If you want to explore the beauty of Deer Creek Lake, glamping is an excellent option. Glamping is not only a fun alternative to traditional tent camping, but also allows you to pack more or less gear as you see fit. The Dyrt's camping photos, reviews, and tips are an easy way to find the right Ohio glamping spot for you.
Large campground features shady sites for all types of camping. Pets are welcome on designated sites.
An equestrian camp has 30 primitive sites available on a first-come, first-served basis.
286 electric campsites offer both wooded and sunny areas, some of which overlook the lake. Each site has 20-, 30- and 50-amp electrical hookup. 24 full-service campsites offer electric, sewer and water hookups Heated shower facilities with flush toilets and dump station Beach and boat ramp for exclusive use of the overnight guests Basketball courts, volleyball, miniature golf, horseshoe pits, and playgrounds Nature programs Equestrian camp has 30 primitive sites available on a first-come, first-served basis.
$4 - $27 / night
$23 - $35 / night
The Rocky Fork Campground is the ultimate basecamp for locals and travelers alike to explore Rocky Fork State Park. On the shore of Rocky Fork Lake, the campground is excellent for tent campers and RVers alike to enjoy beaches and watersports in south central Ohio. Rocky Fork campground has 171 campsites suitable for trailers and tents, 99 sites with electric hookups, 44 full hook-up sites, and 27 non-electric sites.
64 acre campground with a Waterpark, event venue, planned activities. Camp in cabins, Bed in a Shed, RV sites with full hook ups or just electric and water. Tent camp with electric and water it go primitive with no amenities.
$40 - $139 / night
At Long's Retreat Family Resort, whether you are looking to bring your own camper or to reserve a rental, we have affordable accommodations for your family with tent and RV camp sites, cabins and rental units!
While camping near Columbus enjoy water fun with waterslides, beach swimming, a splash pad and more on our 20 acre lake! Prefer to stay out of the water? Try our mini golf, go karts, kiddie train, carousel, arcades, sports courts and more!
Lay by day, rest at night at Hocking Hills KOA! Conveniently located to local attractions and events.
Nestled in the spectacular Hocking Hills, this KOA is ideal for a peaceful getaway that's full of adventure. The mining sluice offers fun for folks of all ages. Purchase "rough" with gems from around the world or pan for gold. Sample the homemade fudge - or order a pizza and have it delivered to your site. Relax at the heated pool or around a campfire after a busy day exploring Hocking Hills State Park with its six unique areas. Outdoor enthusiasts will be captivated by miles of hiking trails, breathtaking waterfalls and amazing rock formations. Horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, rappelling and world-class zip lines are minutes from this KOA. The Hocking Hills region boasts antique shops, restaurants and entertainment. Due to the area's hilly terrain and limited cell phone service, the staff encourages you to arrive before dark.
Guide
Autumn is the best time to camp in Ohio. Lots of small bathrooms. Lake access. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the fact there was no quick reentry. Had to wait for rvs in front of me to register.
Traveler
Alum Creek is just beautiful, nice sites, most of them are at least partially shaded, lots of woods, hiking trails, the lake, it is what I think of when I think of State Park campground camping in Ohio. There are a couple problems. 1. Only ONE little dump station. This is a big campground, so if you're leaving Sunday, you better get up at the crack of dawn to get to the station, otherwise be prepared to wait in a long long line of RV's. We by-passed the long line and stopped at a different State Park campground on the way home and paid 10.00 to use their dump station. 2. They never answer their phone at the campground office. I mean NEVER. If you have a question you will just have to deal with the reserveamerica people who really know nothing other than what they read on the campground website. So basically you know as much as they do. It's maddening. We will go back, but it's a 2 hour drive so it won't be anytime soon.
GuideFirst off we have to say that Ohio State Park campgrounds are some of the best we’ve ever stayed in. Most Ohio state park campgrounds have spacious sites with trees or other foliage between campsites so lots of privacy and a feeling of being apart from other campers. Alum Creek is no different. The ODNR has upgraded a number of the sites to FHU though most are still electric only. Alum Creek Lake is a large reservoir (by Ohio standards) that has excellent fishing, plenty of undeveloped shoreline to explore from kayaks, canoes or paddle boards and a very large beach. Not as many hiking trails as most state parks but you’re not far from High Banks Metro Park in Lewis Center that is a beautiful park with miles of trails along the Olentangy River. We love Alum Creek and will stay again for sure.
Guide
Great for families who need lots of entertainment. There was showers and washing machine, general store, movie night, playgrounds and more. We stayed in the S loop which is for tent campers which was lower fidelity than the other loops. Our site didn’t have a table, it had been moved to another site so we had to commandeer it. The drive there was a very interesting tour of trump flags Amish buggies and more. Would come back if I was stranded in Ohio, but overall great pit stop for cleaning up on a long journey. They were the only camp with spot open 4th of July weekend in Ohio.
Guide
One of the most beautiful places in Ohio. Some amazing trails, most of the trails are fairly easy to hike and most are not long (less then 2 miles). Several waterfalls to see, and rock over hangs. Campgrounds has all the bells and whistles for camping.
GuideAt old mans cave campgrounds in southern Ohio, you can enjoy time at a nice campsite, the campgrounds also provide a nice in ground swimming pool as well as a nice shower house. Many things do outside of the campgrounds such as cave exploring and trail hiking.
Scout
Along the Ohio river Morgan’s is the perfect spot to camp if you enjoy nature. The wooded sites are very large even the small ones with mature trees. So close to everything Cincinnati has to offer but beautiful scenic river views.
Traveler
We broke our own cardinal rule, don’t travel unfamiliar roads at night. We were blessed as the journey to the park was uneventful, but we missed some wonderful countryside. Upon arrival at Rocky Fork we realized even with a map it took 40 minutes to find our site. This was not so much due to the darkness as it was to the poor road and site markings. The camp grounds we stayed in was nearly full and had every conceivable form of camping from tents to full size motor coaches. There were a few that appeared to have been here for sometime and that doesn’t bother us other than their site wasn’t getting yard of the month.The surrounding campers were very friendly and eager to share more local attractions. For us south Louisiana Cajuns the mild weather was a blessing, coolest night was in the 50’s 😎. We are fast becoming eastern Ohio fans. We plan on two more Ohio park stops as we move northerly. Stay tuned to the adventures of the Lost Cajuns.
Ranger
This was another brief stop on my long journey back west. The state park is beautiful and the sites are pretty nice. I did not spend enough time here to give a thorough review, but what I will say is that this site is nice if you need a campsite for a couple nights while passing through Ohio. Seems there are a lot of good options for water fun at this site!
GuideThis is my favorite Ohio State Park to camp in so far. Good ATT coverage, look carefully at length of pad as some are shorter. Lovely beach nice views. Only problem was some street noise and the Trick or Treating and Halloween events first weekend of October meant there were a lot lot lot of cars and people and 1.5 hours with the streets closed for activities.
GuideWe chose this campground for its proximity to Serpent Mound. It's very middle of the road. The camp store is better than average, but the grounds themselves leave a lot to be desired. Very little privacy, small, uneven sites, bathhouses out of an 80s slasher movie. So much goose poop. The firewood we purchased from the camp store was just awful. Wouldn't light, it just smoked. It's not the first time we've had this problem with wood from an Ohio state park camp store.
The staff was super friendly and everyone we encountered was very nice, but it's certainly not somewhere I would want to spend more than a night.
GuideWe camped here in our camper in early July 2017. There are a lot of things to do in the area. We visited the Ohio Caverns. The tour is worth the money, the "gem" mining was fun for our younger kids. There are two swimming beaches, the public one and one in the campground. The campground one is smaller a short hike to get to it. Both are ok, but nothing impressive. The campground is clean and overall a good value. It was a busy weekend but not as loud as I figured it would be. Yellow Springs is a great, funky town. Many great places to eat. Dark Star Used Bookstore is a must see every time we visit.
TravelerThis is a huge campground! I tent camped by myself--felt very safe. Happened to be next to the park host. No choice of where to locate my large tent. Showers/bathrooms were OK--older facilities. Wish this park had a laundry facility--another Ohio park I recently stayed at had a fairly new shower facility that included a laundry facility! Did not appreciate the waste management company emptying the dumpsters at 4:00 AM!!! There is a huge, lakeside beach that was just packed with people (no social distancing) and there was trash everywhere--not enough dumpsters. Near to shopping (Polaris), if you are interested. Will try to get a lakeside site next time.
ScoutWe have been camping at Tar Hollow for years. Sites 32-37 are huge and flat and near the playground so great for families (therefore avoid if you want peace and quiet!). Sites 38-40 and 64-66 are the most idyllic (completely shaded, quiet yet accessible). The non-electric sites feel really remote. There is a weird generator hum at night but you sort of ignore it after a while. 93-96 are the best non electric sites as they are right against water and under the trees. The primitive restrooms often have bees and wasps and mosquitoes so take care. The showers are reliable and I have always had hot water. There is absolutely no cell service excoet if you hike up to the fire tower. we go back, year after year after year. Fav park for camping and hiking in Ohio!!!
GuideThis is a nice campground for Ohio because there are a lot of trees, making many sites secluded with privacy. I haven't camped here, I've just driven around because I boat on the creek, so I can't attest to the condition of the bathrooms.
Beware that sites close to the water may flood, or may be pretty damp in the spring.
The beaches are nice, the reservoir is nice for boating, but the horsepower allowed is too much if you want to kayak on the main water, in my opinion. There are nice inlets and coves where you can take smaller boats. Hopefully big boats observe the no wake zone, but they don't always. I don't think there is any hiking, the main attraction is the water and the beach.
GuideThis was the only park we’ve gone to this uear with both a large dog park AND a fenced in dog beach! Folks were friendly at the dog park with bunches of chairs set around like a conversation pit. Lots of water and dog tennis balls were available.
The dog beach was fenced so your dog can be off leash. There is even a fenced in area out in the water to keep the pooches from swimming across the Lake chasing geese.
The campground itself was quite nice and spacious. Some of the most private camping sites I’ve seen in Ohio. Shower facilities we a bit above average mad seemed to be looked after at least once a day (we were there in the off season).
IMHO, one of the nicest campgrounds in the state.
TravelerIt was better than decent😀. The bathrooms and bathhouse were clean .. one broken shower head but the other three were functional. Clean hot water without an odor. The general store employee (SANDY) was everything and exceptional. She went over and waaayyy beyond to help us as we were new to the area. I appreciate her generosity with her time. She is a true gem:) The park was clean with very neighborly neighbors. We did not hit the trails as it was only a 1-night stop on our journey. It was a back in -concrete trailer site (our trailer was 32 feet ) with electric only (no problems) and there was a potable water faucet nearby. We noticed a dump station as we were leaving the park.
Call ahead so that the employee Can tell you the best way into the park .. the alternate way we didn’t take apparently had winding narrow turns with steep hills. Also… please go there in the daytime silly us arrived at night and it was quite a challenge. Overall, we enjoyed our stop at this Ohio state park. Thanks again Sandy!!! You will not be forgotten:)
TravelerI've stayed here in the past and Cowan Lake does not disappoint. The B site campground is all non-electric tent camping, and far enough away from the larger RV pads that it's a quiet little campsite! Also, these sites are super close to the bathrooms on the beach, which were very clean during our stay. I was incredibly impressed, because the beach gets pretty busy during the day. The beach itself was clean (for a lakeside beach- there are geese, it's Ohio) and the lake was gorgeous! I will say, the only MILD annoyance is that some of the other campers would drive to the parking lot in front of our campsite and park there into the evening hours to fish or head down to the docks. I'm an early riser, so the headlights and car doors slamming were mildly annoying after about 10p. Not enough to make me choose a different campsite, but worth noting. We rented a tandem kayak and explored the lake, and the equipment was all in good condition. The Commisary is pretty limited but they do have a small kitchen and ice cream, as well as the basics like firewood and ice, as well as the boat rentals. Overall, one of my favorite lakeside campgrounds!
GuideWow! Beautiful place, huge lake, very peaceful out by the water.
Campground was not the best- sites were VERY close together, with most of the campground completely exposed with no shade. It was like trying to relax on a huge parking lot jammed with RVs and people. At most of the sites, you'd literally have a family up against you 20 feet to the left and a family 20 feet to the right. This might be fun for kids, but not fun if you are looking for some peace and quiet.
The bathrooms were average for Ohio State parks- icky and grungy, but not gag-worthy. I'm used to the ickiness of state park bathrooms, so I wasn't grossed out. The showers and toilets nearest my site had big puddles of standing water full of dirt, bandaids, plastic wrappers and other gross items floating there the duration of the weekend. One sink was full of dirt the entire weekend. Showers were hot though, which is always a plus.
Great place for kayaking. There was a little free library, which is a great idea. The snack bar was hopping the whole time. They need to make more than one pot of coffee at a time in the mornings (1 pot when they have 249 sites? They are missing out on $$!!), but I only buy coffee on the morning I'm packing up.
Overall, I enjoyed it here, but I'd only go if there are LOTS of free sites and you know you aren't jammed up against 2-3 other groups of people.
LegendCowan Lake State Park is near Wilmington, Ohio and they have been making a lot of improvements to the park. It is a great location between Cincinnati and Columbus with easy access from the highway. This is good if you want to meet with friends somewhat in between. It isn't too close to the highway so you don't hear the road noise as it is a few miles away but it is an easy drive to the park.
They have been revamping the Nature Center to make it more accessible to folks as they have recently added a ramp. The Nature Center actually has two buildings side by side used for different purposes. Then behind the Nature Center they have a location where several birds are located in cages. Then next to where the birds are kept you will notice a new paw print trail that is a short but informative hike.
The commissary has great pizza and ice cream. We also bought our firewood and ice from them as well. We didn't need to leave the park. We had a few trails to pick from and picked two of the shorter ones for members in our group.
The cabins have been revamped as well. They are all close to each other so if you wanted to have a family reunion or a get together this would be a great spot to do so. At the end of the main road it will lead you to the lake. You can use the dock to put your boat out (kayak and certain motor boats). Folks are fishing at the lake or simply enjoying the beauty of the lake.
The beach is simple but that is part of the charm. It is clean and we were able to swim on the hot days that we had while camping.
ScoutHocking Hills State Park is a very beautiful natural wonder in Ohio, but the state park campground was ok. The main complaint my group had was with the bathrooms. The women's bathroom near our site had 4 stalls- none of which had doors which would close. They were beautiful big, heavy wooden doors, but each was too big to actually close and lock the door! Fixing this may take 1-2 days work, but someone could easily remove the locks, run the doors through a saw to cut off an inch, stain and seal the exposed wood, and re-attached the locks. Old Man's Cave has a brand new welcome center, but the campground still has bathroom doors that don't close. It doesn't make sense to me. The only other complaint is that the asphalt parking areas at each site are fairly small and there is no parking provided for extra vehicles. Having a large group with people driving separately makes it difficult as there is one parking spot on a site(if you set up a camper). Other general notes: Many of the sites have a lot of slope, as you are in the hills, though each appeared to have at least one small flat area. The showers are fairly open, with curtains on each shower and a large curtain separating the shower area from the rest of the bathroom. They have a bench, hangers for towels, and a shelf for soap. The showerheads themselves are very nice and always had warm water! Another newer bathroom we visited(near the pool) had been remodeled recently, but was significantly dirtier than the old one. There was mud and toilet paper all over the floor and it was smelly. Overall, the campground is in a great location. You can easily hike to Old Man's Cave, Rose Lake, Cedar Falls, and the Devil's Bathtub. Most of these trails lead to other areas 4-5 miles away as well. And being within walking distance of the trails, you don't have to worry about parking(and boy was it crowded this Labor Day weekend).
LegendEveryone online is constantly raving about Alum Creek so we finally decided to try it out. Initially we had site A9 but when we arrived we realized the main road (55mph) was extremely close and loud. We ended up looking at all of the open sites and picking C3, which literally might be the best site in the park. Even still, the constant road noise and insane amount of small plane traffic is extremely annoying. The fire station across the street doesn't help either. The park seems to be roughly 80/20 mix of small sites to medium/ large sites. Usually my reviews are a ton of positives, then a few negatives. This one unfortunately is almost all negatives. The oddly places bathrooms have no parking, only the two shower houses on our half of the park did. I say oddly places because they are kind of in the middle of the woods with multiple paths going to them. You would definitely benifit by finding these paths before it's dark or you'll be lost like we were. Also you may not want a site with one of these paths if you don't like people walking through your site. Due to looking for a better site and it being October, it was dark by the time we finished setting up. One of the few nice things about the park is how dark it gets at night. Unfortunately, there are barely any signs around the park and the ones they have ahine green in your headlights and are almost illegible. Kind of like the light yellow site numbers on the grey electric box. The park does have many nice amenities like, miniature golf, a large dog park, many trails and a nature center. Down the road is a very large beach, a dam and parks. The absolute best part was the camp store. Literally the nicest people in the world were working here... I'm pretty sure we wouldn't stay here again, especially in the summer when it's probably crazy busy. Especially when Delaware state park is 10 miles away and literally our favorite park in Ohio. The two are complete opposites.
LegendCowan Lake State Park - A friend and I were able to kayak on the lake the night of a Friday the 13th moon. It was beautiful. Sadly, no pictures as I do not have a water proof camera. The next day we also went out for another paddle under the bright sun. The boat ramp and parking lot is easy to use and has a good layout. They do have some tent sites close to the boat ramp area and you can see the lake from those tent sites.
Our campsite did not have any trees but they have planted a lot of new trees. I assume this due the previous trees having to be cut down due to Emerald Ash borer damage. Our campsite didn't have any shade but others did so you really have to pick wisely.
The trails here are easy and short. I loved the informational boxes and tags that they had on the trees or plants. This is helpful if you have little ones with you or if you are like me and just like to learn about the animals/plants on the trail.
The park also had a lending library and walking stick lending program. I thought these were simple but memorable features for this park.
Our campsite was close to two different bathroom structures. One right behind our site was toilets only. This did mean that sometimes folks would walk on the edge or through the camp site at times. The other bathroom structure was further down the road and it had both toilets and showers. The larger bathroom had an ADA shower in it as well.
The camp store was well stocked and you could rent bikes from the store. These bikes were often all over the campground so be extra careful when driving in the park. They do have the orange flag but as they are low to the ground it is hard to see them at times.
The cabins here have both a fire ring and grill. This isn't the case at all Ohio State parks so it was a nice surprise. They also have a porch that is screened in with a view of the lake. You are not able to walk down to the lake from the cabin but it is a lovely view.
For those who want to "Walk-On" camp please take a look at the photo of the neon yellow paper as how the park approaches this will be different in the future.
**Not all photos or videos uploading so some information may be missing. I will try to upload again later.
Scout
Great state park campground. Clean shower houses. Due to ash borer, trees cut down in a lot of areas. Most wooded area to the north.
ScoutVery clean, well maintained. A lot of nearby activity, private and open sites, lake, beach, trails, marina, bikes, putt putt, dog park, playground, laundry, water close, electric at sites, many "comfort stations" "wash houses" so not far from one.
GuideI loved our camp site we had it for one year loved it! Huge lot, private and shade. It was simply the perfect lot because sometimes we had two tents and or like to play corn hole and other games and need space. But we went back in June and July 2018 and we about died! It was so hot and miserable because they cut down two of the trees that gave us shade. Now it the perfect spot with nooo shade. We tried buying the canopies to give us artificial shade but it didn’t help. It was truly awful during the day. The kids went to the beach but my husband, mother in law (70) and I stayed at the site. Although it got so bad we either went to a store or sat in the truck with the A/C. Now when the sun started setting it was again perfect. We had a fire, played outdoor games and it is private enough you don’t have to worry about your neighbor listening to your conversation. The bathroom is right behind the site but far enough that there is no smell or foot traffic from people. We had 2 active dogs and it is perfect for them. Although I will not go back in the dead of the heat again. It would be a perfect spot for cooler months. We stayed in lot 140. Oh btw there is a “secret” fish spot by site 166 with a trail to walk down to the water. It’s about a 8 min walk from our site 140.
GuideBetween lot I believe 166 & 167 is a trail to go down to a small spot. Probably enough room for 2 small families or 1 large family to fish. It was perfect for my husband and 2 kids between 9pm to 1am to fish because no one else was there. They only caught a fish or two but they liked the experience and time together. It is a little of a trek down a small hill and we were careful but got my mother in law whose 70 to the water as long as we hung onto her arm. It is pitch black so bring headlamps or/and lanterns oh and mosquito spray! We liked it so much that we are going again and getting a site close to the fishing spot so it’s just a short walk to it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Deer Creek Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Deer Creek Lake is Alum Creek State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 76 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Deer Creek Lake?
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