Best Tent Camping near Ross, OH

Recent Tent Reviews near Ross, Ohio

529 Reviews of 15 Ross Campgrounds

• 

  Kelsey M.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 11, 2020

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  Scenic Drive In

  I visited mid/early July and the drive in was incredibly beautiful. It’s a little bit remote and my phone didn’t really have service, but that’s my favorite kind of camping. It was predictably hot and muggy until a rainstorm rolled through. The host and staff were very friendly. There’s no drinking water in the campground. Because of COVID-19 the only park of the park that was open was the campground but usually there’s a small store where I imagine you could buy water. The RV sites are on top of a hill where the facilities and playground are. The tent sites are down a steep hill towards the lake. If you are tent camping and can snag a site by the water, it may cost a little more but is worth it! The sunrise on the lake is beautiful. Because of the steep slope down to the water, many of the tent sites aren’t all that flat. Heads up, if you are driving out in the early morning keep and eye out for the dozens of deer and woodland creatures along the roads. Also, bring bug spray.

• 

  John M.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 1, 2020

  A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

  This Campground is Fantastic.

  This Campground is Fantastic. My Wife and I camped here for the first time last September 2019, we Camped in a tent and it was just Beautiful there. We will be going back this year but this time we will be going in a Camper fhat we just bought. We can't wait to go back.

  Thank you A.J. Jolly Campground.

• B

  Ben M.

  Traveler

  

  Jan. 3, 2022

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  Nice park, well maintained

  Park is nice, tent sites along the lake are beautiful and very peaceful. Unfortunately most tent sites are not very level, it can be a bit tough with larger tents. The park is very clean and well maintained and I will definitely be staying here again.

• 

  not S.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 29, 2024

  Dayton KOA Holiday

  Clean and well managed

  I was impressed that this KOA had so many trees. Best tent sites are 320 and the ones next to the creek. Quietest tent sites are 408, 409 and 410, but those are also furthest from the bathroom. Very clean showerhouses. Great basecamp to explore the Dayton area.

• 

  Brian B.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 14, 2020

  Lebanon-Cincinnati NE KOA

  Fantastic Place

  This KOA sets the bar for the Ohio locations we have visited. The bathrooms are amazing and private. The tent site we had was huge and there were actually trees for our suspended tent and hammocks. The dog park wasn’t huge, but larger than most. The campground was completely full but still quiet and peaceful. The staff are amazing.

• K

  Karen K.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 28, 2020

  Dayton Metro Parks (Five Rivers Metroparks)

  Germantown/Twin Valley Trail backpacking

  There's a great backpacking trail that's challenging and an easy middle meeting place for friends/family from Columbus and Cincinnati that can meet in Dayton Metroparks/Five Rivers - Germantown and take on the TVT challenge, beautiful hike through hilly terrain, and great spots of overlooks. Bring your pack and hiking poles and take advantage of trekking into the forest. Vault toliet, away from busy/crowded campsites and surrounded by nature. Access to a river for water source (bring your filter system) camp in a tent or hammock.

• R

  Rachel S.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 12, 2019

  Cowan Lake State Park Campground

  Excellent staff, well maintained

  While the tent spots did not have a lot of shade, the sites are close to the lake and make for some wonderful sunsets. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and all in all it was a great stay. We rented bikes from the camp store and swam at the beach which was conveniently close to the tent sites. Lots of fun and 10/10 would return again. I'm excited to come back and see how the young trees they have growing in the tent sites take off.

• M

  Marc H.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 21, 2020

  Miami Whitewater Forest Campground

  Nice

  Clean, well-maintained campground with about 30 sites, most of which have electric service. Flush toilets and showers. Site 116 has the best privacy for tent camping. Nice lake with rental boats or bring your own kayak/canoe. Nice hiking trails and paved bike trail

• L

  Lisa S.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 11, 2018

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  Breathtaking scenery

  The boating area is nice and has your typical “outdoor “ facilities you would find at a rest area. The scenery of the water and trees are amazing. The campground is good for tent camping but iffy for others. I would definitely bring extra leveling blocks.

• E

  Elana C.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 15, 2020

  Hueston Woods State Park Campground

  Loud neighbors

  We tent camped here a few years ago and had the loudest neighbors. The brought a chainsaw to cut up wood, let their little kids roam wild and packed up around 6am. Our spot had no privacy either. We’ve tried to give this campground another chance but can never find spots that look decent.

• 

  John M.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 29, 2018

  Governor Bebb MetroPark Campground

  Roughing it by a creek and a pioneer village

  Basic car tent camping at several spots along a creek wIth picnic tables and fire rings (no hookups, portolet toilets, no showers.) There is a rustic scout cabin/group lodge reservable for scout, etc. groups. The park features a pioneer village with log cabins, including a blacksmith forge, etc. that have been moved to the site.

• 

  Maddy B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 13, 2020

  Hueston Woods State Park Campground

  Love!!

  We love Hueston Woods! We have been there twice now and tent camp. A lot of the sites are large and have enough space for everything you need! The beach is a short distance away and love that they also include a dog swimming area. The bathrooms are a little outdated but the park is very well kept.

• A

  Amber R.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 6, 2018

  Hueston Woods State Park Campground

  Great for anyone!

  We love camping here! Whether it's tent camping, group camping, RV, cabin, or lodge accommodations they can fill all your needs. Very large park with playgrounds, fishing, swimming, creek access, dog park, archery practice area or walk over to the damn. The bathrooms could use a little better cleaning but all in all it's a great park! We come often and camp at least once a year! Highly recommended.

• 

  Amanda D.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 15, 2023

  Versailles State Park Campground

  Nice clean campground

  We enjoyed the stay at site 77. The description of the site did say it had a slight slope so were aware. We tent camped which means our tent was on a slope. Next time we’ll pick a more level site. Bathrooms were clean, just your run of the mill park bathroom with some spider webs. We hiked a pretty easy trail and loved the walk. We saw several sites that we’d love to try when we return. So we’d definitely go back.

• J

  Jeffrey

  Guide

  

  Jul. 25, 2021

  A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

  Aj jolly

  Campgrounds we’re designed for pop up campers limited sites for RVs an Travel Trailers electric was dependable water at most sites plenty of tent sites. They have some equestrian sites and one or two trails For what it is a the location it’s not a bad place. We have camped there. Many many times. Really a good campground for new campers. Close to what ever you may have forgotten or need

• 

  Brandi M.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 8, 2020

  Moccasin Meadow

  Private owned/run campground

  This campground is just 12 miles west of Greensburg, IN off I-74, and sits just outside of Lake Santee. (You must have property at the lake to utilize the lake and beaches). The owners are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. We have stayed here several times while visiting family at the lake. There are spots available from primitive tent sites, to full hookup (when available). Grounds are always kept clean. Bathroom and shower house available, Playground, Pond to fish from

• 

  Jeremiah G.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 4, 2022

  Natural Springs Resort - RV Park, Campground and Recreation Destination

  Lots to offer-tight sites

  Full service campground. 30, 50 am full hook ups. Water and electric only hook ups, primitive RV and tent sites. Some sites are shaded, most of them seem to be year round rented. Most sites not shaded and small. Lake with beach, fishing, boating, and scuba diving. Golf cart rentals, firewood for sale on site. Pool available. Camp store and hot food available on site. Cabins also available for rent. Within 25 min of Walmart, hole improvement stores, and restaurants. Overall nice campground with lots to offer. But in most cases there is parking lot style camping.

• 

  Maddy B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 17, 2020

  East Fork State Park Campground

  Decent campground

  This campsite is HUGE. Has over 400 campsites and the first 17 have places you can keep your horses! Something I have never seen before. Some sites are not okay for tent camping and when we got there we had to go back to the office to see if we could change our site. Lucky for us you get one free site switch a stay, so that was nice. The beach is big but unfortunately no dogs allowed. It would be nice for them to include a section where dogs were allowed so we could enjoy. We spent our day on the trails instead. A lot of RV camping but overall it was a great trip!

• 

  Anne H.

  Traveler

  

  May. 22, 2018

  Winton Woods Campground

  Love this campground for a weekend rendezvous!

  Winton Woods campground has spacious paved RV spaces with full hook-ups, fire ring, and picnic table. They also have cabin and tent camping. The location is located on the lake with access to put in a kayak or canoe. The bathrooms are clean, with private combined shower/dressing stalls. There is a playground for children, and a camp store that sells firewood and supplies. I love the tall pines on the property. They made me feel like I was out west. The campground is also near paved and unpaved trails in the park that surround more of the lake which allows for walking/running/hiking and bicycling, fishing, small craft boating, with small craft boat rentals available at the marina. The park also allows for horseback riding, and a small water park for children in the summer.

• E

  Elle H.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 15, 2019

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  Hilly, beautiful and secluded

  My family stayed here because we were visiting the Ark Encounter.  I’m not sure if there are closer campgrounds, but we chose to primitive camp here for our visit.  We arrived with just enough time to set up up our tent and head back towards Alexandria for dinner and supplies at Walmart.  There is not much variety and choices very close.  The RV and tent area is very hilly.  Our tent ground sloped but it didn’t bother us very much.  The campsites are very close to each other but there was only two other tent campers and they were both over 4 sites over from us. The tent area has portable toilets.  I chose to drive to the shower house when I needed to use the restroom.  The shower house is typical of most campgrounds, a few cobwebs but generally clean with shower and toilet stalls.  There are two shower houses for the entire campground.  The lake is very pretty, a few camp grounds are right off the shore.  The only thing I didn’t like was that there was no water spigot in the main tent camp area.

• S

  Stephanie

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 16, 2021

  Cowan Lake State Park Campground

  Cowan Lake Campground Site B09

  I've stayed here in the past and Cowan Lake does not disappoint. The B site campground is all non-electric tent camping, and far enough away from the larger RV pads that it's a quiet little campsite! Also, these sites are super close to the bathrooms on the beach, which were very clean during our stay. I was incredibly impressed, because the beach gets pretty busy during the day. The beach itself was clean (for a lakeside beach- there are geese, it's Ohio) and the lake was gorgeous! I will say, the only MILD annoyance is that some of the other campers would drive to the parking lot in front of our campsite and park there into the evening hours to fish or head down to the docks. I'm an early riser, so the headlights and car doors slamming were mildly annoying after about 10p. Not enough to make me choose a different campsite, but worth noting. We rented a tandem kayak and explored the lake, and the equipment was all in good condition. The Commisary is pretty limited but they do have a small kitchen and ice cream, as well as the basics like firewood and ice, as well as the boat rentals. Overall, one of my favorite lakeside campgrounds!

• K

  Kenpocentaur K.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 23, 2019

  Cowan Lake State Park Campground

  Full Moon night paddle on the Lake

  Cowan Lake State Park - A friend and I were able to kayak on the lake the night of a Friday the 13th moon. It was beautiful. Sadly, no pictures as I do not have a water proof camera. The next day we also went out for another paddle under the bright sun.  The boat ramp and parking lot is easy to use and has a good layout.  They do have some tent sites close to the boat ramp area and you can see the lake from those tent sites. 

  Our campsite did not have any trees but they have planted a lot of new trees. I assume this due the previous trees having to be cut down due to Emerald Ash borer damage. Our campsite didn't have any shade but others did so you really have to pick wisely. 

  The trails here are easy and short.  I loved the informational boxes and tags that they had on the trees or plants.  This is helpful if you have little ones with you or if you are like me and just like to learn about the animals/plants on the trail. 

  The park also had a lending library and walking stick lending program. I thought these were simple but memorable features for this park. 

  Our campsite was close to two different bathroom structures.  One right behind our site was toilets only. This did mean that sometimes folks would walk on the edge or through the camp site at times.  The other bathroom structure was further down the road and it had both toilets and showers.  The larger bathroom had an ADA shower in it as well. 

  The camp store was well stocked and you could rent bikes from the store. These bikes were often all over the campground so be extra careful when driving in the park.  They do have the orange flag but as they are low to the ground it is hard to see them at times. 

  The cabins here have both a fire ring and grill. This isn't the case at all Ohio State parks so it was a nice surprise.  They also have a porch that is screened in with a view of the lake. You are not able to walk down to the lake from the cabin but it is a lovely view. 

  For those who want to "Walk-On" camp please take a look at the photo of the neon yellow paper as how the park approaches this will be different in the future. 

  **Not all photos or videos uploading so some information may be missing. I will try to upload again later.

• J

  Jeffrey

  Guide

  

  Aug. 23, 2021

  A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

  AJ jolly

  First time we’ve been to the park since they added the “premium sites” what a joke. It’s terrible road it ungraded sites are in level the approach to the sites are terrible it was t planes out very well not well maintained. It would make a better off road park that a premium RV site. When we arrived you have to make a u turn because the ranger station you sign in it on the other side of the actual “premium sites “. The road that use to go back to the equestrian sight is no longer used. No idea why. Probably ooor planning an construction again Water hook ups are on the opposite side of electrical on several sites. They do have nice picnic tables. A fire ring. And a charcoal grill the camp grounds use to be well maintained the staff use to be helpful and friendly. Not so much now. The parks department need to do some work before I would recommend this place to anyone with a trailer or Motorhome been to worse but not much. Tent camping is better suited for this park

• J

  Jill H.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 19, 2021

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  VERY much recommend

  My husband and I stayed for 2 weeks in a very large tent back in primitive camping area ... The campground we found to be very well maintained with a very kind and attentive staff who checked on us regularly. The sites were large enough for our liking with each having a picnic table and firepit but no water or electric. Primitive tent camping is back in its own little part of the park near the lake (there are a few lakeside sites if you have a small kayak or raft to use while there) and while we liked the privacy the one set back is this big hill you must climb to get to the bathhouse or anywhere else on the property .. the distance to walk to the bathhouse as well is a good little walk and not anything you want to be doing if you have health issues or limited physically at all .. the bathhouse was always being checked on by staff for cleanliness and stayed pretty fresh our entire stay (they have 2 bathhouses) .. you can't gather or bring your own firewood for whatever reason and the 6$ cost per bundle (as well as the 7$ per bag of ice if u should need it) isn't cheap. Most rv sites are in shade ...nice playground for the kids and just outside the campground is the rest of kincaid lake state park .. the state park area has a beautiful view of lake with Olympic sized pool as well as general store and many different shelter houses and grills to enjoy if you'd like.. they have a nice recreational area offering a big nice basketball court , playground, volleyball court and putt putt golf course .. NICE QUIET PEACEFUL PLACE TO GET AWAY TO FOR SURE. WE WILL DEF BE BACK

• K

  Karen P.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 4, 2018

  Kincaid Lake State Park Campground

  Iffy

  We went to tour the campground with intentions of pulling our camper (for reference 36' trailer) up there to stay while my husband worked on a contract in a neighboring town. I had read every review that I could find so I kind of knew what to expect. There were very few sites that I could even fit on and even then I would have had to disconnect from the truck and pull in beside the camper. I wasn't sure if I could get the awning and slides out on some of the sites by the way they are set up. Most sites are shaded and a nice little playground for kids. I have an outside kitchen in the back of my camper and it would be hanging out over a hill on most sites. The state could spend a few dollars on this campground and build up the campsites to make them more usable. The campers that were there had to use a ton of blocks to level up so be prepared. Tent sites are all on a sloping hill, so it might get interesting when it rains, still close to the lake with a great view. Pretty enough, but I won't be camping there. It looked like too much work to set up for a few days. Didn't use the restrooms, therefore no judgement. Sorry, I sound like it's not good enough for me, but I just wasn't impressed. Another point is that you can't swim in the lake, why?

• j

  jeffrey D.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 20, 2022

  A.J. Jolly Park & Campground

  AJ Jolly Flatwood section

  So most if the sites are large enough for 30 and larger RV’s but we’re designed by someone who was clueless. On the general setup of newer campers and motorhomes. Pad are about 12 x12 concrete so that’s a plus but the location of the pads if you want to use your RV awning means your wheels in what ever your using are goi g to be nearly off the level area or in the grass. Sites 7 11 10 3 are the best.the power for site 7 is on the wrong side so your going to need an extension possibly All the premium sites have 30/50 amp hook ups and water. Dump station is about 500 ft away. The equestrian sites are 500 ft away they are big enough for 30 ft trailers site 5 is ok but it’s pad is about 6 ft off the road between the sites. We have stayed at all the mentioned sites. Again not bad just weird setup. Bath house is new very clean closest to sites 10 12 11 9 and 7 they have a large covered area for events also in the Flatwood area most of the sites are on the lake front. Fishing is t to bad. The park has a golf course. The other side of the camp ground had 4 or so yurts for rental. And I believe this year may have cabins didn’t look know it’s in the works. The tent camping area is fairly large. Been years since we have done that type of camping. Great for pop up campers and campers smaller that 28 ft Ada access on the older side of the it’s close to shopping g for what ever you man need park is clean and well policed they also have canoe and some other rentals

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  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.