Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Blue Rock, OH

Blue Rock State Park is outside Zanesville, Oh off I70. Rt 60 takes you South and then you have a choice of routes in. Good Ohio farmland scenery.

Out of the way, small camping area with basic sites. A cool feature is a few of the sites have pavilion type covered patios that you can pitch your tent in to help stay dry during inclimate weather.

Otherwise the sites are close together. Though there are a few sites that are more off to themselves, they are still wide open with sparse tree cover.

The restroom is basic, the showerhouse is located at the reservoir beach as well as the camp store and boat rental.The staff was very knowledgeable about the area and conversational.

Several trails are in the area, the Horse Camp is up the road. In addition to this area there is the Blue Rock State Forest that offers several out door activities, check out their map and site online.

Only stayed for a night but it was very quiet and only a handful of other campers. All the sites seemed relatively level. Some of the electric hookups had damage but being able to choose your spot upon arrival helped. We arrived in pouring rain and had no issues with our campsite when we could see it in the morning lol.

Bathrooms and showers were relatively clean and accommodating.

Seemed a lot like a hidden gem and I definitely recommend. Especially if you have a dog. Across the street, the park portion of this campground has a dog park, playground, historical site and pond for fishing

FYI . Most of the sites seemed small so it might be best for smaller setups. Also I did not see any pull through sites.

Dog park!! and right on the lake!! Found this by mistake on our way out, and the dogs loved it. Access to lake, a beach, well fenced. I would give Salt Fork SP extra stars for this one, especially if there were campsites co-located.

Camp ground is easily accessible being just 6 miles from I70, leaving the convenience of Cambridge and city amenities close by while allowing for great trails and solitude. Stayed in campground A, and the front end has little shade, but being here in autumn was perfect for lots of sunshine on site. Sites with trees for tree tents is minimal. Drinking fountains are dispersed fairly frequently throughout campground, but RV hookups with water were limited during my stay. Shower houses and comfort houses all have flushers and sinks.

TICK WARNING!!!! After a morning hike down wooded Trail, we spent A LONG TIME pulling ticks from dogs...even though the temps were in the 30's overnight and everyone was treated with flea & tick protection.

Saltfork is located about 45 minutes from my house, and makes for the perfect overnight trip. 

There are tons of things to do, and lots of space in which to do them. My favorites includes hiking trails, and the lakeside dog park. 

I stay in the primitive camping, it allows for more privacy and quiet. Although it also means you are relegated to the pit toilets. I personally don't mind them, but I know some campers will make the drive to the nicer shower house in the RV heavy side of the park. 

Each site has a picnic table and fire ring, the fire rings in the primitive section need some work, as the grates are very old and small.

Nice lodge with pool. Pet hedgehog worked the front counter. Bigfoot stuff everywhere. Okay trails.

This walk in camp ground was located just minutes from Old Man’s Cave. It’s a family friendly and pet friendly camp ground. Our stay was quiet and relaxing.

Hocking Hills is a wonderful destination to go for camping and a weekend of hiking. There are trails all over the park. Can be a bit busy during the warmer months. The park is pet friendly and has a nice nature center before you hike down to Old Man’s Cave.

First come first served camping with water and pit toilets, large sites, area mostly wooded. Archery range and lots of fishing spots. Great for families with pets too! Had a great time and looking forward to our next visit this weekend! I’d give it more stars if it had a shower house or swim area! Bring your solar shower!

Dee and Pat are owners living on the grounds. Very attetive to camper needs. Just upgraded wifi. Much improved. Quietest safest campground I have encountered. Stayed all summer awaiting shipments held up by covid issues, May 1 to Sept 1 of 2021. On weekends a bar across the river floats live music in offering entertainment for free yet quiet enough to sleep thru. Up front drive thru spots abound. They love pets and keep the grounds immaculate. Small salt water pool, game roomband playground keep kids busy. A little piece of paradise.

This is part of the Wayne National Forest and a section of the Buckeye Trail. It is a great area for backpacking as camping is free and allowed anywhere along the trail, see the web site for limitations. "Small, open fires are permitted except during extremely high fire danger. Fire rings should be used when available. Make sure all campfires are extinguished before vacating the campsite."~Wayne National web site. Water can be difficult, there are streams but you should pack in any that you need. I took my daughters on a backpacking trip here in August 2016. It is a great area, but there were lots of dead trees/widowmakers, so be careful where you pitch your tent. Pets are allowed but must be on a 6 foot leash. Many other hiking, camping and other outdoor activities are close by.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/wayne/recarea/?recid=6228

As with any trip, do your research, read your reviews, peruse Google Satellite maps and talk to locals when you can.

Mountwood County Park http://www.mountwoodpark.org/about.html is located about 15 minutes east of Parkersburg on Rt 50. Heading east on Rt 50 from Parkersburg, WV you will arrive at Mountwood County Park on the right...but the campground portion is a mile further east on the left side of the road. Both are marked by road signage...but most would assume they are all in one location.

If you bring your quads, dirt bikes or mountain bikes with you when you camp, then Mountwood County Park is for you. Right off the back of Mountwood are plenty of ATV trails to keep you busy during your stay. If bombing mountain bike trails is your thing, then across the highway from the campground is your dream. If relaxing in a serene mountain or river valley campground atmosphere is what you desire...keep driving east on Rt 50 another 20 minutes to North Bend State Park.

The primitive tent sites ($20 nightly) are less than desirable and more of an afterthought...and I'm being gracious. There is patchy tall grass, dirt and rocks with no leveled areas. And you have to wander a distance to the restroom/showerhouse when needed. You can rent the tiny cabins ($40 nightly) up on the top of the hill if you desire. They were rented and filled during my visit, surrounded with trailers filled with quads (not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting). One of the main ATV offroad trail entrances is a hundred yards or so past the primitive tent sites so anticipate traffic and some noise. There were a few electric/water sites available for RV/Campers but the majority of them were filled.

It does appear that that there are several "long term campers" at numerous sites, as wooden steps and decks are built and attached to the campers. I would not describe the campground as neat and tidy, but fills a need.

The other portion of the county park lies across Rt 50 about 1/2 mile east. This is where you will find a nice 50 acre lake...shaped like a "T" on its side... for short paddles or fishing (no swimming permitted), a solid collection of varied ability MTB trails and a cool, little local WV Oil history museum. Being a bit of a history buff, I was fascinated by the museum...how the local town was created during the oil boon and then destroyed by fire...of an enormous wilderness mansion that sat where the campground now sits. Interesting stuff.

There is a nice dog park if you brought your pooch. Several picnic areas with picnic shelters, playgrounds, and decent shared hiking trails.

As stated, if your main purpose is to MTB or ATV, then you might be contented with Mountwood County Park Campground. As county parks go, Mountwood County Park, itself, is nice and has a lot to offer. If quiet camping is your objective, I would recommend NorthBend State Park just down the road a piece.

If you are confused by this campsite that makes sense. This was an AEP ReCreation campsite. It has recently been purchased by the State of Ohio. The ReCreation AEP campsites has an outstanding FB (Facebook) page. I would recommend you keep close tabs on that site to figure out what you need to know about this site or others. The new sign does make it easy to find. It is also one of the closest campsites to the Miner's Memorial Park with the Big Muskie bucket. If you don't know what that is do go and check the site out. 

I would also say print maps and also take photos of maps. This one wasn't too bad to find as it is on the current paper map that AEP printed dated January 13, 2020. If you have kids that like horses I would go over to see if anyone is at the Equine area that is close by as well.  So a fun filled day of looking at a giant mining bucket and horses. 

Cell phone coverage is extremely limited out here. Verizon got service in most of the areas.  It wasn't 100%.  If you do need coverage the Mining Memorial is the main spot to go. Other carriers never seemed to have a signal. 

These campsites allow 2 cars per site. Pets are allowed if leashed. As Ohio is taking over the campsites think Ohio State Park rules. You can still camp here for free at the moment.  

https://www.aep.com/recreation/areas/recreationland

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2018/07/first\_phase\_of\_ohios\_new\_jesse.html

https://birding-in-ohio.com/morgan-county/jesse-owens-state-park-and-wildlife-area-maple-grove-campground/

This out of the way, hard to find and get to park was once great. It is still a good place to camp, but there is little in the way of maintenance or upkeep going on other than what the volunteer groups are doing. The trails are generally good, some are great, hiking and mountain biking groups are keeping them in good shape. The geese are out of control, the beach is often filthy with goose crap. Fishing is hit and miss. I doubt you will see a Ranger or State Park employee, that can be a good thing or a bad thing, you decide. LOTS of Geocaching opportunities. Athens has a great deal of places to eat, nightlife, shows and any supplies you may need. The trails link into the city trails so it is possible to hike from town to the camp, but it is complex and quite a haul. Pets are allowed, but not on the swimming beach. The Group campsite it larger and has it's own pit latrine, parking and picnic tables. We have used it for Scout groups. A swingset is across the road in the main campground. There is one electrical outlet, near the entrance of the campground at the bulletin board. There is also a large wooden screen near the entrance where you can use your own projector to watch movies at night. Be advised, the cabins are tiny wood shacks.

There is a nice sized sand ground play set with swings and 2 slides, an air pillow (blob) putt putt, a trail to the lake, a dog run, poop pickup stations, an A/C’d game room and very pleasant staff. 10/10 recommend and pretty reasonably priced