Best Tent Camping near Van Buren, OH

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.

Well kept, quiet and fun. Bike rental was easy and did not cost too much. We had a tent site and the yurt site. Water was cold due to it being early June as expected.

Nice little campground, offers both places for tent camping and RV camping. Lots to do, bike trails, walking paths, jet ski rentals, etc. Check-in people at the pavilion were nice and helpful. They also sell firewood at the pavillion. Most campsites have electric hook up and there is a dump station for RV's.

We tent camp. They have a great spot that’s set back in the woods. There are lots of trees. Very peaceful. Dislikes are no shower houses or toilets back there except one port a potty. The shower houses they do have not a huge fan of. Def bring your flip flops. They have a nice pond.

State parts are usually good parks, but Indian Lake was our favorite of the summer. A large lake, and large campground. Lots of trailer and tent camping, complete with a beach, boat dock and commissary. The campground had an ice cream stand and showed a movie on Saturday evening for kids in their amphitheater. We will definitely return!

Only 30 minutes down the river from Independence Dam State Park, this park was markedly different. Because there was a two-night minimum reservation on weekends and we were just passing through, we decided to try and roll the dice and see if we could slide into a spot for just a night without a reservation. Alas, the only spots still available were walk-in tent sites which would not work for us. This park was laid out more like an RV park with the sites very close together and no privacy between them (Site 16 looked to be the best one for privacy). Except for the walk-in tent sites, electric and/or electric/water hookups were available. As we pulled in, the host immediately greeted us and was very friendly (she genuinely wanted to find us a spot). There is a marina/store close-by and the quaint town of Grand Rapids (which you could walk to if you wanted) had several shops and restaurants. We would have stayed here for the night if a site had been available, so make sure you make reservations if you are coming on a weekend (and can stay for two nights).

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.

Staff/owner are so kind and accommodating. I can’t say enough about them. I had reservations at a different campground, but once I got there had to leave, I called crystal rock and the lady was so so kind, got me a site and gave me directions .Bathroom/shower house very clean. Lots of family activities. I stayed in a tent site and had ample space. Close proximity to cedar point and other attractions. I absolutely love this place and am so glad I called. Can’t wait to go back!

Our experience with Indian Lake was tough, unfortunately we suffered a pretty severe thunderstorm while we were tent camping, it looked like a tsunami coming in. Despite the weather, our experience was still not the greatest one, the trail was confusing and we were eaten alive by mosquitos, even with bug spray. It also was not a very long hike, just a confusing one. The campground had cut down most of the tree coverage, and it was like we were camping with our neighbors. This may be a great family friendly park with a beach and kid activities, but we dont have kids and prefer a more quiet and secluded atmosphere. We will not be returning.

This is a cozy spot with the a laid back atmosphere and very clean shower house. It's was also cool to see a campground where tent camping is thriving!

We did stay in a Travel Trailer next to seasonal campers and they were very kind and helpful. The lot size was ok...not spacious but not as small as I've experienced. They are grass sites so in the summer months you will need insect repellent at night.

The shower house is older but very well maintained and regularly clean. You can tell the owners care about the campers experience.

Lots of cool activities for kids: putt-putt, ping pong, foosball, playground, etc.

Close to so much in Sandusky and worth a stay.

I’m sitting here waiting for a flight after about 9 weeks of living in hotels. Fugured it would be a good time to write this review I’ve been holding off on. Anyway, let’s get started.

Campground Review

My buddy Stone and I didn’t really have plans for Memorial Day Weekend like everyone else, so naturally we had to make some. We decided to stay a little closer and avoid flying because that gets expensive over holiday weekends… instead we opted to go camping at Crystal Rock Campground for its proximity to Cedar Point Amusement Park! Seriously only took us like 30 min to get from camp to park.

The campground was $30/night for a tent site with no electric hookups. I understand it was Memorial Day Weekend and just happened to be Ohio Bike Week (I think) but we were packed in like sardines! Their were tent sites right next to RV sites which From what I’ve seen isn’t usually the norm. There are about 120 or so sites in the lower section of the camp all sharing one bathroom. The men’s restroom had 5 or so showers, one urinal, and one toilet. A sign on the door indicates it’s closed from 12-1 (if I remember correctly) for cleaning. I don’t know about you, but I think that one urinal and one toilet is not enough to adequately service 120 campsites. Especially at capacity, which they were when I was there. Our site literally butted right next to three other sites and it just felt very cramped. We were also the furthest from the bathroom you could be, which was quite a hike to do dishes. For these reasons, I give it a 3 out of 5.

I do imagine it would get more stars had I chosen a less busy weekend. It did have a “game room” closer to the checkin as well as a playground. I didn’t use those, but they did look nice.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this trip to the Crystal Rock, I tested out the Howler Brothers Aransas Shirt in Voltage Print that I got through Roanline. I give this shirt a 5/5. I’m actually wearing it right now. Here are some of my thoughts on this rad shirt:

1. It’s a rad shirt.
2. It’s comfortable and fits very well.
3. It looks phenomenal untucked, and I reckon it would look good tucked too.
4. It’s got a nifty glasses holding pocket with a microfiber lining to avoid scratches and on the fly cleaning.
5. Did I mention it’s rad?

So I got this shirt through Roanline and their packaging was super cool. I forgot to snag a pic of that but trust me. They even had a handwritten note in there that made it feel nice and personal.

The good - The staff was very friendly and helpful. The price - we were just staying the night as we were traveling so the price for a primitive tent site was far better than a hotel or Airbnb

The not so good- Bugs were persistent but the smoke from the fire seemed to keep them at bay. The bathrooms were pretty far (compared to other campsites) from the tent area.

The bad - NOISE!!!! If you are looking for a quiet getaway go somewhere else. The campground is right on a heavily traveled roadway and seemed to be on a major ATV trail as well. The ATV’s were racing up and down the trail as well as just sitting and reving their engines.
Around 8pm someone started shooting a gun VERY CLOSE to the campground. This continued for quite some time. At around 5am some hunting dogs that I assume live on the adjoining property began incessantly howling to the point we packed up and left immediately.

Overall - we weren’t camping for an extended time so this was ok for the price and our purpose. Given the same circumstances, we would not stay here again and would gladly pay more for a reduction in the noise.

Really enjoyed this campground for the short amount of time we were in the area visiting family The park and facilities were very clean, sites were well-spaced, there is a nice walking/biking trail, and had full hook-ups.  This campground is associated with Historic Sauder Village – a living history destination in northern Ohio. (You can get discount admission to the village if you stay in the campground.) The campground filled up on the weekend but emptied out on Sunday. The RV sites are long, level, and have either 50 amp full hook-up or water and electric only. Tent sites are scattered along the pond which made for a nice view; except, the ridiculous number of geese meant there was poop everywhere along the shoreline and throughout the tent section. Staff does haze the geese but it was not enough to keep them away during the afternoon.

A fee is charged to enter the historic village or you can ask for a “shoppers pass” and visit the stores inside the village. Located on the grounds (and within walking distance of the campground) is a restaurant, bakery, gift shop and hotel (which has an indoor pool, hot tub, and game room campers are allowed to use). The restrooms, laundry, and showers were very clean and relatively new. Other amenities include basketball, shuffleboard, horse shoes, splash pad, volleyball, corn holes, lake for fishing, and free WiFi. There are a couple of covered group picnic areas available for anyone to use which is nice if you have a big group wanting to get together. 

The campground is about four miles south of the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90) which is pretty convenient if you are just passing through and looking for a place to stay overnight. The town of Archbold is pretty small but does have a decent grocery and restaurants. The nearby town of Bryan is larger and has a really funky brewery/restaurant housed an old church (Father Johns).

Our site was $59.95 a night.

We were in Site# 504. We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep. The site was easy to level. We were charged $25 additional for my jeep since we were towing the trailer. We also were charged $10 because we arrived at 1:25 PM and check-in is at 2 PM. The park was close to empty so arriving early was not an inconvenience. We drove ourselves to our spot (no escort).

Our site was shaded with lots of trees. This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.

The lot comes with a concrete patio with picnic table and fire ring. They sell wood for $6 a bundle.

There is free WiFi, although not strong. They offer Cable TV and there are many channels.

There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.

They pickup your garbage at your site daily before noon.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a Swimming pool but it is currently closed due to maintenance (although it just looked closed- no signs of maintenance being done).

There is a Playground. They also offer horseshoes, corn hole, giant jinga.

They have a basic general store. There are not scheduled activities for kids.

There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site.

The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes. This is an RV park with tent camping and cabins to rent.

They have one shower house. The shower house has individual bathrooms with your own sink, shower, toilet. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility, but they have a change machine. There are approximately 4 washers and 4 dryers. It is approximately $2.50 to wash and $2.50 to dry a load.

They have a small fenced in dog park.

There isn’t tons to doin the actual city of Perryville. But Toledo is a 20 minute drive.

We stayed here for free for 10 days as a part of a promotion that came with the purchase of our rig. Not sure about normal pricing though, as this campground is owned by Venture Out Resorts and they are a timeshare company (we had to sit for a hour long "pitch" to get our free days). They have 50amp, full hookup, pull through sites (and we saw 40+ ft rigs there) to tent camping to cabin rentals. The campground was clean (shower houses always looked great) and grounds were maintained. Amenities include an indoor pool, hot tub and sauna (close at 10p), but we did not partake because it was so overridden by children, chlorine, and no open windows - didn't seem worth any effort whatsoever in the July heat. The amenities we did checkout (close nightly at 8p) included their new 18 hole mini golf course, small arcade (4 games and pinball was broken 😢), loaner bikes, and water toys (we liked the paddle bikes). The company recently bought the property, so you can see what they inherited vs what it will probably eventually be like based off their sister properties (they recently added the putt putt and a big jungle gym) so it could evolve more as time passes. Regardless, in its current state as active 30 somethings, we were pretty bored. No hiking, significant highway noise, yes a couple big ponds, but a truck stop and truck storage is behind both - so no views. Most of the campers we saw were elderly or had young kids. I'd say if you fall into a category where you want to sit beside your rig all day or want your kids entertained (playgrounds, kids programming - it was luau week so they had a Moana movie night and other kid activities), go on and book a longer stay. If you're only looking for a spot to stay overnight by the highway, do it! It is simple to pull in and have full hookups to take advantage of but a 10 day stay is too long if you're paying. Other things to know: Walmart, Aldi, Lowes, and several automotive chain stores are at max 5 min away, which made grabbing some needed supplies super easy. That said truck stop above was very convenient to get into to fuel up our rig too. Fun fact: Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum is also a max 5 min drive away if you want to get your inner astronaut fix.

Campground is nicely kept, only 5 individual sites, has two group sites. Nice restroom facilities, FREE firewood available. Grey water sinks for dish cleaning. Picnic table and fire ring at each site. Parking is general, but close to each site. We were there on a Monday night, only had one other tent in the campground. Nice flat sand pads for tents to set up on!

DOWNSIDE: MUST RESERVE ONLINE BEFORE 4PM. There is no walk-up service, and online site goes down after employees go home at night.

By far my favorite state park. Sites are large and private. Bathrooms are always clean pathways are kept up and make for a great mid day or early morning stroll. This is Ohio's gem!