Looking for an adventure where you can explore Chillicothe and then fall asleep in your tent? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Chillicothe, including sites, reviews, and tips. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
$12 / night
7 Acres of private land! Completely wooded with beautiful maple and oak trees. 2 miles from pike lake state park. 10 miles from Rocky fork lake state park and paint creek lake state park! 7 miles from city of Bainbridge where there are stores and restaurants. Wonderful hiking at Highland Nature Sanctuary is only 20 minutes away. There is an Amish bakery and store 20 minutes away also!
$25 - $35 / night
Scioto Grove Metro Park is a 620-acre park along the Scioto River with mature forests and scenic bluffs overlooking the river. It features more than seven miles of trails, two picnic areas with shelters, tables and grills, a kids play area and several overlook decks. The park is located on a scenic bend of the Scioto River and is a great destination for canoeists, kayakers, anglers and people wanting to see waterfowl and other wildlife. Dogs on leashes are welcome throughout the park, which also features a sledding hill. Thanks to a generous donation of 193 acres of land from the City of Grove City, funds from the State of Ohio Clean Ohio Program, and passage of a property tax levy by Franklin County voters, Metro Parks has developed this park for people of all ages and abilities to experience nature and enjoy quality time with family and friends. Additional support came from outdoor retailer REI to construct a backpack trail along the river for those just getting into the sport, as well as those seasoned backpackers who want a quick overnight without having to journey several hours.
Providing a place for all God's children to grow in Faith, Fellowship and Fun through Christ-centered camps and outdoor ministries. Located in the beautiful Hocking Hills in southern Fairfield County, Ohio, it is a quick and convenient drive that feels a million miles away - providing the serenity and connection with God's creation that only being emerged in nature can provide. Learn more about who we are, what we do and how you can participate in or support our work. As a non-profit with a seasonal mission, we still must maintain our facilities throughout the year to allow us to adequately support our mission. Lodging is a great way to help support our camp and help us cover our basic costs throughout the year while enjoying the outdoor experience and facilities that Geneva Hills has to offer.
$35 - $600 / night
$40 - $125 / night
Location, Location, Location! In the heart of the Hocking Hills, high up on the top of the hills overlooking the SaltCreek Valley. We offer our Family Farm with dry off grid camping in Mini convertible A frame cabins, dry camping cabin, yurt, dispersed camping & full service cabin home. We offer acres of private land with hiking trails, the Salt Creek for swimming & fishing, bikes available to share, firewood cut & stacked on site. We provide all the necessities for enjoying a camping trip without you having to lift a finger. We provide Comfy beds, linens, propane heaters, chuck camp box with all your culinary needs, lanterns, flashlights, maps of area attractions & supported businesses. Let’s not forget you will be in the middle of the woods where all the birds and animals live. That includes, flying insects, ants, stink bugs, skunks, raccoons, fox, coyote, deer, birds, bats and Hillbillies.
We are 20 minutes from The Caves, 5 minutes to a full service Village with grocery store, butcher shops, gas stations, 5 restaurants & banking needs. Luxury camping at its best.
$50 - $225 / night
Recreation areas with activity Dispersed Camping: Elm Trailhead Long Ridge Trailhead Monday Creek Trailhead New Straitsville Trailhead Red Oak Trailhead Scarlet Oak Trailhead Sycamore Trailhead White Oak Trailhead Camping is allowed at during the OHV and mountain biking open season.
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.
Primitive camping is allowed at no charge at the Old Stone Church Trailhead.
This trailhead is part of the Stone Church Horse Trail System. Named for the skeletal ruins of an old stone church nearby, the Stone Church Horse Trail System provides a great opportunity for scenic riding on 21 miles of trails. Various loops for other distances are available. The horse trail winds through the rolling hills of the Wayne National Forest. The trails will lead you through a variety of vegetation: open fields, brushland, mature forest, and new forest. Along the way, you may glimpse wildlife, and will recognize the influence of humans, both now and in the past. You will also pass many of our land management activities.
Scout
We loved the location of Campbell Coves to Old Man’s Cave and hiking trails. We do a family trip to the area every fall and this will be our go-to location. We've already booked for fall 2021. We stayed in one of the rustic cabins. With other family members bringing their RVs. The bathroom facilities were some of the nicest and cleanest we’ve experienced. My parents had an RV site overlooking the lake. I wouldn’t tent camp there. The tent sites were all in the same area with no division from each other. They are expanding and can’t wait to see those offerings.
Traveler
Never staying at a KOA before I was surprised how clean and well kept it was. The tent area was on a small elevation above the rvers so you could look down on them. Lol. The tent site was very nice and mostly flat. There are plenty of things for the kids to do. It does cater to the rvers so not that many tent sites. The one down side is the tent sites close to the bathrooms was crowded so if a little more privacy is wanted choose one a short distance away. All in all a nice place and I would return..
Scout
Tent sites are on a steep uneven hill, we had site 4. Tent sites are super close, we can hear our neighbors perfectly as if they were talking to us. Only a few feet between each site. Map showed we would be right next to the lake, this is incorrect, lake is not accessible or even visible from campsite.
Ranger
There's a great loop hike in Zaleski State Forest. High quality trees, nice little hills, cool rock formations. Fine campground for tent-camping (my preferred camping method). Much of Ohio is flat corn land, so Zaleski is a special place in Ohio. The trail swings close to some homes, which is less remote than out west where I live now, but overall it's nice.
Scout
While the tent spots did not have a lot of shade, the sites are close to the lake and make for some wonderful sunsets. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and all in all it was a great stay. We rented bikes from the camp store and swam at the beach which was conveniently close to the tent sites. Lots of fun and 10/10 would return again. I'm excited to come back and see how the young trees they have growing in the tent sites take off.
Guide
Tent camping sites were set back, in the woods, down a private path (about 75’) and totally secluded.
The park had a clean, nice outdoor movie theater, mini golf, and a lake with rentables.
Scout
Tent camped on a non-electric site in early May. Great campground. Clean, relatively quiet, and great bathrooms. The camp sites are right off one of the main trails in the park, so very easy to get out for a hike.
Guidemany electric sites,usually busy, some rustic tent sites, 3 camper cabins in park. some shower houses . state park also offers cabins that sleep 6 with amenities also hike in campground in area.
Guide
Enjoyed the campground, but the sites were very sloped and the rv sites were pretty close together. We stayed at one of the more spread out sites. I’d go again, but they should maybe make some tent pads for the tent sites.
ScoutVery friendly staff. We checked in early evening for an over night on our x country trip after visiting Serpent Mound NatIonal monument. Good Tent site with electric. Good bathhouse and quiet on Tuesday.
Traveler
Tent site was nice. We could make dinner and there weren’t any mosquitoes even though it was right above a swamp. It was a nice driving distance from Hocking Hills and a neat place to camp.
Guide
Great campsite on the Ohio River. Tent sites are grassy with lots of shade. water and electricity at site for $20.00. We upgraded to a vacant RV site with River Frontage for $35.00, since We were able to sleep In our SUV. Showers and toilets are clean. Staff is so accommodating! The exception? Trains blowing their whistle every 20-30 minutes all night long. The crossing is right by the campground. If you can sleep through it, great. I couldn’t.
ScoutThis was our first tent camping experience and over all went really well! Our particular site wasn’t very tent friendly and was overall a little awkward with the placement of hills and our fire pit, but I think that was a one off. We made it work and had a great time! The sites are close together so be aware if you aren’t fond of neighbors :) we will definitely be back!
ScoutHad reserved two tent sites, had to put down 45$ for each site. On Friday the weather was to be awful. Forecast calling for 3-4" of rain. Flash flood watches for entire area. So being in tents we cancelled our reservations. Campground would not return our 90$ deposit. To me that's bad business! I was out 90$!!!
Guide
This Campground was pretty great! My wife and I stayed in a rather large tent site and my parents stayed in an RV site. The RV site was rather small without much personal space. But it worked for what they needed. The tent site was decently secluded and near a nice small pond.
The campground put on a free BBQ for all of the guests one of the nights! It was very good and well thought out. They also put on a very long firework show that night which was awesome! We must have came the perfect weekend.
The restrooms were rather large and and worked fine. As well as the showers. There are also a few nice looking cabins! There is a camp store in the office, but it's rather small without anything interesting. There is a large barn with a few arcade games that the kids seemed to like.
The best part about this Campground?? DOGS ARE ALLOWED!! We were so grateful of this because we love taking our dog camping with us!
TravelerWe’ve stayed twice at this campground and have had a great time both times. It’s located very close to Hocking Hills State Park. Some of the tent sites are on an incline, but the RV site we had (site 24) was very spacious. There’s a a nice pool and nature trails. There’s even a trail to Ash cave from the campground.
Ranger
Lots of available places to tent camp or park an RV! There’s a nice little beach area along the lake. Several large pavilions. Playground for the kids. During the summer they set up large inflatable slides and create a makeshift lake waterpark! I camp here EVERY year during the Annual Pawpaw Festival in mid September. They have local art, music, beer, and all kinds of pawpaw products! Such a blast! Highly recommend!!!
TravelerThe lake is clean and has beautiful scenery. The beach is very kid friendly. There is a playground there. The trails are great. They have options for length and scenic differences. Roads are well maintained. Campsites aren’t great for tent camping, but we still had fun. Campsites are close together. They are under trees though, which is a definite plus for me. Overall I thought there was a great vibe and it was a clean area.
GuideMy husband camped here in 2018 and plan on it again this year! Lake Hope has plenty of recreational opportunities for everyone and the campground is close by! The campground is quiet and well kept. We tent camp so we usually have a non-electric site so the area we stay is away from most of the RVs. Bathrooms and showers are maintained well. Not far from Hocking Hills State Park as well as other park areas. Plenty of opportunities for hiking, boating, and other activities.
Scout
We have tent camped here three times. Small but nice campground. Nice lake close to the campground just down an access road. I would give it a higher rating but there are no showers, concrete floored, hole in the ground 'outhouses' (one men's, one woman's) by the playground and port-a-johns at the other end of the campground. The last time we were there in September 2016, the port-a-johns were absolutely full and nasty despite daily phone calls by the camp caretakers that they needed serviced. They were finally serviced just before the weekend campers came in and we were leaving. Small adequate camp store. Movie for the kids at the outdoor theater.
Traveler
Stacked Stones has a very nice location and the camp hosts/owners are wonderful. They truly make you feel like family. The only complaints that we had was the shower house seems like a scene from a horror movie. Cinderblock stalls with a wooden pallet on the floor to keep you off of the drain. The toilets are non flushing pit latrines. They have some very secluded tent sites which is great when you have dogs. They also allow horses which is nice for any trail riders. Overall a great camp ground with great people. If the bathroom was updated I would give it 5 stars for sure!
GuideI get asked "where should we go camping or hiking in the Midwest?" Hocking Hills State Park is always my go-to answer.
It has a ton of different terrains, it's easily accessible from Columbus, OH, and has great hiking opportunities.
This particular campground is amazing because it's located nicely to many hiking trails but far away that you aren't overly crowded so you still get the feeling that you're in nature.
I've been here a ton growing up in the horse campground area, but most recently was there for tent camping. We were surrounded mostly by RVs, but we fit in quite nicely into our site.
The sites were nicely spaced out and the hiking trails were all nearby.
Legend
Great camping experience! Waited too late to book in hocking hills state park but found a site here instead. We are tent campers and stayed in site 106 on"Northridge". Loved that the non-electric tent sites were so isolated from the RV campers. Site 107 gets muddy with a lot of rain. Sites 108-112 have a pretty significant slope. Each site in the loop has a picnic table and fire ring. There's a dumpster, pit toilets, and water. It was a short drive to the rest of the campers, a great hot shower, fantastic general store, miniature golf, and the beach to swim or lake to kayak. Took us at least 30 minutes to drive to the common hocking hills hikes but well worth it. We would return.
ScoutWe have returned to this camp ground four times! Everything is quite outdated especially the park and mini golf. With that said it was a great time. It has mini golf, a pool, park and small game room which is awesome for camping with kids. It offers rustic cabins for those that dont tent camp or have a rv. On this particular trip it was chilly and we were staying with small children so we went the rustic cabin route. There's a small pond for fishing and a church from the 1800s and all together a beautiful place to walk around. The best part is you can walk to ash cave from your campsite! There is a connecting trail right at the front of the campground. It was a fairly simple hike too.
TravelerMy family and I have been going to Lake Snowden for the past nine years for the Paw Paw Festival and have enjoyed staying in the sites in thw campground every year. So while I can’t speak to what the campground is like the rest of the year, I suspect it is mostly RV campers the rest of the season (we only tent camp).
What I can say though is the sites are pretty large and grassy, great place to let kids run around and play. The campground is safe and people are respectful of the quiet hours. Everything in the camground is walkable, but if you want to hit up the shower houses, you have to go up to Hilltop, which is a bit of a trek w/ shower gear (I’ve never actually been inside the shower house though).
LegendThis was our first camping trip here and it won’t be out last. We loved this little hidden gem of a park. We were on site 5 and it was level side to side but sloped front to back. The parking pad was nice and it looked like many had been freshly paved.
Some sites are just in the grass and could get muddy since the park is in a valley but they would be perfect for tent camping or a smaller camper.
Lots of hiking trails, a like for swimming and fishing, playground, and fire tower. They also had a mini golf course, outdoor movie screen and a camp store that has a game room and nature center. Most of this part was closed because of winter camping and Covid.
The staff that we saw working were really friendly and recommend some great hiking trails.
TravelerI stayed at Shawnee SP campground in August 2020 (Friday night). This campground is geared towards families with kids, especially with RVs. It has all of the amenities: electric at most sites, water, flush toilets, showeres, laundry. There’s a small lake at the campground with a swimming beach and canoe rentals. They also have a gift shop and miniature golf. North of the campground there is a lodge with cabins and larger fishing lake. The campsites are very close together and the campground was full when I was there. It was surprisingly quiet at night. I prefer a little more privacy and separation from other campers. Looking around the campground I’d say that Site 8 is the best site for car camping or RV camping. There are 2 tent camping sites (111 and 112) that provide separation from other campers but you have to park and carry your gear back to the sites
Chillicothe, Ohio, offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and relaxation in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chillicothe, OH?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chillicothe, OH is Zaleski State Forest with a 4.4-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Chillicothe, OH?
TheDyrt.com has all 19 tent camping locations near Chillicothe, OH, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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