Best Glamping near New Franklin, OH

Upon arrival friendly staff greeted us. Bath houses are clean and well maintained.  Our site was not clean and ready.  Picnic table looked like it was not cleaned since last season and the fire pit was full of rubbish.  Had campers behind us who played music so loud we couldn't hear each other talk.  I asked the gentleman to please turn it down and they did slightly. Another camper also asked them to turn it down and again it was very slight.  Well after midnight music continued.  No park ranger made rounds until Saturday morning and throughout the day.  

The lake is gorgeous this weekend and we enjoyed riding bikes and walking the park.  

May be back to try again.

Stayed a night here near the end of June after a rainstorm. A few quick highlights:

1. Because there are a ton of sites, you can expect one thing: variety. There are plenty of aluminum Airstream, Winnebago, fifth wheels, pull behind, and tents. You can expect to find a little bit of everything here.

2. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, Mill Creek might not be for you. Most of the sites seem to be typically pretty packed. Generally, people respect quiet hours, but with sites so close to each other, noise is a factor.

3. The surrounding area seems to be pretty spartan. There’s a grocery store about 10 minutes up the road, a bait shop about three minutes away, and a drive-through (with some light groceries and drinks) about two away. Nice enough folks in all three :) Super helpful and accommodating.

4. Berlin lake seems to be the big draw. Plenty of boats, jet ski‘s, kayaks, and swimming opportunities. If that’s your thing, plan accordingly and you won’t be disappointed.

Overall, Mill Creek is a pretty solid site within driving distance of Akron / Canton. I’ll be back, with adjusted expectations.

Quick tip: My particular site was pretty muddy upon arrival. Granted, that was after a bit of rain. But it wouldn’t hurt to bring an extra pair of shoes ;-)

Pros: closest camping to Cuyahoga National Park, safe, professional (labeled envelopes with information at check-in and wood delivery) Cons: bathrooms weren’t cleaned or restocked as frequently as necessary (overflowing trash cans, TP empty by 5 pm), shower curtains/showers had mildew, truly dirty bathroom floors, had to drive 1/4 mile to the one trash dumpster, unlevel sites

One more thing: there’s a significant raccoon and skunk problem along the section with water/electric back-in spots. We got to know our neighbors very well over two nights as we helped each other fend off multiple raids by entire families of raccoons and one very large, very bold skunk. We lost two camping chairs to the skunks because there was no way to fight them off once they moved into our shelter and, even without spraying, skunks tend to leave a scent behind on anything that’s fabric.

The price is okay in that it is the closest to the national park and the next closest campgrounds are the state park campgrounds (West Branch and Mosquito Lake), but the state park grounds are MUCH nicer and about $15 less per night. If you have the time to drive and can plan your trip months in advance to get reservations, West Branch is a better alternative.

We arrived Friday late afternoon and set up in the rain. Didn’t see much of the park on Friday,  but Saturday we went exploring and saw the marina, beach, horse camp area, and walked some of the bridle trails. They also have playgrounds that are open and some food trucks in case you don’t want to cook.

 This is the second park we have stayed at that is part of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and so far I am impressed. Large landscape sites that are full hookup with large concrete pads. Each with its own picnic table and fire pit. They also have a boat dock for the campers to use.   The lightning bugs even put on a nightly show.

This was a Fall camping experience in a cabin as we knew it would be cold in the evenings.  We also had a non-camper with us so this was a nice compromise.  We had a cozy cabin with 2 bathrooms.  We also had a small kitchen where we could cook when we didn't want to cook over the fire.  This was another way for us to social distance as COVID-19 was still an issue. 

I also took photos of the camping bathrooms as each KOA does it a little differently. You will notice that the bathroom is unisex.  It is a single bathroom (toilet and shower).  This is in the center of the campground.  The bathroom photos below are not of the cabin. 

The cabin you see here is the Deluxe. "Deluxe Cabin(More than two Bathrooms), Patio Deluxe Cabin(w/ Bathroom)- Evergreen KL8-9-10 Perfect for large family or two couples with two queen bedrooms, sleeping loft, 1 1/2 baths, kitchenette, 3 tvs located in quiet corner with shade trees. Sorry, Not Pet Friendly! Linens are included in all seasons except Winter. Please bring pool towels." Taken from Reservation Email. 

For 2 nights it totaled $153.00 which is a good price compared to other cabins we were looking at within the region.  We could have had others camping in the tent section of the campground so it is an easy way to have a mixed crowd for a camping outing. 

I did type in some information into the Special Requests within my reservation booking online, as I had a question about who had to pick up the key as a friend lived closer.  No one responded and I had to call them. 

Cabins Check in is at 3PM and Check out is at 12 PM

We were able to buy firewood from the KOA camp office. They bring it to your campsite and we were able to grill hotdogs and other food items on our camp fire.  Do read the general information closely and look at number 15 for a free scoop of ice cream. 

https://www.whitehousefruitfarm.com/donuts  We did a donut run and explored the farm for our outing for the day. 

We also spent the day checking out a local mill https://www.millcreekmetroparks.org/visit/places/mill-creek-park/lantermans-mill/

I really wish this place was back in Illinois. We stopped here on our way back from Virginia Beach. it was the most affordable stop we made and had amenities that we usually have to pay top dollar for. They had a fantastic shower house with individual locking rooms, bathrooms were very clean and they even had Laundry on site. The front desk was very helpful and gave us some ideas of things to do. I was surprised they had a decent camp store with affordable pricing. The night we arrived they had an Ice Cream social with huge cups overfilled which made the kids super happy and only $1. I believe this was set up by a volunteer committee which also had an outside movie planned for the evening. Nice quiet sites, (ours was lakeaIde vIew) which were wooded and very dark at night. They also had a modern play set area and volleyball which was utilized the entire visit. AND they had a beach with wonderful trails all through out. If I end up traveling East again, this will be on our list of stops for sure.

Site 28 was not very big, but with our small camper, it worked out great. There was a tree (masting at the time and dropping nuts, be prepared) to provide a little shade. The pad was short and if you had a slide out it may not get to open because of the tree. We were just a short ways from the playground and a shower house and not far from the camp store. The shower houses are great and kept clean. There are family showers and separate bathrooms. They even have laundry facilities and very nice outdoor sinks to use. It's a large campground and can be very busy, but everyone was polite and aware of the kids riding bikes around. They were getting ready for the Halloween - decorations were every where! Lots of places to walk around the campground and also has a beach where you can swim.