Best Glamping near Defiance, OH

This small, well-kept Campground is a Fort Wayne city park surrounded by industrial & commercial businesses. The Park is clean with the most modern, clean shower/bath house I’ve seen. Unfortunately, the restroom is located across the street from the campground. The sites were occupied by large RVs but we only saw 2 people sitting outside - no campfires, no cooking, no campers. This was just an over night stopover for us so we didn’t care. I suppose this Campground is used by seasonal workers who just sleep & eat dinner there at the end of their workday. The Campground is never dark with streetlights and and the ambient light from surrounding businesses. I’m sure this campground serves a purpose, just not my purpose.This is definitely NOT a destination.

Pokagon was one of the first Indiana state parks, so there's some history here! One of my favorite memories is the toboggan run, which FYI, is seasonal. It's a ton of fun for the whole family. Also, in the winter, there's sledding, ice fishing and cross country skiing. There's a few trails and swimming and boating in the lake in the summer. The campground is standard and has a bathhouse and fire pits at each site (both electric and non-electric). There's a nice Inn as well, if you need a non campgroud place to stay in the winter. It's a great easy trip, even from Chicago. So, come winter or summer!

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.)

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).