Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Fort Loramie, OH

You're learning to backpack the Buckeye Trail, and you want to take the first steps towards that without worrying about the physical load you're going to have to carry. You can drop the tent on this portion! This Adirondack shelter, located between Points 6 and 7 on the St. Mary's Section of the Buckeye Trail, is perfect for you. Built as an Eagle Scout project by Parker and Keaton Cole of Troop 95 (in Sidney), it is large enough for six or to sleep comfortably off the ground. You cannot miss it as you go along the trail. There is a fireplace (stone, make sure you check that the chimney is not blocked) large enough to cook your hotdogs and keep you happy as you sit in the shelter.  There is deadfall from the trees around you that will serve as kindling and fuel for the fire.  If you start in Lockington or Fort Loramie, this shelter is approximately 10 miles in and the right place to break a two-day backpacking trip.

We love camping in the off season but with that comes closures. Some sections of the campgrounds might not be open, no camp hosts and limited bathrooms and showers houses. This is to be expected, but when I called the morning of our trip to make sure potable water was available and I was told yes it was only to drive 2 hours and realized they were wrong. No water 🙁. This would not have been a peas we have dry camped before but all the bathrooms were closed as well.

After called the park ranger he did let us get some water at the maintenance building so we were at least able to finish the weekend. Lesson learned always pull with at least some water.

Now back to the campground itself was nice and clean. Site are a little close together. The biggest down side is you are there to enjoy the lake but the lake had algae warnings everywhere not to go near the water.

They do have a dog park, pool and splash pad when in season and a marina. Also they have WiFi and good cell coverage.

This park is know for the lake that is kayak and canoe friendly since it doesn’t allow any kind of boat with a motor. It also features a beach , 2 playgrounds and several hiking trails. Just be careful if you hike with dogs since some trails intersect with a nature preserve which doesn’t allow pets.

The campground itself has 20 electric sites , 56 primitive sites and 4 camper cabins. All the electric sites are pull through and all sites have a fire pit but only the electric sites come with picnic tables.

Due to off season and COVID the camp store is closed and there is no camper host or park office staff around.

We did notice lots of downed trees on the poorly marked hiking trails. Some trails just started but no maps were around and no trails were blazed. It was hard to tell where we were headed or how long a trail was. I tried using the new Detour app and it wasn’t very accurate for this park.

We did have good Verizon cell coverage.

This park has a beautiful lake and nice (although short) hiking trails. The problem is that there is no running water- no showers and smelly pit toilets. There is one spigot for drinking water.

Beware that the campsites are mostly in one big grassy field with no shade. I'd pick a site along the perimeter or along the lake.

This park is overrun with feral cats (or it was when I was there). Some people might think that is cute. I consider feral cats to be wild animals that carry disease. What's really bad about them is that they've been fed so they are comfortable around people. We spent the whole weekend trying to fend them off- every time our backs were turned, they jumped up on our picnic table. They ate our food, which we had to throw away. When we sat by the fire, they rubbed up against our legs, which is disgusting, considering they carry Bartonella, which is transmitted through their fleas and ticks (Bartonella is a co-infection of Lyme, or you can get it on its own. I know- I've had it since middle school. Feral cats probably carry Lyme too, as they are mammals). I can't express how stressful it was, trying to keep these wild cats away from us the entire weekend. I don't know why the park can't get them under control.

Sure, cat people will be offended by my statement, but would you want raccoons or skunks up on your table, eating out of your pots and pans? Would you want raccoons rubbing up against you while you are trying to relax? These cats are also wild animals, yet way too tame for comfort. Ugh,I shudder remembering it.

This is part of the Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metro Parks) and it is at the Twin Creek metro park.  This is an old boy scout camp (Camp Hook) back in the day. 

During these COVID-19 times we wanted a place to park that wasn't the traditional Ohio State Parks camp site. We didn't want to share a common bathroom/bath house or playground area.  We picked this as the Twin Creek camp site only has 3 camp sites within the park.  Even then they are out of side from each other. You can somewhat hear the other two camp sites (rarely).  This meant with two little ones we wouldn't have to constantly remind them to socially distance or put on masks.  We were alone but had plenty of park supports. We had two great park volunteers/security stop by to make sure we had everything we need. 

The nice thing about the Dayton metro parks is that each night in the front county camp sites they include a bundle of fire wood. This is not the small sad bundle that you often buy at gas stations or other markets.  This is a huge bundle. It is dry and cut in an easy to use manner. It is also kept in a little box so it is dry even if you do have weather while camping. If you wish to add an additional bundle of firewood the price is very reasonable at $10.00. I do this every time I camp there to support their campsites/metro parks. I have yet to use up their firewood in the box when I camp for a whole weekend. It is also nice that we don't have to put it in our cars so less clean up after camping. It also helps with the whole burn local fire wood so you are not transporting bugs. Or you don't have to cross your fingers and hope someone close by sells firewood. 

The nice thing about their site is the additional tables made it easy for us to socially distance.  When I camp at local state parks and we only have one table it can be tricky to keep coolers, food, and people separated. We also were able to have kids do craft at one of the tables while we were preparing meals. This camp site is listed as a 10 person camp site. There is no water on site so make sure you bring all the water that you will need. 

We also were able to hike the easy trails around the camp site. No need to put the kids in the car unless we wanted to.  Which we still did:) 

We drove into town and discovered a covered bridge that I had missed on an earlier camping trip. (Germantown).  This town also has the Florentine which is one of the oldest inns in Ohio. It was closed while we were in town but it is well worth a stop. The town also has a community pool as well that you can buy a day pool pass. 

The campsite does have two spots that would be neat for a wedding. You can reserve an amphitheater. 

The campsites during peak season are $20 during week days and $28 for weekends. I still find this to be one of the best values for camping in Ohio. Especially, when you consider the level of privacy that you have on these sites.  The vault toilets are one of the best as they are always clean. We have hand sanitizer and toilet paper. We didn't have to share our vault toilet with any other family units. 

All of these small touches really made COVID-19 camping with kids much easier. We look forward to being back at this camp site in the fall. 

Here is the website to make a reservation https://www.metroparks.org/rentals-permits/reserve-a-campsite/?id=786190&api=facilities&type=camp

After not being able to camp a majority of the summer due to having 2 brain surgeries - it was nice to at least get one camping trip in before the kids start back school. It was definitely not an easy task to get a camp site here as a walk-in. We checked on reserve America several times with no luck. So finally when Friday (8/9) morning came I rushed up to buck creek to get a spot. The camp store opened a little after the posted time. I politely asked the attendant if they had any walk-up sites available and at first she said no. I then said you don’t have anything at all? She finally said they had a few non-electric sites (which was totally fine!) I happily paid for the site and we sat up. The park was totally FULL by evening. The attendant at the store wasn’t the friendliest. It was slightly upsetting she tried to hide that they had a few non-electrics available. We also witnessed her telling children/teens they couldn’t come into the camp store without an adult. And, there was a stray, very scrawny looking cat that hung around the camp store that some people were giving food. The attendant came out of the store and yelled at the kids for feeding it - instead of explaining why they shouldn’t. The camp store is very basic it has wood, ice, lighters, and things of that nature. The camp sites can feel a bit cramped (especially when they’re full) they’re about 15ft from one cement pad to the next. The restrooms were okay and by Saturday evening desperately needed cleaned. Also in the main woman’s restroom only one out of three stall doors actually locked. The showers were warm though so that is a positive especially when camping. The camp doesn’t do very many planned activities. They have a movie at dark which our kiddos enjoyed. They have a basketball court which is usually full of teens. The playground is nice and within walking distance from all the campsites. However our 6 year old was a bit disappointed that the tetherball didn’t have a ball. Buck Creek has a lot of great trails to hike. It is very common to see wildlife especially deer on a hike here. The kids love it and it’s always fun to look for big foot on hikes for them.