Best Cabin Camping near Cumberland, OH

The KOA was what one expects of the KOA lots of features and not very secluded. The Kabins were lovely.  

The design is nice as the bunk beds are in their own separate room. This means the back room will sleep four individuals. They also included little tables and benches so you can organize yourself in the room.  The front room has a large bed that sleeps two.  Then outside is the picnic table.  Due to health code rules you have to cook and do food outside of the cabin.  

Our first cabin some of the light bulbs were dead and as a result they moved us to another cabin. Problem solved. 

The bathrooms were very clean and the folks at the camp store were very helpful. I will say that my friend that took a shower was frustrated as one shower was scalding hot and the other was cold.  The floors were slippery as they didn't have a way to stop the water from going beyond the shower (no rim or lip).  She didn't get to use the Family Shower as you have to get the key from the store.  Shower time was usually before bed time with two little ones as they would get dirty playing during the day.  Since the camp store closes at 8 PM she would just use the standard shower with her kiddos. We thought this was a great feature and would have liked to get a look at the family shower set up. 

At the camp store, they would drop off the wood via golf carts as you purchased it.  I was able to buy three bundles for $18.00 as it is cheaper that way.  I also purchased two bags of ice.

The cabin was fun and we were able to keep our trip simple by packing less due to the cabin.  Buckeye Lake State Park is close by and if you don't have a boat they really don't have a lot to offer non-boaters unlike other lake state parks.  We didn't see any trails.  We did go to the "beach" but opted not to swim. Our time was spent at the near by Dawes Arboretum and Newark's Earthworks (mounds). 

**Will try to come back and upload more photos and videos later as tonight many of my posts are not fully uploading.

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.

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.

PROS 

$3.50 Vet discount

Chelsea very friendly and helpful with phone reservation and texting confirmation 

Good overnight stay just 1 miles off of Interstate 70 

Wooden picnic table 

Toilet/shower house very clean 

Good night sky viewing 

Nice small lake and small splash pad 

Mostly quiet except for noise from National Road 

CONS 

Shore power breaker bad at assigned campsite so had no power at our site but park handyman arrived quickly and changed out the breaker 

Pull-thru site #18 was very unleveled from front-to-back; hitch was on ground and rear stabilizers were fully extended with blocks underneath

No one available at check-in office on a Friday afternoon and we had no idea what site we had been assigned by Chelsea

No mention of needing a code for toilet/shower building and was not provided one, so had to scurry to find it when nature called

Paid cash in order to avoid 3% credit card fee 

Had to return to office to get paid receipt 

No fire pit 

No WiFi 

1 bar Verizon

Saltfork is located about 45 minutes from my house, and makes for the perfect overnight trip. 

There are tons of things to do, and lots of space in which to do them. My favorites includes hiking trails, and the lakeside dog park. 

I stay in the primitive camping, it allows for more privacy and quiet. Although it also means you are relegated to the pit toilets. I personally don't mind them, but I know some campers will make the drive to the nicer shower house in the RV heavy side of the park. 

Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, the fire rings in the primitive section need some work, as the grates are very old and small.

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.