If you're looking for a place to pitch your tent near Hillsboro, look no further. Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Hillsboro, including sites, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Ohio camping adventure.
7 Acres of private land! Completely wooded with beautiful maple and oak trees. 2 miles from pike lake state park. 10 miles from Rocky fork lake state park and paint creek lake state park! 7 miles from city of Bainbridge where there are stores and restaurants. Wonderful hiking at Highland Nature Sanctuary is only 20 minutes away. There is an Amish bakery and store 20 minutes away also!
$25 - $35 / night
$12 / night
$15 - $28 / night
All campsites are primitive, but if you’re interested in dry RV camping (no water or electric hookups), call for help finding a spot.
The Narrows Reserve is a great place for launching your canoe, fishing and “roughing it” at our primitive campsite.
All campsites are primitive, but if you’re interested in dry RV camping (no water or electric hookups), call for help finding a spot.
Driving south on Factory Road in Beavercreek, you’ll run right into the entrance to Narrows Reserve. Once inside, you’ll find access to six hiking paths, a canoe launch, a picnic shelter, and primitive camping space. Narrows Reserve is perfect for family adventures, hiking, canoeing, fishing, or just finding solitude and absorbing all that nature offers.
All campsites are primitive, but if you’re interested in dry RV camping (no water or electric hookups), call for help finding a spot.
$15 / night
$10 - $20 / night
This recreation area is part of Ohio River - Meldahl Pool
Guide
This was the last campground before returning home from a month long camping road trip across the country and back. Picturesque camp directly on the Ohio River. Very level. Small campground with about 40 sites. Basically all sites are for RVs and equipped with electrical and water and most with sewer. We were tent camping and set up and a very soft & thick grassy space on one of the empty sites. The owners plan to install dedicated tent sites along the edge of the woods. There is a camp store with most needed items. Ice and firewood sold. Very spacious and individual toilet and shower & sink rooms. Good showers with plenty of hot water. Playground for children. Volleyball for anyone. Dumpster for trash. Great people. Easy to make reservations.
Legend
I visited mid/early July and the drive in was incredibly beautiful. It’s a little bit remote and my phone didn’t really have service, but that’s my favorite kind of camping. It was predictably hot and muggy until a rainstorm rolled through. The host and staff were very friendly. There’s no drinking water in the campground. Because of COVID-19 the only park of the park that was open was the campground but usually there’s a small store where I imagine you could buy water. The RV sites are on top of a hill where the facilities and playground are. The tent sites are down a steep hill towards the lake. If you are tent camping and can snag a site by the water, it may cost a little more but is worth it! The sunrise on the lake is beautiful. Because of the steep slope down to the water, many of the tent sites aren’t all that flat. Heads up, if you are driving out in the early morning keep and eye out for the dozens of deer and woodland creatures along the roads. Also, bring bug spray.
Guide
This Campground is Fantastic. My Wife and I camped here for the first time last September 2019, we Camped in a tent and it was just Beautiful there. We will be going back this year but this time we will be going in a Camper fhat we just bought. We can't wait to go back.
Thank you A.J. Jolly Campground.
TravelerPark is nice, tent sites along the lake are beautiful and very peaceful. Unfortunately most tent sites are not very level, it can be a bit tough with larger tents. The park is very clean and well maintained and I will definitely be staying here again.
Traveler
Great place to visit has three parks in one John Bryant and Glen Helen nature preserve and Clifton Gorge are some of the best hiking trails in south west Ohio. Camp sites are great for tent camping with a few RV spots. You can visit the near by historical town of Yellow Springs.
Traveler
This KOA sets the bar for the Ohio locations we have visited. The bathrooms are amazing and private. The tent site we had was huge and there were actually trees for our suspended tent and hammocks. The dog park wasn’t huge, but larger than most. The campground was completely full but still quiet and peaceful. The staff are amazing.
Scout
While the tent spots did not have a lot of shade, the sites are close to the lake and make for some wonderful sunsets. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and all in all it was a great stay. We rented bikes from the camp store and swam at the beach which was conveniently close to the tent sites. Lots of fun and 10/10 would return again. I'm excited to come back and see how the young trees they have growing in the tent sites take off.
Guide
There's a great backpacking trail that's challenging and an easy middle meeting place for friends/family from Columbus and Cincinnati that can meet in Dayton Metroparks/Five Rivers - Germantown and take on the TVT challenge, beautiful hike through hilly terrain, and great spots of overlooks. Bring your pack and hiking poles and take advantage of trekking into the forest. Vault toliet, away from busy/crowded campsites and surrounded by nature. Access to a river for water source (bring your filter system) camp in a tent or hammock.
Guide
Tent camping sites were set back, in the woods, down a private path (about 75’) and totally secluded.
The park had a clean, nice outdoor movie theater, mini golf, and a lake with rentables.
Traveler
Went with a buddy for a one night stay. Beautiful spot for tent camping right next to the Little Miami River. Picnic tables and fire pit are also nice amenities. I just wish there were a trash can. Still had a great time, though.
ScoutThe boating area is nice and has your typical “outdoor “ facilities you would find at a rest area. The scenery of the water and trees are amazing. The campground is good for tent camping but iffy for others. I would definitely bring extra leveling blocks.
ScoutVery friendly staff. We checked in early evening for an over night on our x country trip after visiting Serpent Mound NatIonal monument. Good Tent site with electric. Good bathhouse and quiet on Tuesday.
TravelerGreat tent sites on mowed lawn under old growth trees. Our night’s rest was interrupted multiple times with airport noise—airplanes and helicopters. Note that at this time (COVID) you cannot just pull in and occupy a site. You must call in for a reservation.
GuideCampgrounds we’re designed for pop up campers limited sites for RVs an Travel Trailers electric was dependable water at most sites plenty of tent sites. They have some equestrian sites and one or two trails For what it is a the location it’s not a bad place. We have camped there. Many many times. Really a good campground for new campers. Close to what ever you may have forgotten or need
Guide
This campsite is HUGE. Has over 400 campsites and the first 17 have places you can keep your horses! Something I have never seen before. Some sites are not okay for tent camping and when we got there we had to go back to the office to see if we could change our site. Lucky for us you get one free site switch a stay, so that was nice. The beach is big but unfortunately no dogs allowed. It would be nice for them to include a section where dogs were allowed so we could enjoy. We spent our day on the trails instead. A lot of RV camping but overall it was a great trip!
Scout
We have tent camped here three times. Small but nice campground. Nice lake close to the campground just down an access road. I would give it a higher rating but there are no showers, concrete floored, hole in the ground 'outhouses' (one men's, one woman's) by the playground and port-a-johns at the other end of the campground. The last time we were there in September 2016, the port-a-johns were absolutely full and nasty despite daily phone calls by the camp caretakers that they needed serviced. They were finally serviced just before the weekend campers came in and we were leaving. Small adequate camp store. Movie for the kids at the outdoor theater.
Legend
Great camping experience! Waited too late to book in hocking hills state park but found a site here instead. We are tent campers and stayed in site 106 on"Northridge". Loved that the non-electric tent sites were so isolated from the RV campers. Site 107 gets muddy with a lot of rain. Sites 108-112 have a pretty significant slope. Each site in the loop has a picnic table and fire ring. There's a dumpster, pit toilets, and water. It was a short drive to the rest of the campers, a great hot shower, fantastic general store, miniature golf, and the beach to swim or lake to kayak. Took us at least 30 minutes to drive to the common hocking hills hikes but well worth it. We would return.
GuideHad a great time here. My only complaint is that the sites are very close together and there are few trees for privacy in the actual campsites, Also very little shade for this reason. For the most part the tent sites are grass, with a place to pull in. The site I stayed at was relatively close to the pit toilets and a water spigot, but also close to a bunch of RV sites, so I wouldn't say it was all that quiet. It was easy to access walking trails along a river, and also really close to Yellow Springs, which is a great little town (that I totally did not expect to find, who knew!) Cheap firewood and camp store at the entrance.
Traveler
Winton Woods campground has spacious paved RV spaces with full hook-ups, fire ring, and picnic table. They also have cabin and tent camping. The location is located on the lake with access to put in a kayak or canoe. The bathrooms are clean, with private combined shower/dressing stalls. There is a playground for children, and a camp store that sells firewood and supplies. I love the tall pines on the property. They made me feel like I was out west. The campground is also near paved and unpaved trails in the park that surround more of the lake which allows for walking/running/hiking and bicycling, fishing, small craft boating, with small craft boat rentals available at the marina. The park also allows for horseback riding, and a small water park for children in the summer.
TravelerMy family stayed here because we were visiting the Ark Encounter. I’m not sure if there are closer campgrounds, but we chose to primitive camp here for our visit. We arrived with just enough time to set up up our tent and head back towards Alexandria for dinner and supplies at Walmart. There is not much variety and choices very close. The RV and tent area is very hilly. Our tent ground sloped but it didn’t bother us very much. The campsites are very close to each other but there was only two other tent campers and they were both over 4 sites over from us. The tent area has portable toilets. I chose to drive to the shower house when I needed to use the restroom. The shower house is typical of most campgrounds, a few cobwebs but generally clean with shower and toilet stalls. There are two shower houses for the entire campground. The lake is very pretty, a few camp grounds are right off the shore. The only thing I didn’t like was that there was no water spigot in the main tent camp area.
LegendThis was our first camping trip here and it won’t be out last. We loved this little hidden gem of a park. We were on site 5 and it was level side to side but sloped front to back. The parking pad was nice and it looked like many had been freshly paved.
Some sites are just in the grass and could get muddy since the park is in a valley but they would be perfect for tent camping or a smaller camper.
Lots of hiking trails, a like for swimming and fishing, playground, and fire tower. They also had a mini golf course, outdoor movie screen and a camp store that has a game room and nature center. Most of this part was closed because of winter camping and Covid.
The staff that we saw working were really friendly and recommend some great hiking trails.
TravelerI've stayed here in the past and Cowan Lake does not disappoint. The B site campground is all non-electric tent camping, and far enough away from the larger RV pads that it's a quiet little campsite! Also, these sites are super close to the bathrooms on the beach, which were very clean during our stay. I was incredibly impressed, because the beach gets pretty busy during the day. The beach itself was clean (for a lakeside beach- there are geese, it's Ohio) and the lake was gorgeous! I will say, the only MILD annoyance is that some of the other campers would drive to the parking lot in front of our campsite and park there into the evening hours to fish or head down to the docks. I'm an early riser, so the headlights and car doors slamming were mildly annoying after about 10p. Not enough to make me choose a different campsite, but worth noting. We rented a tandem kayak and explored the lake, and the equipment was all in good condition. The Commisary is pretty limited but they do have a small kitchen and ice cream, as well as the basics like firewood and ice, as well as the boat rentals. Overall, one of my favorite lakeside campgrounds!
TravelerI stayed at Shawnee SP campground in August 2020 (Friday night). This campground is geared towards families with kids, especially with RVs. It has all of the amenities: electric at most sites, water, flush toilets, showeres, laundry. There’s a small lake at the campground with a swimming beach and canoe rentals. They also have a gift shop and miniature golf. North of the campground there is a lodge with cabins and larger fishing lake. The campsites are very close together and the campground was full when I was there. It was surprisingly quiet at night. I prefer a little more privacy and separation from other campers. Looking around the campground I’d say that Site 8 is the best site for car camping or RV camping. There are 2 tent camping sites (111 and 112) that provide separation from other campers but you have to park and carry your gear back to the sites
LegendCowan Lake State Park - A friend and I were able to kayak on the lake the night of a Friday the 13th moon. It was beautiful. Sadly, no pictures as I do not have a water proof camera. The next day we also went out for another paddle under the bright sun. The boat ramp and parking lot is easy to use and has a good layout. They do have some tent sites close to the boat ramp area and you can see the lake from those tent sites.
Our campsite did not have any trees but they have planted a lot of new trees. I assume this due the previous trees having to be cut down due to Emerald Ash borer damage. Our campsite didn't have any shade but others did so you really have to pick wisely.
The trails here are easy and short. I loved the informational boxes and tags that they had on the trees or plants. This is helpful if you have little ones with you or if you are like me and just like to learn about the animals/plants on the trail.
The park also had a lending library and walking stick lending program. I thought these were simple but memorable features for this park.
Our campsite was close to two different bathroom structures. One right behind our site was toilets only. This did mean that sometimes folks would walk on the edge or through the camp site at times. The other bathroom structure was further down the road and it had both toilets and showers. The larger bathroom had an ADA shower in it as well.
The camp store was well stocked and you could rent bikes from the store. These bikes were often all over the campground so be extra careful when driving in the park. They do have the orange flag but as they are low to the ground it is hard to see them at times.
The cabins here have both a fire ring and grill. This isn't the case at all Ohio State parks so it was a nice surprise. They also have a porch that is screened in with a view of the lake. You are not able to walk down to the lake from the cabin but it is a lovely view.
For those who want to "Walk-On" camp please take a look at the photo of the neon yellow paper as how the park approaches this will be different in the future.
**Not all photos or videos uploading so some information may be missing. I will try to upload again later.
LegendThis isn’t a very big campground. And some of the pad lengths are really really short. You should know that on the campground map they have written the pad lenoon them which is great. There are two shower houses which are really nice with flush toilets and showers. The only thing about the showers is there is no bench inside the stall and not really anywhere to hang your items so you will get wet. Shawnee State Park is very hilly. There is a campground store, very small and closed during the off-season. The comfort stations are also closed in the off-season, but they are spread out throughout the campground. Some sites are really best fit for tents only or you can hammock and at the actual tent sites they have nice tent pads for them. There is a playground, putt putt course, small lake that you can kayak or paddleboard in. They’ve got a great little nature center with lots of trails and again it’s hilly so pick your trails wisely, but very very pretty. We were the only people on our side of the campground.
GuideFirst time we’ve been to the park since they added the “premium sites” what a joke. It’s terrible road it ungraded sites are in level the approach to the sites are terrible it was t planes out very well not well maintained. It would make a better off road park that a premium RV site. When we arrived you have to make a u turn because the ranger station you sign in it on the other side of the actual “premium sites “. The road that use to go back to the equestrian sight is no longer used. No idea why. Probably ooor planning an construction again Water hook ups are on the opposite side of electrical on several sites. They do have nice picnic tables. A fire ring. And a charcoal grill the camp grounds use to be well maintained the staff use to be helpful and friendly. Not so much now. The parks department need to do some work before I would recommend this place to anyone with a trailer or Motorhome been to worse but not much. Tent camping is better suited for this park
ScoutVisited twice in May 2021 (sites 54 & 39) bookending our camping roundtrip from Virginia to Kansas and this was one of the worst places we stayed. We lived in Dayton for a number of years and Yellow Springs is one of our favorite places. That being said, we were quite disappointed at the set up.
There is no privacy between campsites, at all. If someone on one end of the campground is having a party, everyone in the campground is going to be up all night (our first night). On our last night there, we (and the poor family with young kids in a tent 15 feet away) were audibly assaulted by a very amorous and inebriated couple in a tent until the wee hours. With no trees between sites, you have no buffer and good god what I would have given for a buffer.
Pit toilets have those heavy doors that help keep things less buggy (positive) but because they are on a raised area in the middle of an almost treeless campground, the clang of them shutting echoes throughout the night.
No showers.
No dedicated tent-pads. We were car-top camping so I can't speak to ground conditions for tent camping but do know our two spots would have put us on some sort of slope. (Unless we set up a tent right next to the road on 54).
Like I said, it wasn't bad. Definitely wasn't great.
Nestled in the heart of Ohio, Hillsboro offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a peaceful retreat. From serene riverside spots to well-equipped campgrounds, there's something for everyone.
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