Best Equestrian Camping near Paint Creek Lake in Ohio

The Dyrt can help you find the perfect horse camping site near Paint Creek Lake. Finding a place to stay in Ohio while traveling with your horse has never been easier. With our help, you'll find the best Ohio equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.

Best Equestrian Sites Near Paint Creek Lake, OH (10)


Recent Equestrian Reviews in Paint Creek Lake

260 Reviews of 10 Paint Creek Lake Campgrounds


  • Megan M.
    Camper-submitted photo from Shawnee State Park Campground
    Nov. 6, 2024

    Shawnee State Park Campground

    Some secluded sites in woods- nice!

    This campground has some features that are nicer than what is found in many state campgrounds. There are some secluded sites back in the woods, so you don't feel like you are camping in a parking lot in a few places. NOTE that most of these secluded sites (along the back edge of the campground) are up a flight of stairs. You have to carry all your gear up a hill or stairs to set up. You will not be near your car, which can get annoying.

    The bathrooms were average, not great but not gross. We were there on their Halloween weekend, with a fun site-decorating contest and trick or treat in the afternoon, which was mildly annoying for us because they closed the roads from 2 to 6 so we could not drive back to our site, and when we finally could, someone was in our parking pot for the next hour. 

    The lakes are quite tiny. The one at the campground is more like a large pond- fine for paddling around on a paddleboard for practice, but don't think you'll get in any meaningful kayaking or sight-seeing on this pond. The other lake is slightly bigger, but still not big enough for kayaking more than a couple hours at most.

    The new campground is on the river on what used to be the golf course- I will write a separate review for that.

    The lodge has some amenities (pool, hot tub, cafe, bar), but we ate in the restaurant and it was terrible. I do not recommend. Get some apps at the bar if you have to but keep your expectations low. We had pork nachos and the pork tasted old, everything was cold and it gave me a terrible stomachache.

  • Dave B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Oct. 27, 2024

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Large Campground

    Autumn is the best time to camp in Ohio. Lots of small bathrooms. Lake access. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was due to the fact there was no quick reentry. Had to wait for rvs in front of me to register.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Oct. 26, 2024

    East Fork State Park Campground

    HUGE state park with many activities

    General: Huge state park with over 400 sites. All are pet-friendly and electric. About 20 are FHU. While tent camping is permitted, certain sites are not recommended for it as there would be no place to pitch a tent. One loop is for equestrian camping but when we were there, I only saw one horse trailer, and the rest were occupied by RV campers. 

    Site Quality: All camper pads are paved and most appeared level or just very slightly sloped. A picnic table and fire ring complete the site. Some sites have more trees to provide privacy while others are closer together with little separation.

    Bath/Shower House: Not all loops have their own bath house and the I loop where we stayed was one of them. We used the one in the H Loop. The bathhouses were clean, and the shower had nice hot water, however, it doesn’t seem like there were sufficient facilities for how large the campground was (H Loop had two showers, two toilets, and three sinks). Hooks or shelves would have been appreciated.

    Activities/Amenities: Many activities can be enjoyed here including mini golf (small nine-hole course), soccer, basketball, tennis, volleyball, corn hole, boating, and bicycling. Playgrounds are in several loops (I saw them in C and G). Rentals are available but most are only in season (ended September 30). There is a nature center and several hiking or paved biking/walking trails. There is also a camper beach for boating and swimming.

    When we reserved months earlier, we knew that our first night (a Saturday) was 100% full as we got the very last site. What we did not know is that there was a HUGE Halloween celebration complete with 30-40 decorated golf carts parading through the campground. The road was closed until 6:45 pm (we arrived around 7 pm) and cars lined both sides of the approximately two-mile road! If that's your thing, great but it wasn't necessarily ours!

    I appreciate that this park encourages so much outdoor activity, but it is not very pedestrian-friendly. I walked the road from one end to the other and there was no shoulder and, in many spots, no place to safely step off into the grass. I’m guessing it is assumed you will either have a car or golf cart to get around. 

    One final note: for a park so close to a large city (Cincinnati), I was surprised the cell service was so lacking (on Verizon). We eked out one and occasionally two bars of 4G.

  • DThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hocking Hills State Park Campground
    Sep. 23, 2024

    Hocking Hills State Park Campground

    Best place

    This is a great place to visit and camp. I am a tent camper so I was in the non electric site. The hiking is fantastic. Rose lake is also a wonderful lake and quite beautiful. Will always come back

  • MThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Sep. 19, 2024

    East Fork State Park Campground

    Just my luck

    When you check out, Eastfork, you should look at it personally instead of just online. My mistake was I did it online and I ended up with My Family being in the middle of the rich snob class of loop I lol.? We did have a very nice neighbor across from us the last couple days. The bathrooms were clean . Our lot was full of acorns very very dry and very very small lot. They say you’re supposed to camp or park your tent from the electric box over.

  • MThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Aug. 24, 2024

    East Fork State Park Campground

    Decent spot to tent camp (while working on my “itty bitt” camper

    Lot372 sits in a little into the woods. Makes it cool for camping. Real camping without a camper. lol shade some sun but watch out for the yellow jackets!

  • Janessa S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Pine Creek Campground and Cabins
    Aug. 11, 2024

    Pine Creek Campground and Cabins

    Equestrian

    I was here before they sold out and seeing it now makes me sad. The bathrooms were gross, the arenas had weeds shooting up. This was a very nice place to take the horses, now it's an overpriced average campground with absolutely nothing to write home about.

  • Shannon G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Jul. 21, 2024

    East Fork State Park Campground

    Spacious site

    We enjoyed this site a lot. Neighbors weren’t sitting on top of one another. There was a tree for shade and plenty of space and grass to walk our dogs. Shower house was great!

  • Dori F.
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Jun. 4, 2024

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Great campground!

    We've been to Cowan a few times, first time in this loop and was not disappointed. Bathroom was clean and well stocked through the weekend. Additional vehicles have to pay $3.

  • N
    Camper-submitted photo from Hocking Hills State Park Campground
    Nov. 9, 2023

    Hocking Hills State Park Campground

    Hike in spots

    Beautiful area with great hikes and views close by. None accessible directly from our camp which was in the walk in section, separate from the regular camp ground. This area does not have many of the amenities that the other site does, just vault toilets. The walk in can be up to .3 miles so I highly recommend some sort of cart for your gear.

  • CampgroundKaren ..
    Camper-submitted photo from Pine Creek Campground and Cabins
    Aug. 14, 2023

    Pine Creek Campground and Cabins

    Cabin stay

    We stayed in one of the small cabins and loved it! Very clean, with thoughtful amenities. Hot tub on the back porch. This cabin also comes with two horse stalls. Bridle trail access right from campground.

  • Kristi D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hocking Hills State Park Campground
    Jul. 4, 2023

    Hocking Hills State Park Campground

    Nice, unique hiking trails

    We had high hopes for this park because quite a few people raved about it. We did enjoy our stay and got a slightly larger camping spot than some of the others, but the spots were pretty darn close together for a state park. I was staring right into my neighbors door at one point from my camper :( ...we try to avoid campgrounds like tbis...they had a pool which people seemed to enjoy. We did not go in as we don't like busy pools and it was busy, but a nice amenity for some....showers were pretty darn gross for the parks reputation. We have been to many campsites and I'm usually the one complaining about showers and this time my husband came back and said it felt like his tour in Iraq back in 2005 it was so dirty. I did a spray off in our camper after hearing that...... Overall it was quiet though, very family friendly. The trails were peaceful and Old Man's Cave and lower Falls were neat and unique trails, definitely recommend....it was humid and we got rained out during our trip, so didn't do as much hiking as we would have liked. We only had a day there as the next night was booked. We did overall enjoy our time in Ohio!

  • Sonyia W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Hocking Hills State Park Campground
    Jun. 26, 2023

    Hocking Hills State Park Campground

    Great location!

    Excellent location for hiking hocking hills area. Bath houses could really use updating, showers were 50/10 pressure going 200 directions. The only bath house with laundry is the one by the pool. Our site looked much larger in photos but we made it work, although it was pretty steep.

  • JThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Cowan Lake State Park Campground
    Jun. 19, 2023

    Cowan Lake State Park Campground

    Exactly what a great campground should be

    Every facility you need. Really engaged staff. Camp Coordinator Linda has a great group of people on board. Very friendly.

  • Lea D.
    Camper-submitted photo from Deer Creek State Park Campground
    Jun. 14, 2023

    Deer Creek State Park Campground

    Very Nice Place

    We went camping in June during the strawberry Moon. We are tent campers, we booked site 185. But once we got there we discovered that the site was slopped down from the pad and not a great place to tent camp. So, we had to find another site. They were booked so we had to cut our vacation short because the only site open for us was reserved for the following weekend. Bummer! There are not alot of spaces for us tent campers no matter where we go. We have to at the least have electric hook ups cause my better half has a CPap he has to sleep wearing. They did have a few premative sites for tent campers. Camp is very well maintained and they are having some construction done on many sites to make them bigger, full hook ups and even Handicap accessable. Great place to ride a bike, or hike or just go for a walk. The shower houses and restrooms were recently redone and in great shape! Though the shower heads could use a changing. Weekends were a bit crowded, but by sunday night the place was cleared out and the rest of the week was quiet and relaxed. Over all a great week. Friendly and helpful staff too. the only issue I had was the state of the Beach, trashed(People there didn't seem to care about throwing their trash around. Shame on them! Also,the sand was so compacted it felt like concrete. Not the best beach. Fishing, well. It seems we didn't have the low down on good fishing spots. All of the public fishing spots were of course taken and along the dam so not great. Lodge is beautiful, and they are doing some construction there. I did not like the food. Guess I am too picky, but when my salad comes out warm and my chicken is cold I do have an issue with that. Didn't seem like they were taking food safety too seriously.

  • A
    Camper-submitted photo from Shawnee State Park Campground
    Jun. 6, 2023

    Shawnee State Park Campground

    Amazing tent sites, for Ohio

    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.

  • D
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    May. 22, 2023

    East Fork State Park Campground

    East fork

    This place was amazing. My only complaint was the water stayed cold when I attempted to shower and the dryer didn't have any sort of timer and had to use it twice to get laundry dry

  • A
    Camper-submitted photo from Hocking Hills State Park Campground
    May. 22, 2023

    Hocking Hills State Park Campground

    Great Beginner site

    This was our first tent camping experience and over all went really well! Our particular site wasn’t very tent friendly and was overall a little awkward with the placement of hills and our fire pit, but I think that was a one off. We made it work and had a great time! The sites are close together so be aware if you aren’t fond of neighbors :) we will definitely be back!

  • John B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Apr. 17, 2023

    East Fork State Park Campground

    Great Park, lots of people.

    Great Park, several access points to the unlimited HP lake.  Recently lucky enough to watch scull Rowing races .   It is a big Park, and lots of campsites and very busy.  Total of 34 miles trails.  this is combined with horse, hiking and biking trails around the lake.

  • jThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from East Fork State Park Campground
    Mar. 28, 2023

    East Fork State Park Campground

    East Fork State Park Ohio

    Sites are easily accessible each site or loop has a nice size turnabout so your facing the proper direction for backing in the sites are. Paved and level restrooms and showers are all ADA accessible and very clean hot water is hot @allways a plus for us “ the trails are nice The park is well taken care of. The lake is large enough for skiers jet sky’s fishing or even larger boats. We use to bring a 32 ft weekender. And camp out on the water in one of the many back water boils or coves this visit was march 27 2023. Not exactly peak season but again plenty of maintenance and ranger presents Daily cleanup and general policing 8 or 10 miles from anything you could possibly need or want

  • Shannon G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Shawnee State Park Campground
    Feb. 26, 2023

    Shawnee State Park Campground

    Hilly and Pretty

    This 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.

  • Shannon G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Deer Creek State Park Campground
    Feb. 24, 2023

    Deer Creek State Park Campground

    Thanksgiving Weekend

    We decided to camp on Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was very mild and the camper was very quiet.

    Our site had a pretty level pad and could fit our small camper easily with room for our vehicle. The site itself is big - it’s got a lot of room for tents, an ez-up and plenty of space for chairs. It sits deep and there’s a little trail in the back.

    Two shower houses were still open, clean and not far from our site. All of the comfort stations were closed for the off season.

    We saw deer, heard coyotes and even saw a flying squirrel one night - really cool.

    We ordered pizza from a local shop and they delivered. The lodge is close enough to go get food too.



Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Paint Creek Lake?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Paint Creek Lake is Hocking Hills State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 107 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Paint Creek Lake?

    TheDyrt.com has all 10 equestrian camping locations near Paint Creek Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.