If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Caldwell, look no further. The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Search nearby tent campgrounds or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Access the Hune Bridge Campground along the National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway (S.R. 26) in Washington County. The campground is located across the historic Hune Covered Bridge.
In Monroe County, this area offers camping, picnicking, fishing, canoeing, and a scenic hiking trail. The site has six walk-in campsites, eight picnic sites, and a picnic shelter. There are two loop trails for hiking, one at 3½ miles and the other at 1½ miles. A 2-acre pond at the site is stocked with bluegill, bass, and catfish.This secluded recreation area was once the farmstead of the Lamping family. The family homesteaded this area in the 1800s.
Formerly the Lane family farm, this small campground is approximately 5 miles north of Marietta along the National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway. The site has four campsites on the Little Muskingum.
Get away to Pop's Place Camping and Cabins. A small primitive camping area in SE Ohio. Where you are 10 minutes away from Burr Oak State Park, Tecumseh Trails Off-road and Scenic Trails Recreation Land. Other areas of interest are The Triple Nickle, Perry Forest ATV Park and Wayne National Forest. A hunters or ATV riders place to be, off the beaten path. We are tent, Motorcycle & ATV friendly. Please call ahead for availability.
$15 - $125 / night
Primitive camping is allowed at no charge at the trailhead, but only during the horse and mountain bike riding open season.
$40 - $125 / night
This site has four campsites, and access to both the river and trail system. The site is just south of the Rinard Covered Bridge. This site is closed due to erosion causing a safety hazard to the campsites.
Located 1.5 miles from the Baileys Trail System (Chauncey Trailhead) and even closer to Wayne National Forest. Site is secluded in summertime yet close to state SR 13. It is situated off the old Sunday Creek Coal Mine railroad bed and Sunday Creek. Tent camping and portable/pull-behind units only. Amenities include an 8' x 8' deck pad and a fire ring with plenty of wood available. The campground has municipal water, a gas generator, a composting toilet, as well as a gas camping stove. Cell service (Verizon) is excellent. Gate is locked and night and there are security cameras. Owner lives on the property. There are two group campsites of three tent pads each. Price listed is for a tent pad, fire ring and amenities. 2 guests per tent pad, 1 car per guest. Campers are free to set up camp (or hammock) anywhere in the designated 2-acre space.
The horse camp has ten sites are provided at the campground, each with a 45' long by 15' wide parking space. Two sites are fully accessible for people with disabilities. Each site has a covered paddock, fire pit, grill, and tent pad.
Traveler
Review from the perspective of a motorcycle traveler tent camping. Tent sites are along a stream on one side and campsite access road on the other. Clean and well maintained with super nice staff. Had a $6 bundle of firewood delivered to my campsite. Tent area was vacant except for me.
Guide
We have camped in a tent here several times. Popular for Scouting campouts and popular with local boaters. Hiking trails are good, the lodge has been renovated, however, I have not stayed there since the reno. Fairly remote, cell service is dicey but if that is what you are going for, you will be pleased. Beautiful scenery. Fall is a good time to visit. Not much nearby in the way of supplies.
Scout
Beautiful trails, waters and scenery. We love tent camping here and it’s cheap! We hit this park every year for camping and lake days on the beach with friends!
Traveler
We stayed at one of the riverside tent sites. It was beautiful!!! The sites are well maintained & the bathrooms are clean 😊 Kelly is a great host & makes you feel more than welcome! We will be back!
Guide
If you’re looking for a nice, secluded, private weekend getaway… this isn’t it. If you and some friends/family reserve tent sites 20, 21, and 22 you can have the entire little alcove to yourselves! If you’re just reserving one of them, you will be close enough to hear that your neighbors did in fact have beans for dinner. Campground was well maintained. Bathrooms were fine. You do have to walk to those tent sites. The view of the river was gorgeous, we watched several barges go by! Kind of noisy at night since it seems like this is primarily an RV park and very tight knit, community like. There was some bigger logs for fires over by the dumpster. Stopped at galaxy grocery for firewood, about a 10 minute drive from the campground. All in all, had a good time!
Scout
We live close to this park and frequent there, sometimes just day trips. Tent camping is great and just like most places there are a few sites that are the best. Park offers hiking trails from the camp sites to the beach area or packing up the swim gear and using the parking lot. The beach area is back water from the ohio river. It is a sandy rocky mixture. There are boat rentals during peak months. There is a frisbee golf course that is top notch. The only down side to this ohio state park, are the bathrooms; they are port a pot facilities that can be pretty raunchy.
LegendJust driving in saw turkeys and "turkets":) and two 6 point bucks. You can hike, swim, boat, bike and horseback ride. Primitive tent camping all the way to upscale lodge stays. Electric camper hookups and shower house. In August there is "Deerassic Expo" event, right outside the front drive! Plus!! A lot of other smaller park "gems" nearby.
LegendI spent my time at the group camp area tent camping. I was there for a Buckeye Trail Association event called EGGS hike. It’s a 20 mile hike around the backpacking trail. We have 12 hours to complete the challenge. The group camp area only has pit toilets and no showers but the fields are mowed and level so it’s easy to set up camp.
Traveler
We had a great time in the walk-in, non-electric section — easy to get to with its own dedicated parking. These sites had good space between them, but no real barriers from other tents, so just depends who’s staying near you!
The full electric sections were packed with RVs and trailers, looks like a fun place to be for a bit, but glad we weren’t tent camping between them all. Access to water sports and trails is great!
LegendNorth Bend State Park is about 10 miles south on Rt 16 off of Rt 50...east of Parkersburg, WV.
When you slowly wind your way along twisty backcountry roads, through a small town, you'll ultimately find yourself entering North Bend State Park.
Immediately to the right is Cokely Campground. Initially, you don't see it...you must drive up and over a roller. At the top of the hill, you observe a handful of picnic tables and fire rings, a porta-potty and a small woodshed with a water spigot alongside. Very little delineation from site to site and more of a mown field. Only the top two locations are the only quasi-level sites along a narrow tree line. No electric. These sites are $16 nightly.
Traveling over the hill and turning to the right you see the main Cokely Campground with newer showerhouse/restroom building and playground. Campsites are blacktop with water and electric, apparently for large RV/Campers. These sites are $28 nightly.
If you were to bypass the RV/Camper location, you would continue down the side road to the boat ramp and lake.
The grounds and restrooms were clean, maincured and well maintained. Midweek the RV sites were already filled.
We decided against Cokely Campground and returned to the main park road deeper into the State Park to River Run Campground.
You pass the Lodge/Restaurant and the huge "L" shaped outdoor pool on your right as you descend (Note: the pool is seasonal and with college aga lifeguards that exit for school early, it was closed mid-August).
Winding down to River Run, deer in abundance were lining the the roadway, so use care. River Run Campground runs along a river...imagine that!
Tent sites are situated between the roadway and the river on the left...then additional tent sites are around a small half acre pond on the right. Most the roadside tent sites are level, but sit at a lower level, so when it rains (and it does in WV)...it gets soggy. No visible distinction or foliage between tent sites. One porta-potty sits at the crossroads across from the office.
Saturday it was quiet with only one other tent camper, but rain was forecasted...although a pumphouse, located at the entrance to River Run, kicks on periodically with a low, annoying droning. Being at site 45, it was quite noticeable, as I imagine with all sites in the 40's. The tent specific sites are non-electric with central water spigots ($22 nightly). As you pass the tent sites and the office, you enter a loop of paved RV/Camper sites with blacktop drives, water and electric ($28 nightly). The Showerhouse/restrooms are located in the center of this area...and are very clean and maintained. The coveted RV/Camper sites are along the bank of the river and offer more distance between neighbors. On the inner ring, a split rail fence separates neighbors.
While the sun didn't shine during our visit, it appears the thick forest canopy keeps all river sites shaded. The grounds and facilities are neat at clean.
All the trails bisect this campground, some foot only, others multipurpose. River Run also has a nice playground for the kids. Trails have difficulty drying out, so rocks and roots were muddy and slick, but still enjoyable.
Note: Mountainbike races are often held here, so campgrounds can get crazy and packed. Additionally, because of the pool, this is a very busy campground. Be forewarned that the pool is 58 steps up from the parking lot to the pool area.
There were a lot of trails I did not get to travel, and I'll bring my bike next time for the Rails-to-Trail. Nice but popular campground,
ScoutWent there in October. No attendance around and not many campers. Sites are very bad for tent camping and not the bet for RV’s. Back ins are sort and most sites have no level ground even for the picnic table or fire ring. Showers were clean but cold. Vault toilets only and stuck to high Heaven. Not serviced well at all. Hiked the lake view trail, poorly maintained. The upper loop from the beach end is very hard to find and not marked at all. Even more disappointing than Hope Lake which has its own site problems for tents.
Scout
We booked our non-electric tent camp site online, the pictures of the set-up of sites online do not match at all the set-up in real life. It took us an hour and a half to find our site because we arrived later (around 8pm) and no staff was available and no maps anywhere to be found explaining the set up of the campsites. The original site we had booked could barely fit our single little tent (it's not a fancy double or anything like that), it was on an angle and the view we had thought we were going to get of the lake was nowhere to be found. We switched sites the next morning only to find that every other site that had a smidge of privacy was on such an incline it literally made us dizzy to hang out there for very long. We spent one night at the new site then left and stayed at a hotel for our third and final night of vacation because it was raining and torrents of water were flowing into our tent. The beach area had multiple notices about high bacteria content and warnings for swimming at your own risk (which we can understand this happens sometimes). The bathrooms on the campsite we stayed in were atrocious! I've never smelled anything so bad in my life and dirty, dirty, dirty! No showers were available in the grounds we stayed at but over by the beach area there was showers available - but you had to shower super quickly, the hot water was gone before you could even get your hair washed. We rented a Kayak to go exploring (super fun as we had not done that before! and decently priced) but the area you have to Kayak in is so small!! The lake is not really a lake but more of a pond. Some of the staff (especially the lady manning the main office) were super friendly and nice, some of the staff (particularly the 'maintenance' staff) were rude and ignored you when you tried to speak with them. The trails around the campsite were absolutely breathtaking - beautiful, serene and smelled like wildflowers surprisingly because they are used as horse-riding trails so lots and lots of horse manure along the paths. We won't be going back to this campground for many of the reasons stated above but I do recommend that you check out the trails if you choose to stay here.
Scout
We went tent camping. The site we were assigned to was too rocky to get the stakes in and had a huge drop off, but we were able to switch to another site with no issues. Super dusty roads so you've gotta enjoy a dusty car. With two young kids, we wake up really early and nothing opens until 10am. Not sure if it's covid related but it was disappointing. The heater on the indoor pool was broken so it was cold, but I heard it's getting replaced soon. I just expected more for a campground that is primarily a time share location.
Traveler
I did not stay in the cabins. I tent camped. The tent areas are out past the Vue Bar and Grill. They are spread out and each has a fire ring, picnic table and fire wood is free! The people there are great, easy check in. The tent areas are spread out and there isn’t an actual road to each of the sites. I actually thought this was cool but not if its raining and you have a small car.
The best part is the Vue Bar and Grill, the food is surprisingly good. Cooked well and is large portions. There is many other things to do there as well. They have an adventure park but we didn’t make it there. Planing to go back.
Traveler
I highly recommend pop's place. I stayed there Aug 2024 and as of that date the rustic tent camping was $20. This is an ideal base camp for riding your motorcycle on the scenic roads in that area of Ohio such as the triple nickel. The owners are very nice people and helpful. The porta john and shower were very clean. The shower uses an on demand water heater. The narrow cabin you see in some photos is now a gravel pad for RV type camping with electric. The wider cabin in the photos is still there, but was currently rented so he couldn't take me on a tour of it. He took me on a tour of the new cabin he is building and it will be a nice play to stay when he is done. They sell firewood for $5. The common grass area has wood lounge chairs, common fire ring, playground, and cornhole boards. If you are tent camping and need to charge your phone he has no problem with you using the electric outlet at the RV site if no one is there. I forgot to suggest to him that maybe add an external electric outlet at the shower house since electric is there for the water heater. There is a spigot on the outside of the shower house to get drinking water. There is a basketball backboard near the current cabin if you happen to bring a basketball for your kids to use. There is good verizon cell service there, I did not expect it because of the location and hills in the area. I don't hammock camp, but it looked like there were trees far enough apart in the line of pines for hanging 2 hammocks. One of the photos showed 3 picnic tables for tent campers. There was only one when I stayed, but I assume it's a temporary or cyclical thing and I was the only tent camper and would have shared it anyway.
Of note for motorcyclists is that the road the campground is on is paved (good riding to the north of it) and the campground drive is decent gravel for street bikes.
TravelerWe chose rivers edge for our annual father son getaway and we were not disappointed. The tent sites are right next to the water and there is a beach and dock nearby also. The shower house was clean and freshly painted. If you decide to rent a kayak they will even drop you off upstream to start your trip. Kelli is a wonderful host and she is very attentive to your needs. They just purchased 62 acres for hiking across the road. At the end of your stay Kelli sends you an n your way with coffee and fresh cinnamon rolls.
Scout
A clean park with about 45 sites total. Some are long term while others for shorter stays. They also have cabins and tent sites.
Nice pool, 1/2 court basketball court, playground, laundry and store.
They only challenge is you don’t want to meet a rig going out while you’re coming in. We are a 38 foot class A and met a 36’ 5th wheel on the curve at the entrance. We literally passed with less than an inch between us and I am pretty sure the 5th wheel went partially of the road.
But nice campground; quiet and clean.
Traveler
While an RV park, you can also tent camp with the amenities, making it really nice. Electrical hookups and water at your site, plus clean bathrooms and a shower house on the property. It's also a quiet area and everyone is very respectful. The highway traffic can be a little loud in the morning if you're on that side of the property, but who wants to sleep when there are trails to hit! The owner was very friendly and available when needed. Fire rings and firewood are available too. We were there for the Rivers, Trails, and Ales Festival and it was perfect. It's right on the river so we made a stop at camp while on a paddling trip. Awesome! Will return next year!
GuideI took our popup camper here with the family for a weekend and had a great experience. The camp has lots of RV type spots with electric hookups. There are also several "primitive" spots available for tent camping. Reserving a spot is super easy with the park's online reservations.
The park has lots of activities including several nice hiking trails, a playground, late night movies for the kids on Saturdays in the summer, and a really great beach on the lake (with shower houses!) There is water available all throughout the campsite area at several faucets as well as bathrooms and a shower house, both of which were clean and in good working order.
I highly recommend this park for any kind of RV camping and will likely return in the future.
Legend
A cute little place, just 4 campsites and a vault toilet that is relatively clean and well-stocked. This roadside campground is near homes and a small town, so not much traffic during the day, but quite a bit during the morning and evening commuting time. Within the national forest, you will find some historic covered bridges and quite a few hiking and horse trails. The town of Marietta is just 5 miles away, and has all the things you need.
Each site has a picnic table, fire ring, and lantern pole. It’s designed for tent camping, but Hamlet (our small camper) fit fine with some strategic parking. No drinking water is available and the creeks are quite muddy, so come prepared with water! No privacy between sites and not much shade, which worked fine in May but probably wouldn’t be much fun in the heat of the summer. It is completely FREE, though, and you can stay for up to 14 days. There are quite a few small campgrounds in the area just like this one. There is no phone service within 4-5 miles of the campground.
Note: We have noticed that people stop by or drive through in the evening. Sometimes they stay for a couple of minutes and other times for just a couple of hours. Due to its location, this campground could be a meeting spot of sorts, but didn’t witness any shenanigans.
Legend
As with any trip, do your research, read your reviews, peruse Google Satellite maps and talk to locals when you can.
Mountwood County Park http://www.mountwoodpark.org/about.html is located about 15 minutes east of Parkersburg on Rt 50. Heading east on Rt 50 from Parkersburg, WV you will arrive at Mountwood County Park on the right...but the campground portion is a mile further east on the left side of the road. Both are marked by road signage...but most would assume they are all in one location.
If you bring your quads, dirt bikes or mountain bikes with you when you camp, then Mountwood County Park is for you. Right off the back of Mountwood are plenty of ATV trails to keep you busy during your stay. If bombing mountain bike trails is your thing, then across the highway from the campground is your dream. If relaxing in a serene mountain or river valley campground atmosphere is what you desire...keep driving east on Rt 50 another 20 minutes to North Bend State Park.
The primitive tent sites ($20 nightly) are less than desirable and more of an afterthought...and I'm being gracious. There is patchy tall grass, dirt and rocks with no leveled areas. And you have to wander a distance to the restroom/showerhouse when needed. You can rent the tiny cabins ($40 nightly) up on the top of the hill if you desire. They were rented and filled during my visit, surrounded with trailers filled with quads (not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting). One of the main ATV offroad trail entrances is a hundred yards or so past the primitive tent sites so anticipate traffic and some noise. There were a few electric/water sites available for RV/Campers but the majority of them were filled.
It does appear that that there are several "long term campers" at numerous sites, as wooden steps and decks are built and attached to the campers. I would not describe the campground as neat and tidy, but fills a need.
The other portion of the county park lies across Rt 50 about 1/2 mile east. This is where you will find a nice 50 acre lake...shaped like a "T" on its side... for short paddles or fishing (no swimming permitted), a solid collection of varied ability MTB trails and a cool, little local WV Oil history museum. Being a bit of a history buff, I was fascinated by the museum...how the local town was created during the oil boon and then destroyed by fire...of an enormous wilderness mansion that sat where the campground now sits. Interesting stuff.
There is a nice dog park if you brought your pooch. Several picnic areas with picnic shelters, playgrounds, and decent shared hiking trails.
As stated, if your main purpose is to MTB or ATV, then you might be contented with Mountwood County Park Campground. As county parks go, Mountwood County Park, itself, is nice and has a lot to offer. If quiet camping is your objective, I would recommend NorthBend State Park just down the road a piece.
Scout
I stayed here in the worse month possible for camping in ohio but the owner made it a great experience. They are very accommodating. Even though every thing was snowy and muddy I could tell this is a very well taken care of place. Shower house was clean and warm. The laundry mat washed and dried great. As a construction worker I have payed way more for way less. This place is gem for construction/oil field workers in the area.
Traveler
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.
Traveler
Great site. It's not listed on maps, but it is right across the way from hook lake, there is an access road you'll go on that will take you there. It's right off 83 in McConnellsville, outside Caldwell, ohio. Beautiful spot, there is a pond for boating and fishing. Fish are bluegill, bass, red sun fish and catfish. Its primitive, tents and rvs are allowed. Will absolutely be back! There is also 3 other camp sites in the area.
GuideWe came to Shadow Lake in October to camp for the month. To get here, you must drive through the rolling hills of Southern Ohio, which is absolutely gorgeous in October! The campground is beautiful and peaceful, especially at this time of year as most of the campers have either gone south, closed up or pulled out for the season. There are several ponds located on the property and trails meander along and around the 100 acre property. We see deer almost every evening. There are a couple hiking trails nearby (Piatt Park and Raven’s Rock) which have incredible rock formations in the gorges. The owners, Lynn and his wife, recently purchased the resort and are very friendly and helpful. They are enhancing the amenities. Shadow lake is an excellent place to camp whether in a tent or a big rig!
LegendBlue Rock State Park is outside Zanesville, Oh off I70. Rt 60 takes you South and then you have a choice of routes in. Good Ohio farmland scenery.
Out of the way, small camping area with basic sites. A cool feature is a few of the sites have pavilion type covered patios that you can pitch your tent in to help stay dry during inclimate weather.
Otherwise the sites are close together. Though there are a few sites that are more off to themselves, they are still wide open with sparse tree cover.
The restroom is basic, the showerhouse is located at the reservoir beach as well as the camp store and boat rental.The staff was very knowledgeable about the area and conversational.
Several trails are in the area, the Horse Camp is up the road. In addition to this area there is the Blue Rock State Forest that offers several out door activities, check out their map and site online.
Legend
Just a few miles from the Ohio Covered Bridge Scenic Highway, this lovely tent-only campground offers a pleasant get away. There are 6 spacious “walk-in” campsites, a small pond, and vault toilets. Each site had a picnic table and campfire ring, but there is no privacy between sites. There is no water available, other than the pond, so plan accordingly. The group picnic area is great for bigger families or groups, with a campfire ring, grills and a covered picnic area.
The area is great for hiking, with the North Country Trail going right by the campground, cycling through the rolling hills of the backroads, and canoeing on the Little Muskingum River.
The closest town is Woodsfield, OH, about 13 miles from this campground and has most of the supplies you may need.
More Information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/wayne/recarea/?recid=6214
Tent camping near Caldwell, Ohio offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. With well-reviewed campgrounds nearby, you'll find the perfect place to pitch your tent and create lasting memories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Caldwell, OH?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Caldwell, OH is Hune Bridge Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 3 reviews.
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