Best Tent Camping near Middletown, OH

Searching for a tent campsite near Middletown? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Middletown, including sites, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Ohio camping adventure.

Best Tent Sites Near Middletown, Ohio (16)

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Showing results 1-10 of 16 campgrounds

Recent Tent Reviews near Middletown, Ohio

569 Reviews of 16 Middletown Campgrounds


  • John M.
    Camper-submitted photo from A.J. Jolly Park & Campground
    Jun. 1, 2020

    A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

    This Campground is Fantastic.

    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.

  • not S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Dayton KOA Holiday
    Jun. 29, 2024

    Dayton KOA Holiday

    Clean and well managed

    I was impressed that this KOA had so many trees. Best tent sites are 320 and the ones next to the creek. Quietest tent sites are 408, 409 and 410, but those are also furthest from the bathroom. Very clean showerhouses. Great basecamp to explore the Dayton area.

  • Don B.
    Camper-submitted photo from John Bryan State Park Campground
    Sep. 21, 2016

    John Bryan State Park Campground

    John Bryant State Park

    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.

  • Brian B.
    Camper-submitted photo from Lebanon-Cincinnati NE KOA
    Jun. 14, 2020

    Lebanon-Cincinnati NE KOA

    Fantastic Place

    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.

  • K
    Camper-submitted photo from Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks)
    Sep. 28, 2020

    Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks)

    Germantown/Twin Valley Trail backpacking

    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.

  • R
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Oct. 12, 2019

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Excellent staff, well maintained

    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.

  • M
    Camper-submitted photo from Miami Whitewater Forest Campground
    Aug. 21, 2020

    Miami Whitewater Forest Campground

    Nice

    Clean, well-maintained campground with about 30 sites, most of which have electric service. Flush toilets and showers. Site 116 has the best privacy for tent camping. Nice lake with rental boats or bring your own kayak/canoe. Nice hiking trails and paved bike trail

  • L
    Camper-submitted photo from Jacoby Road Canoe Launch
    Jun. 18, 2021

    Jacoby Road Canoe Launch

    Beautiful, private spot

    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.

  • K
    Camper-submitted photo from Buck Creek State Park Campground
    Aug. 17, 2021

    Buck Creek State Park Campground

    Infested Bathrooms

    This campsite would have been perfect if not for the bathrooms littered with bugs, insects, and spiders. Otherwise, the campsite was quiet, the tent sites were nicely spaced out, and the bathrooms were easily accessible.

  • E
    Camper-submitted photo from Hueston Woods State Park Campground
    Jul. 15, 2020

    Hueston Woods State Park Campground

    Loud neighbors

    We tent camped here a few years ago and had the loudest neighbors. The brought a chainsaw to cut up wood, let their little kids roam wild and packed up around 6am. Our spot had no privacy either. We’ve tried to give this campground another chance but can never find spots that look decent.

  • Maddy B.
    Camper-submitted photo from Hueston Woods State Park Campground
    Aug. 13, 2020

    Hueston Woods State Park Campground

    Love!!

    We love Hueston Woods! We have been there twice now and tent camp. A lot of the sites are large and have enough space for everything you need! The beach is a short distance away and love that they also include a dog swimming area. The bathrooms are a little outdated but the park is very well kept.

  • John M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Governor Bebb MetroPark Campground
    Jul. 29, 2018

    Governor Bebb MetroPark Campground

    Roughing it by a creek and a pioneer village

    Basic car tent camping at several spots along a creek wIth picnic tables and fire rings (no hookups, portolet toilets, no showers.) There is a rustic scout cabin/group lodge reservable for scout, etc. groups. The park features a pioneer village with log cabins, including a blacksmith forge, etc. that have been moved to the site.

  • Timothy C.
    Camper-submitted photo from John Bryan State Park Campground
    Oct. 7, 2020

    John Bryan State Park Campground

    Lovely, well maintained park.

    Great 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.

  • Joy M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Buck Creek State Park Campground
    Jul. 27, 2021

    Buck Creek State Park Campground

    Nice, safe campsite

    Stopped here during a road trip with a friend. Very family friendly. Tent sites were nice and flat, felt a little cramped though. Bathrooms were clean. The lake was very nice, clear, and refreshing. Flet good to be close to it! Easy to find the campsites and pretty affordable.

  • A
    Camper-submitted photo from Hueston Woods State Park Campground
    Jul. 6, 2018

    Hueston Woods State Park Campground

    Great for anyone!

    We love camping here! Whether it's tent camping, group camping, RV, cabin, or lodge accommodations they can fill all your needs. Very large park with playgrounds, fishing, swimming, creek access, dog park, archery practice area or walk over to the damn. The bathrooms could use a little better cleaning but all in all it's a great park! We come often and camp at least once a year! Highly recommended.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from A.J. Jolly Park & Campground
    Jul. 25, 2021

    A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

    Aj jolly

    Campgrounds 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

  • Jeremiah G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Natural Springs Resort - RV Park, Campground and Recreation Destination
    Jun. 4, 2022

    Natural Springs Resort - RV Park, Campground and Recreation Destination

    Lots to offer-tight sites

    Full service campground. 30, 50 am full hook ups. Water and electric only hook ups, primitive RV and tent sites. Some sites are shaded, most of them seem to be year round rented. Most sites not shaded and small. Lake with beach, fishing, boating, and scuba diving. Golf cart rentals, firewood for sale on site. Pool available. Camp store and hot food available on site. Cabins also available for rent. Within 25 min of Walmart, hole improvement stores, and restaurants. Overall nice campground with lots to offer. But in most cases there is parking lot style camping.

  • Maddy B.
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Aug. 17, 2020

    East Fork State Park Campground

    Decent campground

    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!

  • Anne H.
    Camper-submitted photo from Winton Woods Campground
    May. 22, 2018

    Winton Woods Campground

    Love this campground for a weekend rendezvous!

    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.

  • Hannah O.
    Camper-submitted photo from John Bryan State Park Campground
    Aug. 19, 2018

    John Bryan State Park Campground

    Perfect Weekend Getaway, Lots to do

    Had 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.

  • G
    Camper-submitted photo from Buck Creek State Park Campground
    Jun. 16, 2021

    Buck Creek State Park Campground

    Great Campground

    We arrived three hours after check in started and headed straight to the camp office to check in. Our tent site was ready right away and the kind lady at the desk helped us get DRY firewood and helped us locate our spot. Our campground was clean and mostly quiet. About a 2 min walk and you can walk along the lake on a trail, we caught the most gorgeous sunset. Overall a very nice and clean campground. The only complaint if I had to give one was the daddy long legs in the bathrooms. But they are not harmful at all and don’t really get in the way, but if you are not a spider person they may deter you.

  • S
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Aug. 16, 2021

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Cowan Lake Campground Site B09

    I'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!

  • Shannon G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Buck Creek State Park Campground
    May. 29, 2019

    Buck Creek State Park Campground

    Walk in for Memorial Weekend

    We had three walk-in sites to choose from on Memorial Weekend. We chose Site 113 in non-electric. It was a huge site with big trees for shade. Great for tent camping and it worked well for out camper. You have to pull in with a camper to be able to walk out onto your site. It’s a little backwards, but we only have 19ft camper so it worked for us. Plus we weren’t planning on driving anywhere so we didn’t have to worry about moving our truck. The bathroom/showers were not far and were nice and clean. For a holiday weekend it was nice and quiet. If your a bird watcher take your binoculars. Lots of robins, cardinals, red winged blackbirds and a few orioles. We drove though electric on our way out and the sites were much closer than where we were. We loved it and plan on going back.

  • K
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Sep. 23, 2019

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Full Moon night paddle on the Lake

    Cowan 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.

  • Nicole L.
    Camper-submitted photo from John Bryan State Park Campground
    Sep. 4, 2021

    John Bryan State Park Campground

    Not bad, just disappointed

    Visited 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.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from A.J. Jolly Park & Campground
    Aug. 23, 2021

    A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

    AJ jolly

    First 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

  • jThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from A.J. Jolly Park & Campground
    Apr. 20, 2022

    A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

    AJ Jolly Flatwood section

    So most if the sites are large enough for 30 and larger RV’s but we’re designed by someone who was clueless. On the general setup of newer campers and motorhomes. Pad are about 12 x12 concrete so that’s a plus but the location of the pads if you want to use your RV awning means your wheels in what ever your using are goi g to be nearly off the level area or in the grass. Sites 7 11 10 3 are the best.the power for site 7 is on the wrong side so your going to need an extension possibly All the premium sites have 30/50 amp hook ups and water. Dump station is about 500 ft away. The equestrian sites are 500 ft away they are big enough for 30 ft trailers site 5 is ok but it’s pad is about 6 ft off the road between the sites. We have stayed at all the mentioned sites. Again not bad just weird setup. Bath house is new very clean closest to sites 10 12 11 9 and 7 they have a large covered area for events also in the Flatwood area most of the sites are on the lake front. Fishing is t to bad. The park has a golf course. The other side of the camp ground had 4 or so yurts for rental. And I believe this year may have cabins didn’t look know it’s in the works. The tent camping area is fairly large. Been years since we have done that type of camping. Great for pop up campers and campers smaller that 28 ft Ada access on the older side of the it’s close to shopping g for what ever you man need park is clean and well policed they also have canoe and some other rentals


Guide to Middletown

Middletown, Ohio, offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and relaxation in nature.

Tent campers should check out Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks)

  • Enjoy great hiking trails and beautiful scenery at Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks), perfect for both casual walkers and serious hikers.
  • This campground allows fires and provides firewood, making it easy to enjoy cozy evenings under the stars.
  • With access to a river, it's an ideal spot for those looking to fish or simply cool off during warmer months.

Tips for tent camping near Middletown

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Experience the thrill of backpacking on the challenging trails at Germantown MetroPark/TVT, which offers stunning overlooks and a chance to connect with nature.
  • Fishing enthusiasts will appreciate the serene environment at Constitution County Park, located right next to the Little Miami River.
  • For a unique camping experience, check out Jacoby Road Canoe Launch, where you can combine tent camping with kayaking adventures on the river.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular tent campsite near Middletown, OH?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Middletown, OH is Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks) with a 5-star rating from 8 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find tent camping near Middletown, OH?

    TheDyrt.com has all 16 tent camping locations near Middletown, OH, with real photos and reviews from campers.