Best Equestrian Camping near Sylvania, OH

Since Van Buren State park is an easy 20 minutes away from home for me, i visit there often. it is clean and quiet, they dont get too busy and loud. the horse camp is nice with some new pens to keep your horse instead of them having to be tied up. They keep the restrooms clean, but no flush toilets, which dont bother me. My only complaint about Van Buren State park is that there are no shower facilities.

Campground is small but well maintained. Hiking is great. Probably better for people with horses. Electric did not work at all sites. Pit toilets did not seem sufficient for all camp sites.

Friendly staff, clean park, close to supermarkets and other food locations. RV repair and sales nearby. I got lucky and woke up to a horse and dog competition at no extra cost to me.

We stayed during the week for one night. Campground was clean and quiet, had electric hookups at most sites. Host was very friendly. They also have a camp area for horses. Only criticism is you have to drive to another area of the park for an RV dump.

Had the pleasure of visiting first weekend in February, on the coldest weekend of the year! Nice little cabin set in about 800’ from where you park. It has a table, wood stove, and 4 sets of bunks in a back room. Lots of trails within reach and a horse riding stable if that is your thing. Heard lots of wolves, saw lots of tracks but no animals. I’d like to go back in the spring and hike around some more! Pro tip for cold nights is to block the back room and sleep in the main area-

Van Buren State Park is very easy to access from I-75. It has tons of trails and a pond. There are a few places to car camp or RV camp nearby. I love getting out of town and visiting Van Buren State Park, and I have lots of good memories. It gets 4 stars because I now live in Montana and Montana camping outshines Ohio, but I can't bash on Van Buren State Park at all.

The staff is pretty helpful. They take you to the campsite and assist guiding you in. Full hook ups are available, as are partial h/I’d and tent spaces. The spots are pretty close together and very few have trees/shade.

Nice campgrounds easy to get around and my children loved it

This is a typical fairground campground with open grassy areas for campsites surrounded by barns and tracks. The fairgrounds is located just off I-94 which makes for easy entrance and exit to the campground, but, means there is lots of road noise. Close by are plenty of stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. In fact, there is a gap in the fence that runs around the fairgrounds allowing you to walk to a Walmart, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and more. 

We arrived without a reservation and the women in the office was very helpful providing a map with all available sites during our stay and letting us choose which one we wanted. One of the first things you notice is that a number of people are here long-term so we went to the back area hoping it would be quieter and less crowded. A number of the campsites are “buddy” sites meaning your patio opens to your neighbors so be careful which one you pick. This is pretty undesirable when the neighbor is a total stranger so we chose a site where we didn’t have anyone next to us. 

They offer 50 amp full hook-up sites, 50 amp/water, and 30 amp/water sites with pull-thru and back-in options. There is a dump station located in the middle of the park which is easy to get to. The roads are wide and a lack of trees makes this campground accessible for any size RV. The sites are level but some lack grassy making the patio pretty dusty or muddy. Unfortunately, where we were was pretty muddy just after a light rain. This campground works best for RV’s and not tents. For tenters there is a designated section that is set in a corner of the park with large trees for shade but not much privacy between you and others. A water spigot is in the tent area and there was one picnic table. The camp office sells firewood but we only saw two fire pits in the whole park. Be aware that noise from the interstate and nearby train tracks may make for a restless night. Bathrooms are centrally located in the campground and were old and tired but relatively clean. On-site laundry is available.

Apparently, management is having some issues with campers not obeying some of the rules. One of the sad things about this campground is that campers have to be reminded to clean up after their dogs. Apparently, it is such an issue that we got a letter stating that if you don’t pick up your dogs poop you would be asked to leave. How sad is that? There is free WiFi which worked pretty well. Upon checking in, we had to sign a piece of paper stating that we would not download copyrighted material or stream movies or we would be asked to leave. 

My favorite aspect of this campground is that they had a community garden that you were welcome to pick from. We got tomatoes, Swiss chard, peppers, broccoli, and more. Overall, this campground was fine for the few nights we were here and close to the attractions we wanted to visit. We never felt unsafe even though it was close to major cities. We chose this campground because we wanted to go to Ann Arbor and Dearborn and it was a very convenient location.

Pros:

·        Good location if you want to visit Ann Arbor and Dearborn

·        Close to interstate for easy access

·        Long, level sites that will fit any RV

·        Community garden you can pick from vegetables

·        Stores and restaurants are nearby (some within walking distance)

Cons:

·        Lots of road noise from I-94

·        No trees for shade or privacy

·        Would not recommend for tent camping

·        Many campers are long-term

·        “Buddy” campsites with patios facing each other

no tent camping

We could not find any availability anywhere and this campground could accommodate 2 RV’s for 3 nights. They are tight....I could hear my neighbors too easily. There is grass for pets and sites have grass which is probably better when less rainfall. The roads are dusty. Our neighbors had 2 young boys who pretty much did whatever they wanted, including knocking on doors and running. They lit a fire in the pit which made me nervous being 5 feet from our rig. They say quiet time at 10 but I don’t think anyone is there to enforce. The tent area has to walk thru all the rv area to reach the bathrooms...a hike. The staff and most guests were very friendly which garnered the additional star.

I arrived for a 2 week stay in the area on 11/12. I discovered this campground was closed for the season.

Our plans were changed so we lost our reservation. However they let us stay for free at the back of the campground. No power or anything. But it was nice of them to help us out.

Very nice, clean, people and staff very friendly. You must reserve a spot by phone or online only, no walk ins. I made my reservation while standing at the visitor cabin

Tried it for the first time. It was quiet and relaxing. The camp host was nice and friendly. Kids loved having the playground so close to the camper. Will be back soon.

I love this place. Its a smaller campground with only two loops of sites, but its flat, shaded, and comfortable. No showers, but clean and sturdy pit toilets with centralized well water..

Difficult to get potable water. Only electric on the sites. Some sites don't have electric hookup. Dump station is in a completely different section of the state park. We arrived around 8 pm and check-in station was already closed. Luckily they have a sign with name and site number. Not much to do other than trails.

I came cross country skiing here in early January and it was absolutely amazing. It is cold but the terrain is simple for first time skiers.

This is a nice place to camp if you dont mind the bigger parks. There is electrical on each site and is mostly a place for campers and RVs. There are fire pits and picnic tables at each site. It is usually easy to get multiple sites next to each other with reservations.

There is a decent sandy beach here with a playground and volleyball net. Also in the park are some small dirt trails for hiking and biking. There are enough loops here to go for walks as well.

Most of the sites are in the sun, but there are a few sites with more shade and tree cover.

Spent 4 nights and 5 days camping with my husband and 2 kids. We had fun and the kids had a blast. They rode bikes around the loop and loved swimming and the the playground. Facilities were nice and clean and many sites had trees to give shade at certain times of day.

Annually we do the Harvest Festival.

This campground was what we needed for squirrel hunting, however, it is very open and not very private. It is another one of those "parking lot campgrounds" where you can see all of your neighbors at all times. That being said, the park was very well kept and quiet at night which was nice.

Great campground sites have lots of grass and they allow alcohol.

Nice campground. Sites are close together and sites 60-72 or so are really tent site, not level, and need extension cord for electric. No water hookups. No ATT service.

We stayed in the Southfork Rustic Cabin at the end of Feb and it was lovely much needed get away. The cabin was semi modern (solar lighting) but only a wood stove for heat. Small kitchen unit with table for eating. You had to hike in about a quarter mile to get there, and it sleeps four people with two bunk beds. There is an outside vault toilet behind the cabin. Lots of trails connecting the cabin to the rest of the park. Cheap too! Only $68 per night.

Absolutely love this place. Only downfall is no water hookups on site.

Nice beach but super busy on the weekend. Site was a little small for our 38foot - we had to go sideways which opened us up to other campers. Not my favorite. No WiFi or sprint service. Only one pic of the dog enjoying our trip.