Best Glamping near Defiance, OH

A family fun getaway. The waterpark was a huge hit to the kids. A great way to glamp!! Love they have a smaller water park for the smaller kids too! Lots of fun acativites!!

We rented a yurt as a local weekend escape. Our kids loved the yurt. It was nice with a little mini fridge and 4 double beds. Campground showers and bathrooms are clean. It is one of the only state parks in northwest Ohio, a beautiful little spot nestled in farmland of Ohio. The lake is nice for swimming and there are bike rentals which was fun as well. We did not use it, but there is a dog beach as well. Sites are crowed and close together.

Tents are welcome, as well as big campers. Have a couple of cabins and yurts. A lot of groups camp here. Not a lot of kids activities, no pool, but does have a beach on the lake, canoe and kayak and paddleboaed rentals and trails for hiking. If you want a quiet retreat, this is usually the place.

We like this place a lot. Tucked away in NW Ohio, close to the Michigan & Indiana border. 

We were in the north campground. Sites are all level, many very spacious which is unusual for Ohio SPs. No FHUs but don't let that stop you from visiting.

Van Buren State Park is very easy to access from I-75. It has tons of trails and a pond. There are a few places to car camp or RV camp nearby. I love getting out of town and visiting Van Buren State Park, and I have lots of good memories. It gets 4 stars because I now live in Montana and Montana camping outshines Ohio, but I can't bash on Van Buren State Park at all.

Really enjoyed this campground for the short amount of time we were in the area visiting family The park and facilities were very clean, sites were well-spaced, there is a nice walking/biking trail, and had full hook-ups.  This campground is associated with Historic Sauder Village – a living history destination in northern Ohio. (You can get discount admission to the village if you stay in the campground.) The campground filled up on the weekend but emptied out on Sunday. The RV sites are long, level, and have either 50 amp full hook-up or water and electric only. Tent sites are scattered along the pond which made for a nice view; except, the ridiculous number of geese meant there was poop everywhere along the shoreline and throughout the tent section. Staff does haze the geese but it was not enough to keep them away during the afternoon.

A fee is charged to enter the historic village or you can ask for a “shoppers pass” and visit the stores inside the village. Located on the grounds (and within walking distance of the campground) is a restaurant, bakery, gift shop and hotel (which has an indoor pool, hot tub, and game room campers are allowed to use). The restrooms, laundry, and showers were very clean and relatively new. Other amenities include basketball, shuffleboard, horse shoes, splash pad, volleyball, corn holes, lake for fishing, and free WiFi. There are a couple of covered group picnic areas available for anyone to use which is nice if you have a big group wanting to get together. 

The campground is about four miles south of the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90) which is pretty convenient if you are just passing through and looking for a place to stay overnight. The town of Archbold is pretty small but does have a decent grocery and restaurants. The nearby town of Bryan is larger and has a really funky brewery/restaurant housed an old church (Father Johns).

This is a great, quiet family campground. The fenced in splash pad was our main draw. However the hotel is awesome and campers are allowed usage of their pool and game room. The old fashioned village is a step back in time and shows blacksmithing, tinsmithing, broom making, farming, etc. They often have theme weekends and special ticket pricing thru Groupon. Their bakery is awesome too.

We stayed here over Labor Day weekend, but didn’t feel crowded even though all the sites were full. The sites are spacious. But note the pull throughs only have electric, no water or sewer. They do have a place to get water onsite which is what we did. We also loved all the kid friendly activities. They had a playground and splash pad. The bathrooms were also a plus. They were very clean and we used the shower a couple times. The WiFi was also a plus - it was fast and we rarely had any issues. Would recommend. Sauder village is right beside the campground which would be a fun activity but we didn’t end up going in.

Standard service plaza with fairly clean facilities. Road noise is high since it's close to the interstate. RV parking lot in the back with hookups.

Starbucks didn't open until after we left :(

We have been here a few times. Really enjoy the secluded sites and the lake. It’s a small campground but it’s clean and quiet. Most sites don’t have water hookups but they do have electric. There isn’t much to do outside of the campground but there is a nice lake with canoe and kayak rentals. Very pet friendly and even has a dog beach.

It’s very clean and quite. Nice size sites.

We stayed at Harrison Lake last year for our oldest daughters birthday. Although we didn’t have the best neighbors we really enjoyed the park! We rode bikes to the beach pretty much every single day and then through the main part of the park! We cannot wait to go again!

We stayed two nights at 16N electric site with our 16ft camper. Lots of room, and sits on higher ground. Mosquitoes were crazy no matter the bug protectants used but it had been a very wet year and the park was scheduled to spray soon. Lake life is where it’s at, plenty to do on/in the water! Bike and hiking trails. Very laid back and calm at this campground. Many older RVs and not the typical monsters that you increasingly see. Plus people were outside being active, or just relaxing at their campsites. The grounds were well maintained but the potable water within camp was not. I do recommend this campground for a relaxing campout.

The sites in the tent-only section were well sized and shady. We were on the lake side and were able to get some nice views of Harrison Lake. There were families on either side of us with little kids who were well behaved, albeit a little noisy (i.e a really young child was screaming for about 2 minutes straight non-stop at 9 am until finally the parents said something). Bathroom facilities (single occupancy with shower) were about a 3 minute walk and were clean. Good stay!

Nice family campgrounds sites are roomy, asphalt, and generally level. Restrooms and showers are clean and well maintained.

Spacious site. Well maintained park. Clean, hot shower in north Campground. Lake is good for fishing, marginal for swimming. Great people at registration. Friendly and helpful host. Some good restaurant choices nearby.

love Harrison Lake. It is our go to if we don't have other plans. been there multiple times. Very clean and well kept. Lots to do. check it out and see for yourself.

The hosts are terrific: the campsites and fire pits are immediately cleaned, the hosts checked us in remotely (saved us a trip to the office), provided tips for getting quality firewood, cleaned the bathrooms regularly even during a busy holiday weekend.

The campsites are a bit small, but fortunately the other campers were friendly and helpful. Some of the non-electric sites were used by RVs running generators all day and night, so that was a bummer for those of us hoping non-electric would mean more quiet.

The bathrooms were scrupulously clean and always available without a line.

Three minor complaints: vault toilets instead of bathrooms in the non-electric area, only one gray water dump on the entire south side of the lake, the park lacks much in the way of hiking (but does have boating, fishing, etc.)

Almost all shaded spots taken when we arrived and only non electrical was available, which we can manage. Clean restrooms. Lots of young children running around.

Our first time at this park and got lucky with our site. The pad was a little unlevel but easy to fix. The fire ring was fantastic and had pea gravel around it so if it rained it wasn’t a muddy mess. Great site with grass for tents and no one behind us besides a cornfield. We had a sidewalk next to us to the bathroom but there were so many bathrooms we didn’t have very many people pass by. It had pretty decent shade but unfortunately a sweet gum tree nearby so watch out if you’re barefoot. The shower house was nice but no benches in the stall and only had curtains. They were very clean and the camp hosts were friendly. We are headed back in September!

This is actually two different campgrounds -- North and South. The North Campground has larger sites spaced a bit apart to afford you some privacy (or at least as much as you can expect at a state park campground). The grounds and facilities looked to be in good condition, too. 

The South Campground (where we stayed) has smaller sites that were much more closely packed together. There are non-electric sites that are a bit deeper but still quite narrow so your neighbors may be right there when you look around. The facilities in this campground also seemed to be in good, clean condition. 

The one thing that was bit unnerving was that throughout both campgrounds, there are sites on the outer edge that are next to a main road with nothing but a small, wooden split-rail fence dividing the state park from the outside world. While the park is in a rural area, it still seems odd to have zero security for your site and your belongings from anyone who just happens to park on the road and wander in. 

This seemed to be a popular campground for families -- especially little kids on bikes, so be extra cautious when driving around or even riding your own bike because the kids seemed to have no concept of safely riding around. They would often change direction or dart out unexpectedly. 

Things to do include a good-sized, no-wake lake that was a pleasure to use our kayak on.  There is a small beach that seemed popular, although the signs warning about all the dangers in the lake made us question entering the water for swimming. There also is a hiking/mountain biking trail that goes around the lake. It wasn't well-marked and seemed to just be a series of connections through some woods, down roads, and across parts of the developed areas of the park. So, not a terrible experience but just not what we expected.