Best Cabin Camping near Powell, OH

Alum Creek is just beautiful, nice sites, most of them are at least partially shaded, lots of woods, hiking trails, the lake, it is what I think of when I think of State Park campground camping in Ohio. There are a couple problems. 1. Only ONE little dump station. This is a big campground, so if you're leaving Sunday, you better get up at the crack of dawn to get to the station, otherwise be prepared to wait in a long long line of RV's. We by-passed the long line and stopped at a different State Park campground on the way home and paid 10.00 to use their dump station. 2. They never answer their phone at the campground office. I mean NEVER. If you have a question you will just have to deal with the reserveamerica people who really know nothing other than what they read on the campground website. So basically you know as much as they do. It's maddening. We will go back, but it's a 2 hour drive so it won't be anytime soon.

I love the buckeye lake koa. Great cabins and amazing fishing.

Great place to take the family and unwind. Good dog park for the furry ones. Bring your boat for some water fun, fish, or simply float around. 3 easy trails to venture out on and take in the parks amazing scenery. With more than 280 campsites and several cabins there’s something for everyone.

What an outdoor lovers dream! Boating to fishing to disc golf you will not get bored! Enjoy a few hours or the day hiking one of eight trails or all of them. If you have horses take them out on the two loops especially for them. Lodge, campground, cabins so many options. The campground was clean, quiet and serene. Only electric at the sites, but 2 of your favorite fur babies are welcome.

I found Malabar Farm in Lucas, OH on my way home from Mom’s house. Never heard of it before and I have been this way for over 20 years now. Louis Bromfield was a conservationist and among many other things (including winning a Pulitzer) he was in the forefront of organic and self-sustaining gardening. This place is amazing! ( and would be an excellent home schoolers camping trip!) Not your typical going hiking kinda campground (there are trails but they are not “major”) you come here to step away from city life and tour a working farm. Ohio countryside at its best. Primitive camping with a gravel parking pad and water, fire ring, picnic table and hitching post. No reservations, this is a first come campground. There’s also a small rentable cabin open year round. Definitely worth a visit and very family oriented events. ( your teenager will roll their eyes at you but probably secretly enjoy the visit)

This campground had some rough edges last time I visited (5 years ago). There was a pool and water slide but it was closed in octover when we visited. There are basic restrooms/showers but the water pressure was not so good. There were cabins and sites for tents and campers. My kids liked the playground and pet goats the best. There is a lake for fishing but mosquitos were BAD on our visit. Close to the beautiful Mohican State Park

My family and I had been looking forward to camping here this weekend. The weather forecast was a bit iffy with a 50/50 chance for rain, but instead of giving up and canceling we decided to try it. We got our tent set up, but the rain was so heavy that our tent began to leak. We asked if they had any cabins available, and they did, but they wouldn’t credit us the cost we had already paid to stay. They said we’d have to pay the cost of the cabin in addition to the cost we paid for the tent site. We asked if we could get a credit for a future stay and they said NO. We asked about a refund for our second night that we weren’t going to use and they again said NO. They just kept saying that their policy is no refunds for any reason unless you cancel 2 or more days before your arrival date. While we recognize the need for policies like that, we also know that some circumstances, like torrential rainfall, can allow for GRACE and a waiver of the policy, or at least a modification (credit toward a future stay). They got our $105 for 2 days we didn’t use, and if they had exhibited better customer service they might have gotten more from us in the future, but they won’t get a penny more now, since we won’t be staying here ever again.

My wife and I spent Labor Day weekend here as it was close to Columbus and allowed family to come spend a night or two.

We appreciated the full hook-ups and pull through site. The staff came through every morning to pick up the trash. But, the water hook ups were accessible through a hole/pipe and we had to “fish” down to connect our hose.

The people here were really nice. And they had quite a big staff to take care of the place, life guard, and run the children’s events like Tye-dye, archery, etc. if you have kids, the pool and the lake activities will keep them busy all day and give them a great opportunity wear themselves out for a good night sleep.

The Wi-Fi was good but not free and was worth the $2/day to do some late night binge watching.

Overall, the park buildings and roads could use some repair/updates and there are a number of seasonal/year round rentals that could benefit from some repair and attention. The park is a nice getaway and the people and families we met were outstanding.

We’d come here again.

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.

Alum Creek State Park is one of those parks with the main attraction in the middle and the different areas strung out along the outside. So you need to be careful going from one area to the next, busy road. Old State Rd is the main thoroughfare through the area. Off Oh I71, take either Cheshire Rd or Rt 36 to Old State Rd and follow the signage.

Plenty of sites to pick from in the large camping area. I liked A due to the space between camp sites. I also drove through J enroute to a boat ramp and the sites there are a little closer together. There are cabins also available. Showerhouse centrally located in each area.

The sites are mostly level, with gravel area and picnic table. There was a playground, basketball court and nature center on site. There is a internal roadway if you like to bike ride or run and trails.

In another section of the park is the beach, there is a paddling only area (north end), plenty of fishing and boating left to enjoy, horse trails, bike trails and hiking trails.

The dog park is awesome, they have their own beach!

Alum Creek State Park is just under 40 minutes from Columbus. It makes a great weekend getaway from the city. The campground offers some spots next to the water which have a wonderful view.

General: 214-site campground, all with electric hookups. Campsites are in four loops.

Site Quality: All sites are paved and appeared to be level. A fire ring, picnic table, and electric hookup complete each site. Generous foliage provides separation between most sites. 

Bath/Shower: Fully contained all-gender units in the third loop. Each one has a bench and a baby changing station. Soap and air dryers. A more traditional bath/shower house was in the fourth loop (don’t know about the first two loops). 

Activities/Amenities: Several hiking trails (but it was raining when we were there so didn’t explore), a small putt-putt course (free use of putters and balls), disc golf, shuffleboard, basketball, tennis, and a small camper store. Each loop has a playground and other recreational options (i.e. volleyball net). The marina offers water toy rentals. 

My five-star rating is based on the possibility of what our stay might have been if the weather had cooperated! Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy during our stay in June. We will definitely be back again to take advantage of the marina rentals.

Indian Lake State Park is my close to home camping get away. Right on Indian lake, you can enjoy the beach, boating, swimming, fishing and relaxing. Last year, the state park added a nice inground swimming pool. the state park is a fun, family friendly, safe place to enjoy camping. It is kept up and maintained well.

It’s my favorite campground so far. I may be biased, with it being close to home, but they have a lot for the kids to do. Beach, volleyball net, playground. Plenty of water locations. For me the bathrooms are unusable. Often a lot of bees swarming the bathrooms on top of the smell. I like that they have activities throughout the day for kids on the weekends. Also have a nice camp store/marina with canoe and kayak rentals at a reasonable price.

This park is easy to get to before dark (fall & spring) and provides a great weekend getaway. It features large back in sites that were perfect for our 30ft travel trailer and decent bathrooms that could use some updating.

The park overall is nothing special as the trails are flat/boring and there are few activities for adults aside from the lake. The dump station is small and hard to navigate come Sunday morning when the line is backed up through the campground.

It's easy to get there. The non-electric sites don't have a lot of space or privacy (ie; trees) between them, definitely no hammocking. There's also a private camper's beach that is absolutely serene, probably not safe to swim in. Due to it being a holiday weekend, it was busy & loud like you'd expect, but it was so rowdy we left early. When we showed up, someone dumped all their trash in our firepit, absolutely disgusting behavior. Two different camp groups, one in electric and one in non-electric, got into loud verbal fights that resulted in the police being called. Fireworks and loud music were played all night long. No quiet hours, or if there are any they're not enforced. It's still great for a night visit if you're in the area, but it's not a dream weekend getaway by any means.