Best RV Parks & Resorts near Lima, OH

We have been camping at Indian lake since I was a chIld, now we our kids there. Roomy sites, plenty of shade. Not a lot of privacy. There is a sand beach for swimming (even a separate doggy beach!) or a new in-ground pool. Primitive to full hook-up sites available as well as “boat-camping” sites.

Only 30 minutes down the river from Independence Dam State Park, this park was markedly different. Because there was a two-night minimum reservation on weekends and we were just passing through, we decided to try and roll the dice and see if we could slide into a spot for just a night without a reservation. Alas, the only spots still available were walk-in tent sites which would not work for us. This park was laid out more like an RV park with the sites very close together and no privacy between them (Site 16 looked to be the best one for privacy). Except for the walk-in tent sites, electric and/or electric/water hookups were available. As we pulled in, the host immediately greeted us and was very friendly (she genuinely wanted to find us a spot). There is a marina/store close-by and the quaint town of Grand Rapids (which you could walk to if you wanted) had several shops and restaurants. We would have stayed here for the night if a site had been available, so make sure you make reservations if you are coming on a weekend (and can stay for two nights).

Family oriented, new pool, splash pad for kids, great playground area. Full hookups and very well kept clean campground.

Great park. Staff friendly and helpful bathrooms close to every site. Would be more convenient if all sites had full hookups

Van Buren State Park is very easy to access from I-75. It has tons of trails and a pond. There are a few places to car camp or RV camp nearby. I love getting out of town and visiting Van Buren State Park, and I have lots of good memories. It gets 4 stars because I now live in Montana and Montana camping outshines Ohio, but I can't bash on Van Buren State Park at all.

This is a timeshare campground. We agreed to come, so we could get full hookups. We weren’t able to get them anywhere else. So this place called and we agreed to come. So far the staff has been fabulous and very accommodating. We haven’t attended “the meeting “ yet. That’s not until tomorrow. The people who called us promised us several things, we got here and they weren’t available. We had to change sites 3 times. 1 time after we had everything unhooked, and set up. We have been here 2 days and this is the first time we could have a night time camp fire. The wind has been so bad. We did get a list today, of the activities for tomorrow. Some look pretty interesting. It seems like there is something for everyone.

We stayed here for free for 10 days as a part of a promotion that came with the purchase of our rig. Not sure about normal pricing though, as this campground is owned by Venture Out Resorts and they are a timeshare company (we had to sit for a hour long "pitch" to get our free days). They have 50amp, full hookup, pull through sites (and we saw 40+ ft rigs there) to tent camping to cabin rentals. The campground was clean (shower houses always looked great) and grounds were maintained. Amenities include an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna (close at 10p), but we did not partake because it was so overridden by children, chlorine, and no open windows - didn't seem worth any effort whatsoever in the July heat. The amenities we did checkout (close nightly at 8p) included their new 18 hole mini golf course, small arcade (4 games and pinball was broken 😢), loaner bikes, and water toys (we liked the paddle bikes). The company recently bought the property, so you can see what they inherited vs what it will probably eventually be like based off their sister properties (they recently added the putt putt and a big jungle gym) so it could evolve more as time passes. Regardless, in its current state as active 30 somethings, we were pretty bored. No hiking, significant highway noise, yes a couple big ponds, but a truck stop and truck storage is behind both - so no views. Most of the campers we saw were elderly or had young kids. I'd say if you fall into a category where you want to sit beside your rig all day or want your kids entertained (playgrounds, kids programming - it was luau week so they had a Moana movie night and other kid activities), go on and book a longer stay. If you're only looking for a spot to stay overnight by the highway, do it! It is simple to pull in and have full hookups to take advantage of but a 10 day stay is too long if you're paying. Other things to know: Walmart, Aldi, Lowes, and several automotive chain stores are at max 5 min away, which made grabbing some needed supplies super easy. That said truck stop above was very convenient to get into to fuel up our rig too. Fun fact: Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum is also a max 5 min drive away if you want to get your inner astronaut fix.

We stayed during the week for one night. Campground was clean and quiet, had electric hookups at most sites. Host was very friendly. They also have a camp area for horses. Only criticism is you have to drive to another area of the park for an RV dump.

The pool looked to be the spot for the kids of all ages on this hot 4th of July. A well manicured campground, and while looking a bit narrow, it seemed some pull thrus for big rigs were adequate, with concrete pads and picnic tables. But all the driveways and pull thrus were gravel. Lots of seasonal trailers, and some large ones! No junk, and golf carts are restricted to electric.

Difficult to get potable water. Only electric on the sites. Some sites don't have electric hookup. Dump station is in a completely different section of the state park. We arrived around 8 pm and check-in station was already closed. Luckily they have a sign with name and site number. Not much to do other than trails.

Very welcoming campground with many seasonal RVs. Everyone was friendly throughout the stay. Multiple fishing spots for young and old. Pool was relaxing with laid back feel. Would return.

Traveling with a dog is not always easy, but I throughly enjoyed my stay. Will be back again, happy it wasn’t full of people. Wifi strong, Verizon service great, premium electric (I have 30amp and there was a hookup), no water as it’s winter meaning no bathrooms (there is a porterhouse). Clean sites and friendly folks.

Spent 3 nights in the wide open A Loop. Checked in on a Sunday and left on Wednesday. Pretty much had the loop to ourselves. Didn’t bother to hookup the electric because the solar was keeping up with our needs. Ran to Jackson Center to checkout the Airstream Factory. Great Verizon signal allowed us to stream.

45 -55 nightly for rv 525-625 monthly 2000 plus seasonal

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 is our second time camping here and both times were for a group camping event. For this type of event it’s a great park. We had a whole sector the event with water and electric sites.

If we were going to camp here on our own I am not sure I would like it since it’s mostly set up for seasonal campers. So there are no hiking trail and there is also a lot of golf cart traffic.

They do offer a swimming pool , pond with inflatable slides , dog park , bound pad and miniature golf.

PROS 

Able to reserve 144 days prior to arriving 

Very nice campground but the design leaves a lot to be desired 

Friendly camp hosts who were busy picking up trash in common areas and cleaning sites Moveable picnic table 

Metal fire ring with cooking grate 

Site D45 level asphalt parking pad surrounded by grass 

Great view of lake from D loop; some had water access at rear of site 

Quiet except for campground party animals who kept it going into the wee hours of the morning 

Coin-operated laundromats in non FHU loops $1.50 wash and $1 dry 

Free WIFI available and able to connect at campsite 

Dump Stations at Park exit have complimentary hoses 

Camp store sells hard dipped ice cream 

14 miles from the Airstream Service Center in Jackson Center 

CONS 

No senior discount

$6.50 reservation fee for self made on-line reservation 

Basically the FHU loops are out in a field…no privacy from neighbors and no shade what so ever 

Grass around sites desperately needed mowed, if you could get thru the large mud puddles 

FHU loop D has narrow roads and require driving on grass to back in trailer and some campers in other sites had to move their vehicles 

Short length of campsite required creative parking of tow vehicle 

Damn Canadian Geese poop every...what a mess! 

Site number on electric utility box 

FHU sewer connection at the back of the campsite so bring the looooong stinky slinky FHU loop D had tiny toilet building, but no showers; showers were in non-FHU loops 

No entry gate personnel on a Friday afternoon to accomplish check-in. Went to park office next morning and was informed no check in required prior to Memorial Day. Never saw a Park ranger driving thru campground