Do you enjoy camping but don't want to rough it? Glamping is a great option. The Dyrt lets you enjoy a unique, rustic Newport experience while glamping. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the woods or a site closer to all the action, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect glamping spot.
Pets are permitted on all sites. Sites 44-60 are electric. Sites 1-43 and 61-95 are non-electric. Sites 65-81 are tent camping only.
Bigfoot Ridge is a 100% Bigfoot Themed glamping experience. Everywhere you turn is Squatchy! Our Bigfoot approved Stella Star Gazer tent comes with all the good stuff. AC/Heat, Keurig, refrigerator, queen sized bed by Restonic (our guests have said the bed is out of this world) You have a washer and dryer, shower and a brand new bathroom. It’s so Squatchy here at Bigfoot Ridge.. Come get your Squatch On!
Glamping Got Squatched!
this is an adult retreat, no pets and no children. Sorry for any inconvenience but big people need a break too!
$80 - $150 / night
American Electric Power (AEP) campgrounds are free of charge but require a permit. A permit can be obtained from the link below, the AEP office in McConnelsville, Ohio, regional offices of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, or at any of the regional sporting goods or bait stores surrounding the Recreation Areas. If visitors plan to fish or hunt, state fishing and hunting licenses are required.
Welcome to Shadow Lake RV Resort. Nestled in the heart of rural Monroe County, OH, Shadow Lake Resort will transport you to a world of comfort and relaxation. Experience the peacefulness of the rolling hills and quiet of the country nights. Take a plunge into the inviting pool or drop a lure into one of our stocked ponds. Whether you are seeking a peaceful retreat, a romantic getaway, or want to have a great time with family and friends, you will find what you are looking for at Shadow Lake Resort. Shadow Lake Resort is more than a resort...it's an experience. People of all ages come to Shadow Lake Resort to spend quality time with family and friends. Many of the people who come to Shadow Lake Resort now as adults came here years ago as children...and now they want to share the experience with their children. Shadow Lake Resort is a beautiful, clean, family-friendly resort where families and friends can create memories that will last a lifetime. Less than a two hour drive from Columbus and less than an hour from Wheeling, Shadow Lake Resort combines the magic of a remote getaway with the convenience of a nearby town. Come stay with us and you will understand why Shadow Lake is considered one of southeast Ohio's best kept secrets!
Welcome to Doddridge County Park! Doddridge County Park was founded in 1972 as a 57 acres park and has since grown to an over 250-acre park. The Park is situated in a natural setting in the heart of North Central West Virginia. The Park has grown and added many features over the years that provide people with fun and challenging visits. With picnic areas, playgrounds, pool and sports courts the Park can entertain from the youngest guest to the oldest. Each year The Park welcomes visitors from over 25 different states.
In 2012 the Doddridge County Park was gifted over 180 acres from Lone Pine Operating, LLC that helped expand it toward its present size. This gift spurred the Park Commission to begin a master planning process that culminated in 2014 with a plan to add several amenities to the Park. Planned upgrades include; an RV Park, tent sites and yurts that will form the foundation for Lone Pine Campground at Doddridge County Park. Additionally, hiking and biking trails, zip line, stream access for kayaking and canoeing, and a disk golf course were laid out. After adoption, the plan was launched in 2015. Over a six to eight-year period ending between 2020 and 2022 the Park will be transformed into an outdoor enthusiasts’ playground.
$21 - $32 / night
There are 78 primitiive campsites and one group site available for organized groups. Latrines, waste drains, picnic tables and fire rings are provided 10 sites are available for campers with pets
Scout
I stayed here in the worse month possible for camping in ohio but the owner made it a great experience. They are very accommodating. Even though every thing was snowy and muddy I could tell this is a very well taken care of place. Shower house was clean and warm. The laundry mat washed and dried great. As a construction worker I have payed way more for way less. This place is gem for construction/oil field workers in the area.
Scout
This yurt is 100% Bigfoot themed and has all the essentials including a shower house with laundry, a creek, and an amazing bed.
Scout
We live close to this park and frequent there, sometimes just day trips. Tent camping is great and just like most places there are a few sites that are the best. Park offers hiking trails from the camp sites to the beach area or packing up the swim gear and using the parking lot. The beach area is back water from the ohio river. It is a sandy rocky mixture. There are boat rentals during peak months. There is a frisbee golf course that is top notch. The only down side to this ohio state park, are the bathrooms; they are port a pot facilities that can be pretty raunchy.
Guide
This was a nice place to stop for a few days on my drive west into Ohio. I knew nothing about the campground prior to this visit. My next time I will stay in camping area B or C now that I have seen the layout. There is no hiking trail to the lake unless you use a horse trail which I did. If you do this prepare to get muddy.
Traveler
Luxurious accommodations and continental breakfasts won’t be found here…..a space to unwind and reflect will. The sites are sloped and ill paved but the sights, the sights are quintessential Southeast Ohio. Rolling hills dotted with little burgs where the oil has dried up but the resolve has yet to. A slight traverse down the hill lends views normally reserved for travel mags and postcards if just a bit of adventure is employed.
Guide
This is an extremely primitive place that is not run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is run by the same woman who runs the boat rentals at several other state parks in SE Ohio- this is her business. There are very few amenities here. There are pit toilets, potable water towards the front, and that's it. There is a road that runs alongside the entire length of the campground, right at the edge, so you can hear cars and coming and going, especially at night. I was here in late October, so I can't attest to whether this place has a loud party atmosphere like many other state parks, but it seemed pretty chill, probably due to the fact that you can't reserve a site in advance- you pay when you arrive, and pick your spot then. The boat house's hours said they were still open for the season, but I arrived long after they were supposed to open according to their hours listed on the door, and I never saw a person all day. So I went to go rent a boat at a different place. All in all, the campground is fine, just the traffic along the road was a bit annoying, and the sites are not very wide- you are close to your neighbors and there is nothing separating the sites.
LegendWayne National Forest shares the area with Burr Oak State Park near Glouster, Oh.
Wayne National Forest is split into three areas in southeastern Ohio. I could not find a Burr Oak, Oh and the site listed with this entry refers to the State Park near Glouster.
That park and campground are well maintained with a marina and trail that loops the lake at approximately 20 miles and is part of the Bobcat Marathon in December. There is a Long Beach with sand and dogs are allowed. The campground has sites that are relatively close together but level and helpful staff.
LegendWhen I was younger I use to go here a lot on day trips to swim at the man made sandy beach on the lake. From where I used to live in WV it was only a 40 minute drive across the state line into Ohio. The camping there is nice. The fishing is good as well. What makes the lake unique at Forked Run is that it contains dime sized fresh water jelly fish. These type aren't able to sting you. There are shower houses and a camp general store with the camping essentials. There is plenty to do with fishing and hiking. A lot of people in the area mainly go for swimming or to play frisbee golf.
TravelerI discovered this park in 2019 while on a history road trip to Marietta, Ohio and Blanerhasset Island. I’ve since returned to Forked Run just to spend a peaceful weekend The park has over 150 campsites and the times I’ve been there, only a few were occupied. I felt like I had the whole park to myself. Some people complain about the pit toilets. They smell bad, but they’re bearable. There’s a nice lake for kayaking. There’s a boat launch near the dam at the south end of the lake and a second boat launch at midway portion of the lake. You have to drive a few miles to the second launch but I prefer to enter the lake here and paddle north into the headwaters of the lake
GuideWe came to Shadow Lake in October to camp for the month. To get here, you must drive through the rolling hills of Southern Ohio, which is absolutely gorgeous in October! The campground is beautiful and peaceful, especially at this time of year as most of the campers have either gone south, closed up or pulled out for the season. There are several ponds located on the property and trails meander along and around the 100 acre property. We see deer almost every evening. There are a couple hiking trails nearby (Piatt Park and Raven’s Rock) which have incredible rock formations in the gorges. The owners, Lynn and his wife, recently purchased the resort and are very friendly and helpful. They are enhancing the amenities. Shadow lake is an excellent place to camp whether in a tent or a big rig!
Legend
Hook Lake AEP is I think the second largest of the campground areas, outside McConnellsville, Oh.
Hook Lake campsites are spread throughout the woodland loop above the lake recreation area. This would be an ideal area for large groups or a family reunion. Realize this is bare basic camping with pit toilets and no electricity. Print out a permit and stake your claim for a free , quiet, entertaining stay in the AEP wilderness.
Its a toss up for me between this site and Sand Hollow as my favorite. The areas are large enough for several, and spaced out along the loop to give some privacy/sound buffer if it is a large group staying there. They are right on the water too for convienience of fishing or boating.
Plus there are plenty other things to do in close proximity. The Ohio farm country is awesome and McConnellsville, Oh offers some cool old buildings if you like architecture.
TravelerWell, honestly I love this place. I grew up in the Ohio valley and I love living here. I used to have a large family when I was young and we would get together here and rent out large portions of lots and all the kids would play on the trails and flash light tag at night. There is a section for horses and bridle trails for them as well, with one large trail that circles the entire encampment. There are play grounds, basketball courts, a beach. Fishing is good and you can rent kayaks and boats. There are bathrooms and showers which were recently replaced with brand new facilities. There is even a little store where you can buy snacks, camping gear and even rent corn hole boards. I have a lot of good memories at this place. I think you would, too.
Legend
Blue Rock State Park is outside Zanesville, Oh off I70. Rt 60 takes you South and then you have a choice of routes in. Good Ohio farmland scenery.
Out of the way, small camping area with basic sites. A cool feature is a few of the sites have pavilion type covered patios that you can pitch your tent in to help stay dry during inclimate weather.
Otherwise the sites are close together. Though there are a few sites that are more off to themselves, they are still wide open with sparse tree cover.
The restroom is basic, the showerhouse is located at the reservoir beach as well as the camp store and boat rental.The staff was very knowledgeable about the area and conversational.
Several trails are in the area, the Horse Camp is up the road. In addition to this area there is the Blue Rock State Forest that offers several out door activities, check out their map and site online.
LegendI've lost my review a few times so this is going to be even more brief as it's my third time typing it out.
This is a free campsite that was part of the AEP reclamation lands. If you are unfamiliar with these lands then go to https://www.aep.com/recreation/areas/recreationland make sure you do your homework before coming down to the area. They have a really helpful FB group page that is updated all the time. I got the best and most current information on Facebook.
The campsites do not have any camp stores, no fire wood to buy, no water (so make sure you pack what you will need), and they do have a campground host. We did buy wood from a private home in a near by town. Great deal. $10 for a whole wheel barrow full of wood. Quality wood (dry and well cut).
The state of Ohio recently bought it so it is becoming the Jesse Owens State Park. We did talk to a ranger while we were at the campground. He gave me an Ohio State Park envelope to fill in. Notice, the payment area is X out. It is still free at the moment.
We explored nearby McConnelsville. You will see pictures of a brewery that we visited. We also check out the wharf, the opera house, and it did have a Kroger in case you forget something. On the way to McConnelsville there is a Miner's Memorial Park. This would be something you would want to check out to see the massive bucket.
At the campground children up to the age of 15 are allowed to fish. Adults need to go elsewhere to fish. There's also an archery range but I did not go and check that out as I do not have a bow and arrow.
The bathrooms are Vault toilets. They do have hand sanitizer outside of the bathrooms. It would not be handicapped or Mobility accessible for those that have limited Mobility. The bathrooms were single toilet stalls and did have a light on at night (on the inside).
They provide a dumpster so you can get rid of your trash at the campground. Also, two cars per site. However, we were able to put three tents on our site as we are not sharing tents at this point in time.
Make sure you fill in the new registration envelopes as you can see here cell phone coverage is limited to Verizon. T-Mobile and AT&T had no coverage. Even with Verizon there were several spots where I did not get coverage. This means you will want to print or grab an AEP map.
The campsites were well spaced apart and a good size. You had a variety of campsites at this campground. Make sure you drive through the whole campground to find what you would like such as grassy area, overlooking lake, near the playground, etc.
GuideWe had read about the quietness of Forked Run and it was we had a loop all to ourselves and only about 15 campers in the whole campground,
It was very clean and the areas coming into the campground beautifully maintained, but once we got to our campsite it was covered in trash, cigarette butts, beer cans and tons of candy and straw wrappers, the woods behind each campsite was loaded in trash, toilet paper and feces.
After a few hours we had our site pretty much cleaned up, but on our walks we noticed more sites looking the same.
Shower house was clean, but after visiting a pit toilet and fighting of hundreds of bugs I noticed the pit toilet was almost overflowing, yes overflowing. As many as I have used I have never seen one so full which explains why everyone was crapping in the woods.
If you want internet bring a WiFi and a booster and you will be good.
No available park ranger, in facts serious accident happened at the front gate and victims waited for EMS to arrive, if a ranger was on duty help could have been faster.
Kayaking was great with some hidden coves.
Other than that it can be a beautiful park, Ohio ODNR you should be ashamed of yourself for the way this park is kept.
GuideIt’s place was a last minute booking for us as we needed to kill 2 days before our next planned stop in North Carolina. I’d say most reviews are pretty accurate I read on here. Bathrooms dated camp spots are small except for a few in the first loop that were pull through. Out of the whole campground on Tuesday there was only 5 camp sites occupied. It was very quiet and peaceful. Even better no cell phone service. When we left people were starting to arrive for the 4th of July weekend. I was surprised at how many sites were tagged for arrival. Now one of the reasons we picked this was because of the lake and reviews on the swimming area for our kids. We were very disappointed in the swimming area. The swim area was filled with locals who were leaving trash on the beach and lake. It was disappointing the amount of fast food rappers and cigarettes butts all over the place. This park does have the potential to be one of those hidden gems with a little TLC. We enjoyed the stay here. We ended up going to Marietta, Ohio both days. This town was not to far away and has a ton of history. I would return to this campground to enjoy the piece and quiet. But would not return to bank on the swimming area and lake to enjoy with the kids.
GuideThis is a smaller state park. There is a lake (one of the smallest I've seen in a state park), some trails and a small campground. The spaces are pretty spread out, which is very nice. There is a big equestrian camping area, which is cool. If you kayak, you could spend about two hours exploring the different bends in the lake.
We stayed in the camper cabins, which are right at the edge of the campground- we could hear the freeway (I-70) the entire time. It even woke us up at night. The cabins have a view of the dumpsters and the dump station- not the prettiest view.
There are pit toilets, which are never great, but the ones nearest us had newish buildings, the first I've seen in Ohio state parks. The buildings themselves were clean, but the toilets were icky and needed to be hosed down. I never went in the shower house so I don't know if it was clean or not.
The worst part about our experience was that there was a group of cows somewhere nearby that were moaning in distress all of Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning. I enjoy agricultural sounds- the sound of a cow mooing every once in a while would make me happy. But these cows were bleating and moaning as if they were in danger. When it continued after sundown, I started worrying about them, so I googled it. It turns out that in the mid fall (when we were there), calves get taken away from their mothers, and the mothers will cry out in distress for days at a time. I wish I hadn't googled it. The sound was SO LOUD and so distressing. It drowned out any sound of owls or coyotes or anything else all night long- these cows were deafening.
So, I won't be back. Not much to do there once you've seen it, unless you camp with your horses- then I think it would be good.
Traveler
While an RV park, you can also tent camp with the amenities, making it really nice. Electrical hookups and water at your site, plus clean bathrooms and a shower house on the property. It's also a quiet area and everyone is very respectful. The highway traffic can be a little loud in the morning if you're on that side of the property, but who wants to sleep when there are trails to hit! The owner was very friendly and available when needed. Fire rings and firewood are available too. We were there for the Rivers, Trails, and Ales Festival and it was perfect. It's right on the river so we made a stop at camp while on a paddling trip. Awesome! Will return next year!
TravelerLarge open campground minutes from downtown Marrietta OH owner and Staff are very friendly and easy going! Clean, nice newer bath house. With laundry large shelter house I believe there is dockage but not sure if it is for seasonal rental only? Hook ups for each site!
ScoutOur family loves to camp at this local campground, super clean bathrooms and pool with kids area is so much fun. We had the best time when we camped at there for the fair, it was right next to the campground. Only downfall is if it rains the end lots get really muddy.
GuideWe drove thru Sand Hollow, Bicentennial and Maple Grove before choosing Hook Lake. All of these Jesse Owens State Park/AEP campgrounds are free for up to 14 days. While most of the sites at Hook Lake do not have cell coverage we were lucky enough to find that at the "top of the hill" we were able to get both att and verizon at around 2 bars (3 to 5gb download but under 1 upload).
This campground was very quiet, lots of shade (not ideal if you are running on solar only). The DNR make rounds on a regular basis. There is a dumpster by the entrance to the campground but no longer cans at each site (October 2020).
Stayed in site 27 with a 33ft travel trailer and we're able to get level without and blocks.
Lots of hiking, mountain biking and The Wilds are near by. McConnelsville is about 20 min away for all your gas, food (Kroger) and propane (Greueys Fuel and Freed.
ScoutDrove past Sandy Hollow which is another great Dispersed Campground with around 82 sites to cover all types of vehicles within a mile of Hook Lake.
Hook Lake has less sites but also sites to handle all types of vehicles.
I am here in October and there are very few other campers, two at the moment.
I chose a site on a hill that I was able to get my 40+ rig into, I was all by myself with a great view.
I have Verizon which is almost constant, and TMobile which is spotty. Other sites might not have as good of cell service.
They have trash, but no water.
Both of the Camp Grounds mentioned there is no danger of getting a big rig into and not out of so don’t be afraid.
Guide27 vehicles and 49 people from an overlanding trip stayed in the camp ground that AEP personnel reserves exclusively for our group! Pit toilets were well maintained, fire rings provided and nicely kept grounds with observed quiet times made for a fantastic stay!!
TravelerFirst come first served camping with water and pit toilets, large sites, area mostly wooded. Archery range and lots of fishing spots. Great for families with pets too! Had a great time and looking forward to our next visit this weekend! I’d give it more stars if it had a shower house or swim area! Bring your solar shower!
ScoutWent there in October. No attendance around and not many campers. Sites are very bad for tent camping and not the bet for RV’s. Back ins are sort and most sites have no level ground even for the picnic table or fire ring. Showers were clean but cold. Vault toilets only and stuck to high Heaven. Not serviced well at all. Hiked the lake view trail, poorly maintained. The upper loop from the beach end is very hard to find and not marked at all. Even more disappointing than Hope Lake which has its own site problems for tents.
TravelerWe stayed there years ago. Our only complaint was how close the sites are together. Some are down over banks & some are on a slant. It was rather noisy when we were there too. Nice beach area for swimming though!
TravelerDecided to go to Forked Run because its close to home and we had never camped there. Been fishing, hiking & swimming there over the years, but never camping. Some of the back in sites are REALLY short so we changed our originally reserved spot once we got there. We wound up being the only ones in our loop, but the shower house (that we were parked near) was BUSY BUSY BUSY because one of the shower houses was closed for repairs (hopefully renovations) The park itself is clean, but the facilities are dated. Shower house was OK, toilets are primitive.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Newport, OH is Forked Run State Park Campground with a 3.7-star rating from 20 reviews.
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