Best Glamping near Grand Rapids, OH

We've camped at Maumee Bay State Park twice and enjoyed it both times.  The campground is part of a larger resort complex that includes a hotel, marina, a nice beach on Lake Erie, a second beach on an inland lake, golf course, mowed hiking trails and - our favorite - about 5 miles of beautiful, paved bike paths.  It's all very clean and well maintained.  The whole place has a welcoming, friendly vibe.

We camped on site 47, electric only.  Very level and spacious paved spot with its own shade tree.  Nearby shower house accessible by well-lit paved path.  Our only problem was a bit of water puddling near the camper/fire pit but it went away after the first night.  

The campground is spread out so everyone brings bicycles and also saw a few golf carts.  Very nice for family bicycling!  Saw lots of wildlife on our rides.

The surrounding area is kind of industrial.  We toured it the first year we went (very interesting!) but stayed close to camp this year.

Maumee Bay State Park. Ohio. Let me state: Awesome park Full hook ups, 50,30,20. Sewer. Water. Handicap sites too!!! Dump station, with rinse down hose if needed. Large sites, private by trees. Gives each on your own yard. All Back of sites are fields. No one behind.
Quiet. Beautiful.
Lodge on site, cabins too Store, pool at lodge, game room at lodge. Bathrooms, showers houses. Clean and kept up. Each area has one.
Roads are set up with a circle at the end. Drive down them loop around then drive out. Angled driveways, easy to get trailer in. Or back in A and C class easy in and out too. Lakes, beach, canoe, kayak, bikes, hiking, boardwalk, wild life preserve, birders Haven, a scenic hill to climb.
More pictures to come.
They also have Hosts that stay here, and get free camping for helping parks out. Quiet times are observed. Perfection!!!! Wish all campgrounds had this layout.

This park is huge. There is so much to do here, we didn’t leave the park at all! Just a short walk or bike ride to Lake Erie via a paved path. I highly recommend taking a bike, as there are so many trails and paths to ride throughout the park. The marshy swamp area was neat to see, there were several frog species, snakes, and we even saw a muskrat. The park is very educational, they have a nature center where you can learn about the local flora and fauna. There was a doe and her fawn that we saw almost daily in the park, as well as other deer. A resort is adjacent to the park that has many amenities if you prefer not to camp. There are several ponds throughout the park and lots of green space.
While we were there we had the pleasure of viewing the nested piping plovers that haven’t nested in Ohio for 83 years. 4 chicks remained on the beach during our stay, prepping for the flight south. Several volunteer ornithologist kept a watchful eye on the chicks for safety and didn’t mind educating us on the little creatures. The campsites are nicely sized and vary in privacy. All equipped with a picnic table and fire pit. Some sites had a concrete pad under the table but there didn’t appear to be many, just a handful of what appeared to be newer sites. The park held social events, such as an ice cream social and coffee and pastries several mornings. The camp store was impressive, stocking a variety of perishables and even refrigerated items such as lunch meat, cheese, etc. Very impressive park, we will be back and extend our stay.

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.)

General: Large state park with 256 campsites, all with electric (20-30-50 amp) hookups. Sites 1-11 and 21-29 have full hookups (water, sewer, electric). Also, there are a lodge and cabins. The park is very well maintained. This park is close to Toledo and within spitting distance of several refineries although you’d never know it! 

Site Quality: All sites are very generous in size and appear to be spaced with a decent amount of space apart with foliage providing varying levels of privacy. Some have beautiful trees that in peak fall color would be stunning. All camper pads are paved and long enough to accommodate large RVs. Some have concrete pads for picnic tables, although the sites in our loop did not. A wooden picnic table and fire ring complete each site. 

Restroom/Shower house: Very clean, however, bathhouses are shared between two loops. Each bathhouse only has two shower stalls, which may necessitate a wait when the campground is full. A hook and a small bench but nowhere to put soap/shampoo in the shower. Good warm water. 

Activities/Amenities: So much to do! Several lakes are good for fishing or boating. Many trails, some grassy and some paved are good for walking, running, and biking. A beautiful and extensive boardwalk constructed by the Ohio Civilian Conservation Corps is available only for foot traffic. Bike rentals are available. A small camp store. Laundry facilities. Donuts and muffins on the weekends. Several playgrounds. Bird houses and feeders are located throughout the park and especially in the spring, you can hear many varieties of birds chirping (however, you will also experience the by-products of so many birds!). Excellent cell service (Verizon). There is also a dump station.

There was a warning that due to the proximity to an urban area campers, bikes, etc. should be locked up but I didn't feel that vibe.

We enjoyed two stays at this campground, once in September and once in May. Even though this large campground was full when we were there on a weekend in September, we did not feel overcrowded. There were many empty campsites when we were there during the week in May (the week before Memorial Day); we very much enjoyed our stay both times!

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).