was a fantastic basecamp for a weekend of trail running and kayaking. The 22 mile trail around the lake is very well marked and easy to run. Absolutely will be back.
RangerI stayed one night at the group site for the Thunderbunny trail races. It was raining and I was prepared and just slept in my car, as many others did. Group site is set off from the main campground which is nice - it was quiet and felt remote. Just one portajohn. I'm not sure if there was water because I didn't need it. Strouds is a beautiful park for trail running, during all seasons, I love it! Also great spot for kayaking!
ScoutA place of wonder
ScoutStayed in G17 for the weekend. Electric site, full sun/no shade. Always a great time at Salt Fork Campground! Conveniently located to private beach and boat ramp. Facilities are clean and well maintained.
Ohio offers a variety of options for horse camping enthusiasts, with well-equipped campgrounds that cater to both riders and their equine companions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Caldwell, OH?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Caldwell, OH is Salt Fork State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 36 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Caldwell, OH?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 equestrian camping locations near Caldwell, OH, with real photos and reviews from campers.