Best Tent Camping near Ray, OH

Recent Tent Reviews in Ray

605 Reviews of 30 Ray Campgrounds

• 

  Megan M.

  Guide

  

  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.

• T

  Tammy F.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 2, 2024

  Old Stone Church Campground

  Easy Access - Mostly Quiet

  Easy pull-thru site for our small travel trailer. Each pull-thru is set-up for horses, but RVs are allowed (according to NFS website). Maybe because it was Halloween night, maybe due to hunting season, I dunno, but there seemed to be more traffic than expected for this road. Our only neighbors got a little... rowdy, but it was okay.

  Campsite fee is $15 on the honor system. If you have a National Park's Golden Age or Access pass, they honor a 50 percent discount.

  I had good 4G ATT cell service. Worked well, with no drops. Data was a bit slower than usual but still good.

  The only facilities here were a single pit toilet (surprisingly clean) and a trash can at each site. There may be more services during the height of the season, at least water for horses, but nothing else I could tell.

  A short distance further down the road, just after it turns to gravel, at the Old Stone Church trailhead, there are grassy places to back in smaller campers/RVs. And even further down the road, after it turns back to asphalt :D, there's a private campground with utilities, I think, but we only saw it and didn't check it out.

• 

  Dave B.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 25, 2024

  Hocking Hills State Park Campground

  Crown Jewel of Ohio

  Autumn is the best time to experience this Park. Less crowded than summer. 5 million visitors last year. More than Yellowstone. Guided hike was the best.

• A

  A B.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 13, 2024

  Geneva Hills - Camp and Event Center

  Would stay again

  Tent site was nice. We could make dinner and there weren’t any mosquitoes even though it was right above a swamp. It was a nice driving distance from Hocking Hills and a neat place to camp.

• D

  Djakata S.

  Guide

  

  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

• 

  Anna S.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 9, 2024

  Scioto Trail State Park Campground

  Tent only sites - quiet, wooded

  I stayed in the non-electric, tent-only campground NOT the RV campground. Out of curiosity, I drove through the RV campground and it was so loud and cramped! But the tent-only area is separate. Walk-in sites with pit toilets and potable water. The map of how the sites are laid out online is extremely inaccurate, I would not have picked my site if it had been accurate. But there was only one other camper and we all had plenty of space - I could barely see them through the trees. All sites appeared to have a picnic table and fire ring. Many miles of trails / dirt roads for hiking and biking. Clear skies at night. Very relaxing.

• 

  afshar Y.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 3, 2024

  Hocking Hills KOA Holiday

  Awesome stay

  Stayed with the family for 5 days/ 4 nights and had a wonderful time. The KOA had a lot of amenities to offer. The staff was friendly, courteous and great to deal with. The sites were nice and wide but not all level but it's an area that has lots of hills. The pool was wonderful, the bathroom was clean and spacious. The camp store has everything you may need with a Walmart 10 minutes down the road. Close to the park to go explore but the KOA had a lot to offer for your stay.

• 

  Kyle B.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 2, 2024

  Hocking Hills Camping & Canoe

  New Ownership and its amazing!!!

  This campground has been a staple of Hocking Hills for decades. Finally some new owners took over in May ‘24 and have really done an amazing job renovating things. The staff is super friendly, large primitive campsites right on the river with tons of shade trees! They are even building treehouses to stay in. We love it here!

• 

  James P.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 1, 2024

  Forked Run State Park Campground

  In need of TLC

  Narrow roads getting to state park. Campground in need of an update and targeted maintenance. Ensure your rig can fit into your selected site prior to booking as sites can be small and hilly. Sites are asphalt. Not many sites are level. Most patrons seem to be local - weekends full of loud music and drinking.

• 

  Anna S.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 1, 2024

  Scioto-Grove Metro Park

  Great for a quick getaway

  Need to reserve online, books up very fast. Got lucky and found an opening for site 5 which was right on river and away from the busier parts of park - didn’t see a single person. Nice tent pads, campfire ring, and provided wood.

• 

  Kaylien S.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 1, 2024

  Jackson Lake State Park Campground

  Do not recommend

  Tent sites are on a steep uneven hill, we had site 4. Tent sites are super close, we can hear our neighbors perfectly as if they were talking to us. Only a few feet between each site. Map showed we would be right next to the lake, this is incorrect, lake is not accessible or even visible from campsite.

• N

  Nicholas I.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 26, 2024

  Krodel Park Campground

  Solid place if you’re not tent camping

  If you tent camp they don’t allow access to the bathrooms other than a porta potty open to the public and no showers either. Kinda messed up. The fish were not biting for anyone. It’s part of a public park. The staff were excellent thought, and the price of $20 a night unbeatable. Cheapest to visit the Mothman

• 

  Tara C.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 24, 2024

  Scioto Trail State Park Campground

  Good

  It was a good campground, we had a hard time getting our rv to be level but overall we enjoyed it.

• 

  David M.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 15, 2024

  Pops Place Camping

  Hidden gem in Ohio

  I highly recommend pop's place.  I stayed there Aug 2024 and as of that date the rustic tent camping was $20.  This is an ideal base camp for riding your motorcycle on the scenic roads in that area of Ohio such as the triple nickel.  The owners are very nice people and helpful.  The porta john and shower were very clean.  The shower uses an on demand water heater.  The narrow cabin you see in some photos is now a gravel pad for RV type camping with electric.  The wider cabin in the photos is still there, but was currently rented so he couldn't take me on a tour of it.  He took me on a tour of the new cabin he is building and it will be a nice play to stay when he is done.  They sell firewood for $5.  The common grass area has wood lounge chairs, common fire ring, playground,  and cornhole boards.  If you are tent camping and need to charge your phone he has no problem with you using the electric outlet at the RV site if no one is there.  I forgot to suggest to him that maybe add an external electric outlet at the shower house since electric is there for the water heater.  There is a spigot on the outside of the shower house to get drinking water.  There is a basketball backboard near the current cabin if you happen to bring a basketball for your kids to use.  There is good verizon cell service there, I did not expect it because of the location and hills in the area.  I don't hammock camp, but it looked like there were trees far enough apart in the line of pines for hanging 2 hammocks.  One of the photos showed 3 picnic tables for tent campers.  There was only one when I stayed, but I assume it's a temporary or cyclical thing and I was the only tent camper and would have shared it anyway.

  Of note for motorcyclists is that the road the campground is on is paved (good riding to the north of it) and the campground drive is decent gravel for street bikes.

• 

  Jeremiah S.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 2, 2024

  Kountry Resort Campground

  Family Fun at Old Campground

  This campground has been around since the 1800s. It has a lot of permanent residents and we had a lot of fun checking out the different set ups.

  There are a lot of amenities but they need updated. The playgrounds need replaced. The activities building had a pool and game room area, which we used a lot. These were dated as well but our kids had a blast and that is all that matters.

  Everyone we engaged with at the campground was very pleasant. We went midweek so it was not very crowded other than the permanent residents. The park is very quiet.

  We did a couple day trips down to Pomeroy, which is a nice little river town with ice cream, playgrounds, and shops less than five miles from the campground.

• M

  Mandy J.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Forked Run State Park Campground

  Great local campground

  We 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!

• 

  Brianna L.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 28, 2024

  Campbell Cove Camping

  The perfect family campground !

  This is our first time staying at a non state park. I was a little nervous, but I already booked our next visit here ! To start, the staff are absolutely amazing and so kind. We stayed at site 61 and the lake view is perfect. Bring your hammock because there are plenty of trees !!

  There is a great playground for kids and a swimming hole. The bathrooms are so clean. You can kayak on the lake and they do have rentals .

• 

  Kevin C.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 19, 2024

  Monday Creek OHV Dispersed

  Busy but good camping spot

  Camped at the west side of the vaulted toilet lot. Arrived about 5 PM and all 3 camping spots were empty. Lots of trucks and toy haulers heading up the various roads into the late evening. We slept soundly, made breakfast and were on our way. Great stop over location. Vaulted toilet and garbage cans were a welcome bonus.

• 

  Kenda A.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 5, 2024

  Timbre Ridge Lake

  Beautiful area

  We spent one night of dispersal camping here. It was a beautiful area with a vault toilet. We felt safe enough to leave our windows only screened.

  There were fishermen coming and going several times through the night.

  The vault toilet had not been cleaned recently, nor had trash been emptied.

• 

  Kevin C.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 1, 2024

  Campbell Cove Camping

  Wonderfully well kept campground

  This is a very nice campground near all of the attractions of Hocking Hills, Ohio. We had full hookups that were excellent, but if we didn't there were several new restrooms throughout the grounds. The camp store has the usual stuff you'll find and is always seems to have a friendly attendant behind the counter. There are several fun things for the kids to do, including a very large bounce pad and a pretty nice looking playground. There's a somewhat small swimming area, but it seems to be pretty clean for a pond. The campground is right on Lake Logan and there's access to the water at the bottom of the grounds. There's also boat rentals right around the corner.

• 

  Kim H.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 24, 2024

  Paint Creek State Park Campground

  Family Oriented

  We used site 64 Sunday through Tuesday. The park was peaceful and pleasing as the employees and volunteers obviously take pride in their efforts. A 12-year-old was with me; she enjoyed shooting basketball and swinging at the playground. Fellow campers were quiet. I'll be back!

• 

  Marty M.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 19, 2024

  Monday Creek OHV Dispersed

  Primitive (off the grid)

  My kinda place

• J

  Jay S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 12, 2024

  Hanging Rock Recreation Site

  Better Than Walmart

  We stayed in the parking lot as it was getting dark and didn’t know if there were any place to turn our rv around. Very quiet night and were visited by fireflies which was awesome.

• 

  Ashley N.

  Traveler

  

  May. 31, 2024

  Hocking Hills Jellystone Campground

  Disappointed. Waste of Money. Rude owners

  The site that we are currently staying in is nothing like the pictures online(I am more than happy to share photos.) I contacted the owner, he talked down to me, continually interrupted me and even raised his voice trying to intimidate me. The site has serious concerns. Such as the Nextdoor cabin fire pit is located less than 6ft from where I am suppose to park my brand new truck. There is only gravel, no grass for 12ft outside of our camper. Our site appears to be a driveway or turnaround and numerous ppl have tried to drive through, Esp with gulf carts. I raised my concerns and unhappiness to the owners and they argued and talked down to me. The husband raised his voice and essentially yelled at me basically telling me we could pack up and leave. This has not been a great experience so far and I am not sure I will ever stay at a jellystone or recommend one to anyone in the future.

• s

  samantha H.

  Traveler

  

  May. 26, 2024

  Jackson Lake Park

  It’s was pretty decent

  So originally I was not super thrilled when we arrived but that changed quickly. We booked last minute on a holiday weekend and had like 2 options for a spot. I wasn’t happy with our spot but again that’s my own fault. I would definitely book ahead and look at the map to find a good spot. Some are very close to neighbors. Others are really nice. I was upset The pool was not open since there was no post about it being closed and the website says it would be open the weekend of Memorial Day. So I went into everything with a pretty crappy attitude. THEN, we went to the lake and at the desk was the new managers. They have only had it for 2 weeks now. They were super super sweet. She told us that they really did everything in their power to have the pool open and it just did not work out. They worked really hard to get it fixed and it needs to cure for like a week. I believe she said. So completely NOT their fault. Again they have only been there 2 weeks. We met some seasonal people and they were super nice as well. Our kids made friends quickly. The little lake was so much fun. My children were upset we had to leave early due to the storm coming in. We did not want to travel back in the storm. However I could have paid 100 dollars more and got into the jellystone park. I don’t think I recommend our spot though. It was on a corner which was nice but so small, no shade, fire pit was so little, no picnic table or anything. But if the pool was up, it would have been better.

• 

  Kim H.

  Scout

  

  May. 13, 2024

  Deer Creek Camping Resort

  Generous Sites!

  We stayed two nights in #184. Our site was HUGE! The pad was very level, so setting up the TT was quick and easy.

  We checked one restroom and one wash house: both were in good condition and quite clean. Lysol was in the air.

  The lake was pretty. Watching the herons was relaxing.

  The people in our section were courteous. All seemed to obey the quiet hours.

  The only negative was the lack of a central fresh water fill station. Spigots are dispersed throughout the camp, which means sitting in the road for as long as it takes to fill your tank. Fortunately, we had a spigot by our site, so we could fill once we parked.

  We'll definitely be back.

• L

  Larry D.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 22, 2024

  Lazy Dog Camp Resort

  Better days maybe

  The staff and people were nice and helpful. However, based on the picture I thought it was like KOA or Jellystone and it might have been in its past but not now.  It felt more like a workcamp then a campground.  Many long stay residents and their sites looked like it.  Heavily patched campers that will most likely never move again and one site looked like a junkard.  The resident did seem to love fishing in the pond, which I guess has very large catfish so if you like that you might like it.