Best Cabin Camping near Shelby, OH

This state park spans over 2,000 acres and is just north of the cute Ohio town of Delaware. We stayed here for two nights while visiting friends in the area but wished we would have stayed to enjoy all that the park had to offer. The campground was really nice and quiet when we stayed there which was during the week and in the spring and not very crowded. We can imagine that this park is pretty full in the summer with all their amenities and close proximity to major Ohio cities. 

The 'pod' layout of the campground made for large campsites (some sites are over 90 feet in length and well suited for large RV’s) with good separation between sites. There are 212 sites that have 50 amp electric. The campground also has yurts for rent (May through October) that are furnished with beds, table and chairs, a cooler, ceiling fan, outdoor charcoal grill and a picnic table with canopy. This is a great option for those wanting to stay in something more than a tent but don’t have an RV.

There is no sewer or water at individual sites but there is a dump station and water fill station near the park entrance. Roads and campsites are paved with grassy patios that feature picnic tables and fire pits. The park does not provide wifi but our Verizon hotspot and 4G phone worked well. There are centrally located bath/shower houses with coin-operated laundry facilities.  

The park is open year-round and great for outdoor activities; especially, those that are water-related. There are numerous boat launches, fully equipped marina, and swimming area. We launched our kayaks and had a great time paddling around the lake.  Be aware that there is no horsepower limits for boats on the lake and weekends are very popular for anglers in high-powered bass boats. The northern portion of the lake is a “no wake zone” which makes for a more pleasant paddling environment.  If you don’t have a boat, boat rentals are available at the marina. 

For those wanting to hike there are plenty of hiking/biking trails for you to get out and explore the park.  Many of the trails link together so you can decide how long you want to hike. The Lakeview Trail was perfect for us as our dog loved jumping in the water during our hike. Other amenities in the park include a nature center, 18-hole disk golf, hunting, archery, volleyball, horse shoe pits, picnic areas, and an 800-foot designated swimming area.  At the camp store/office you can rent bikes as well as other sporting equipment.

If you decide to venture out of the park you are only about 40 miles from downtown Columbus and less than 20 miles to the world-renowned Columbus Zoo (which is definitely worth a visit). The nearby town of Delaware is really nice with downtown shopping, restaurants, a historic theater and brewery (Stass Brewing Company has great Belgian-style beer with a fun atmosphere).  

Would definitely camp here again if we were in the area.

If you're looking for a quiet place to hang your pole for a weekend, this near-city escape is for you! Less than an hour from downtown Cleveland, and minutes from historic downtowns Wellington and Oberlin, Ohio, is a quiet, wooded retreat with all the amenities.

Fishing, canoeing, and kayaking (rentals and bait available too!) are offered on Findley Lake, as well as a small, uncrowded public beach. Have your own small, non-motorized craft? There is a designated kayak launch at the boat launch area. For day campers, there are numerous sites around this large state park for picnicking and events, bonfire pits and fishing inlets....and bring your frisbees because there is also an extensive frisbee golf course.

The campground consists of several "arms", roads that branch out from the main road, with a good deal of wooded area between for rear site privacy between them. Beware, the sites are close to these roads and quite shallow, but because each road dead ends in a cul de sac, traffic is very light, even when the campground is full, as when we visited. Tall, dense trees surround, deadening sound, which makes the campsites very quiet, and the curve of each "arm" also suggests a more intimate space than the actual site sq footage does. There is a tent only side, with no hookups or electric, where sites are slightly larger and deeper, tucked between treed areas, and the other half of the campground is with hookups, and nearer to the lake, although it is not visible, but accessible by short path. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, pretty standard. There are openings into the wood behind the "arms" for kids to explore, but beware of poison oak, which is prevalent and can be found along the edge of where the campsites all meet the woods...it didn't creep into the woods much, but watch out anyway if you have an allergy. Our group was able to avoid it.

There is a clearing at the entrance to the campground with a large playground, camp store with pizza and ice, occasional vegetable dealers, farmers market style, set up with carts around outside there as well. And if you forgot anything, have no fear, town is only minutes away. Cabin rental is also available in this area. Pets are welcome leashed.

Overall, it's a spot worth spending some time at. Convenient family fun for all.

As a Dyrt Ranger, I have the opportunity to try out new and fun camp gear and in this case COFFEE! Which could not have been more well received for these quiet mornings by the lakeside. Admittedly, at first I had my reservations. I enjoy a good coffee and am a great lover of my french press. But also admittedly, I hate cleaning it out campside. Nature's Coffee Kettle allows me to forgo the part I hate and keep the pour over we all love. With a wide selection from Columbian, to darker or flavored roasts, and even hot cocoa and teas for those toasty nights, Nature's Coffee Kettle impressed me. It comes in it's own reusable kettle bag, although I felt that, when changing out the coffee packs (refill packs are sold) after the initial use, the coffee was not as potent as the first use...probably because once the water is poured through, the bag doesn't stick together as well, holding the coffee to steep as long. (Refer to video review) Regardless, I enjoyed the ease of use, quality of the coffee and pourability. I was able to make a kettle in the morning, screw the spout lid back on and take it with me to the lake later for refills. Later when we went across country for a trip, I was able to board the plane with it in my carry on, flat, hardly taking up any room, and so convenient for those hiking or packing trips. It was fantastic, and easy as pie...which goes great with coffee, coincidentally...

Great campground with lots to do! RV sites are a little small and close together, but comes with a picnic table and fire pit. There are back in and pull through RV spots - along with nice shady spots for rent camping. Cabins are also available. Great spot to camp if interested in tubing/canoeing/kayaking down Mohican river. When you arrive everyone in the vehicle checks in, and then someone on a golf cart takes you to your spot. Campground has an indoor pool and hot tub. Also has pond with paddle boards and paddle boats that need to be reserved at additional cost. Quite a few playgrounds available and mountain bike trails. Small creek runs along the campground. All guests are given a wrist band that gives you a discount at the Trails End restaurant and at Mohican Adventures across the street.

General: 214-site campground, all with electric hookups. Campsites are in four loops.

Site Quality: All sites are paved and appeared to be level. A fire ring, picnic table, and electric hookup complete each site. Generous foliage provides separation between most sites. 

Bath/Shower: Fully contained all-gender units in the third loop. Each one has a bench and a baby changing station. Soap and air dryers. A more traditional bath/shower house was in the fourth loop (don’t know about the first two loops). 

Activities/Amenities: Several hiking trails (but it was raining when we were there so didn’t explore), a small putt-putt course (free use of putters and balls), disc golf, shuffleboard, basketball, tennis, and a small camper store. Each loop has a playground and other recreational options (i.e. volleyball net). The marina offers water toy rentals. 

My five-star rating is based on the possibility of what our stay might have been if the weather had cooperated! Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy during our stay in June. We will definitely be back again to take advantage of the marina rentals.

We stayed on a full hook up site (turned off for the season) that had a nice concrete level pad. There was also a nice side pad that kept our chairs clean. A little further back in the campground to be close to the shower house that was open. Then found out that comfort station next to us was open - nice! Also close the water which was full and rushing all weekend.

The camp store was open on the weekend and the staff was nice to chat with. They had wood, but it was slab cut which doesn’t burn very well. We decided against it. Lots of snacks and other items still available.

Some sites were really close to the water, almost too close as the water flooded a few spots. The campground is nice to walk if you like to get in a little workout. They also have small camper cabins and them much bigger cabins which a few are pet friendly.

We went on a hike by the covered bridge to one of the waterfalls. Lots of trials to choose from.

We stayed in site 174 on the farthest loop from the entrance. This site provided full shade all day long. The pad was pretty even so not a lot of leveling to do for our a-frame camper. The pad was easy to back in to and we had plenty of room to pull our truck forward. The site has 30 amp and 50 amp and our 30 amp was not working. We notified the park staff and they responded quickly to come out and fix it. The site had a great fire ring and lots of space for chairs, an ez-up, pop-up bathroom tent off to the side and it probably could have held 1-2 tents. There were trees close enough to set up 1-2 hammocks as well. The park staff came out it seemed to be every 3 hours to spray the water fountain in the middle of the turn around. There is a showerhouse in the middle of the loop, not a far walk or you could drive as there were a few parking spots nearby. The showerhouse had plenty of flush toilets and sinks. There were three showers that had doors, but it was just one space and no bench inside your stall. There were plenty of hooks, but you could get your items wet if you weren't careful. There is a bench outside of your stall and there is a curtain that separates you from the toilets and sinks. Not the greatest changing area if you are shy. You could tell it was the weekend as the bathrooms were a little messy, but I've seen way worse. There are also two dumpsters outside the showerhouse for trash. Watch out for the masked bandits (raccoons). They were not shy at all and we had to chase them off from our campsite. Do not leave out any food or trash, they will get into it. There are lots of trails (we found a lot of mushrooms!), a beach, playgrounds and a frisbee golf course. The mosquitoes were really bad this weekend, but we had been there last year and didn't have any issues.

This was our first camping trip after purchasing a new to us fifth wheel camper. We chose the Cardinal Camping Center because it was only 15 miles from our home. We arrived on Thursday afternoon registered and set up at our site. Staff was very friendly and helpful, we shared some fresh veggies from our garden as we had way too much for just us and asked the welcome center to tell people to help themselves to what ever they wanted. we then toured the campgroundand found the stocked fishing lake (catch and release) the indoor swimming pool. The camp also has some very nice cabins, no restrooms in the cabin but they are very close to the public restrooms and shower house. We then went over to the shooting center and tried our luck with some silliolet and metal targets on the pistol range. Thy also have trap and skeet available. 

Our site had ful hook-ups 50 amp service with sewer and water picnic table and fire ring for $44 a night. All of the people next to us were very nice and everyone respected each other's sites.

I would go back to this campground again, we even extended our stay an extra day because we had such a good time.

As part of a nearly 200-mile bikepacking ride, this was our last stop! We spent 2 nights in their "Class B" area down in the Mohican River Valley and loved it.

The oddly named “Class A” camping area offers everything from full-hook up camping slots for campers large and small, as well as just electric sites and 10 “walk-in” primitive sites, and cabins -- all of which are reservable. This area has all the bells and whistles of a modern campground with an environmental learning center, a nice outdoor pool, clean showers and bathrooms, an extensive playground and hiking and mountain biking trails right out the front door.

The “Class B” area offers 25 primitive sites on a first-come, first-served basis. It is almost 6 miles by road from the “A” services, but only a 2-mile flatish hike along the river trail. At these sites, there are only pit toilets and a water pump. Each site has a picnic table and a small fire ring. There is also a large group camping area just a few miles away from the primitive “Class B” area.

Tubing and canoeing are available within the park, but there are also several canoe outfitters in the area which provide rental / pick up services. The sheer number of these businesses makes me think that summer time can be crowded!!

Beautiful shaded trails meander all throughout the park and they boast some of the most challenging mountain biking in the mid-west, so read your trail maps. Hiking, equestrian and winter snowmobile trails also offer some great opportunities to get out and stretch your legs throughout the year. There is also a safe and convenient, bike lane / bike path into nearby Loudonville, which has a small grocery story and the usual fast-food restaurants.

Note: The only reason why this park didn't get a 5 star was due to their customer service. It was absolutely lousy, confusing, and the young folks working behind the counter acted as if they didn't want to be there and/or hadn't been trained. We almost left, but since we had cycled 42 miles to get there that day, we chose to stay and enjoyed our time in their Class B sites.