Looking for tent camping near Wayne National Forest? Find the best tent camping sites near Wayne National Forest. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Wayne National Forest campsites are perfect for tent campers.
$40 - $125 / night
Located 1.5 miles from the Baileys Trail System (Chauncey Trailhead) and even closer to Wayne National Forest. Site is secluded in summertime yet close to state SR 13. It is situated off the old Sunday Creek Coal Mine railroad bed and Sunday Creek. Tent camping and portable/pull-behind units only. Amenities include an 8' x 8' deck pad and a fire ring with plenty of wood available. The campground has municipal water, a gas generator, a composting toilet, as well as a gas camping stove. Cell service (Verizon) is excellent. Gate is locked and night and there are security cameras. Owner lives on the property. There are two group campsites of three tent pads each. Price listed is for a tent pad, fire ring and amenities. 2 guests per tent pad, 1 car per guest. Campers are free to set up camp (or hammock) anywhere in the designated 2-acre space.
Get away to Pop's Place Camping and Cabins. A small primitive camping area in SE Ohio. Where you are 10 minutes away from Burr Oak State Park, Tecumseh Trails Off-road and Scenic Trails Recreation Land. Other areas of interest are The Triple Nickle, Perry Forest ATV Park and Wayne National Forest. A hunters or ATV riders place to be, off the beaten path. We are tent, Motorcycle & ATV friendly. Please call ahead for availability.
$15 - $125 / night
Recreation areas with activity Dispersed Camping: Elm Trailhead Long Ridge Trailhead Monday Creek Trailhead New Straitsville Trailhead Red Oak Trailhead Scarlet Oak Trailhead Sycamore Trailhead White Oak Trailhead Camping is allowed at during the OHV and mountain biking open season.
Located 70 miles southeast of Columbus, Ohio, the Athens Unit of the Athens Ranger District is home to the Wayne National Forest Welcome Center. From here you can learn about all that the Wayne National Forest has to offer and plan your trip.
The horse camp has ten sites are provided at the campground, each with a 45' long by 15' wide parking space. Two sites are fully accessible for people with disabilities. Each site has a covered paddock, fire pit, grill, and tent pad.
Primitive camping is allowed at no charge at the Old Stone Church Trailhead.
This trailhead is part of the Stone Church Horse Trail System. Named for the skeletal ruins of an old stone church nearby, the Stone Church Horse Trail System provides a great opportunity for scenic riding on 21 miles of trails. Various loops for other distances are available. The horse trail winds through the rolling hills of the Wayne National Forest. The trails will lead you through a variety of vegetation: open fields, brushland, mature forest, and new forest. Along the way, you may glimpse wildlife, and will recognize the influence of humans, both now and in the past. You will also pass many of our land management activities.
Access the Hune Bridge Campground along the National Forest Covered Bridge Scenic Byway (S.R. 26) in Washington County. The campground is located across the historic Hune Covered Bridge.
Traveler
Review from the perspective of a motorcycle traveler tent camping. Tent sites are along a stream on one side and campsite access road on the other. Clean and well maintained with super nice staff. Had a $6 bundle of firewood delivered to my campsite. Tent area was vacant except for me.
Scout
We loved the location of Campbell Coves to Old Man’s Cave and hiking trails. We do a family trip to the area every fall and this will be our go-to location. We've already booked for fall 2021. We stayed in one of the rustic cabins. With other family members bringing their RVs. The bathroom facilities were some of the nicest and cleanest we’ve experienced. My parents had an RV site overlooking the lake. I wouldn’t tent camp there. The tent sites were all in the same area with no division from each other. They are expanding and can’t wait to see those offerings.
Legend
Wayne National Forest shares the area with Burr Oak State Park near Glouster, Oh.
Wayne National Forest is split into three areas in southeastern Ohio. I could not find a Burr Oak, Oh and the site listed with this entry refers to the State Park near Glouster.
That park and campground are well maintained with a marina and trail that loops the lake at approximately 20 miles and is part of the Bobcat Marathon in December. There is a Long Beach with sand and dogs are allowed. The campground has sites that are relatively close together but level and helpful staff.
Ranger
I used to work at Wayne National Forest as a YCC crew member! I fondly remember visiting these sites for weekly maintenance. Happy to report they are still very clean and well groomed! There are several platforms for tents and a trail that eventually meets up with the lake.
GuideWe have camped in a tent here several times. Popular for Scouting campouts and popular with local boaters. Hiking trails are good, the lodge has been renovated, however, I have not stayed there since the reno. Fairly remote, cell service is dicey but if that is what you are going for, you will be pleased. Beautiful scenery. Fall is a good time to visit. Not much nearby in the way of supplies.
Traveler
Never staying at a KOA before I was surprised how clean and well kept it was. The tent area was on a small elevation above the rvers so you could look down on them. Lol. The tent site was very nice and mostly flat. There are plenty of things for the kids to do. It does cater to the rvers so not that many tent sites. The one down side is the tent sites close to the bathrooms was crowded so if a little more privacy is wanted choose one a short distance away. All in all a nice place and I would return..
Scout
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.
Ranger
There's a great loop hike in Zaleski State Forest. High quality trees, nice little hills, cool rock formations. Fine campground for tent-camping (my preferred camping method). Much of Ohio is flat corn land, so Zaleski is a special place in Ohio. The trail swings close to some homes, which is less remote than out west where I live now, but overall it's nice.
RangerI worked for the Wayne National Forest as a Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) member when I was 18! We would meet at this beautiful building every morning to head out to do maintenance on the trails. The building has a lovely welcome center / small gift shop that is full of SUPER useful maps and information on trails, camping in the Wayne, the ATV trails, etc. There is a huge parking lot in the front and the side of the building and the roof is covered in solar panels! There is also a lovely native plant garden / pollinator area outside with informational signs. Additionally, there is an old (but well maintained) fire tower in the backyard (unsure if this is open to public). Overall a very great place to visit to get more information about camping in Wayne National Forest.
Traveler
Extremely private primitive camping surrounded by Wayne National Forest and steps from the Baileys Trail System. Fire pit, picnic table and handmade hammock supplied for comfort and convenience. Ask about having on-site free range chicken eggs and firewood waiting for you when you arrive!
Scout
Tent camped on a non-electric site in early May. Great campground. Clean, relatively quiet, and great bathrooms. The camp sites are right off one of the main trails in the park, so very easy to get out for a hike.
Guide
Enjoyed the campground, but the sites were very sloped and the rv sites were pretty close together. We stayed at one of the more spread out sites. I’d go again, but they should maybe make some tent pads for the tent sites.
Guidemany electric sites,usually busy, some rustic tent sites, 3 camper cabins in park. some shower houses . state park also offers cabins that sleep 6 with amenities also hike in campground in area.
Scout
We live close to this park and frequent there, sometimes just day trips. Tent camping is great and just like most places there are a few sites that are the best. Park offers hiking trails from the camp sites to the beach area or packing up the swim gear and using the parking lot. The beach area is back water from the ohio river. It is a sandy rocky mixture. There are boat rentals during peak months. There is a frisbee golf course that is top notch. The only down side to this ohio state park, are the bathrooms; they are port a pot facilities that can be pretty raunchy.
Traveler
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.
Traveler
We stayed at one of the riverside tent sites. It was beautiful!!! The sites are well maintained & the bathrooms are clean 😊 Kelly is a great host & makes you feel more than welcome! We will be back!
Guide
If you’re looking for a nice, secluded, private weekend getaway… this isn’t it. If you and some friends/family reserve tent sites 20, 21, and 22 you can have the entire little alcove to yourselves! If you’re just reserving one of them, you will be close enough to hear that your neighbors did in fact have beans for dinner. Campground was well maintained. Bathrooms were fine. You do have to walk to those tent sites. The view of the river was gorgeous, we watched several barges go by! Kind of noisy at night since it seems like this is primarily an RV park and very tight knit, community like. There was some bigger logs for fires over by the dumpster. Stopped at galaxy grocery for firewood, about a 10 minute drive from the campground. All in all, had a good time!
Scout
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 $20 a night unbeatable. Cheapest to visit the Mothman
ScoutThis was our first tent camping experience and over all went really well! Our particular site wasn’t very tent friendly and was overall a little awkward with the placement of hills and our fire pit, but I think that was a one off. We made it work and had a great time! The sites are close together so be aware if you aren’t fond of neighbors :) we will definitely be back!
Scout
Fantastic campground! Staff was super friendly and we were escorted to our camp site. Facilities a little dated but clean! Pool area was clean! We tent camp, but walking around, the camping trailers did not appear to be crowded together. For us this is a fantastic place to overnight and will return again when traveling through the area!!
ScoutHad reserved two tent sites, had to put down 45$ for each site. On Friday the weather was to be awful. Forecast calling for 3-4" of rain. Flash flood watches for entire area. So being in tents we cancelled our reservations. Campground would not return our 90$ deposit. To me that's bad business! I was out 90$!!!
LegendI spent my time at the group camp area tent camping. I was there for a Buckeye Trail Association event called EGGS hike. It’s a 20 mile hike around the backpacking trail. We have 12 hours to complete the challenge. The group camp area only has pit toilets and no showers but the fields are mowed and level so it’s easy to set up camp.
TravelerWe camped at both Dock 3 and Dock 2 with our dog, those are the only two areas that allow pets. At Dock 3 we were right on the water but dock 2 is probably 200 yards from the water. The hiking trails are nice but very muddy after the rain. Lots of geocasches in the area on the trails in Wayne national forest. The docks have near constant traffic but it's not super busy. Just a car every few hours. There were fishermen there most of the night when we were there.
GuideLake Hope gave me a new way to experience an area I grew very close to and appreciate but cannot stand the swarms of people. It was a great quiet and spacious campground with solid amenities and it’s own nearby sites. We were in Wayne National Forest and right next to the infamous Moonville tunnel. It was no problem to drive over to the caves in hocking hills but it was also nice to stay close by a couple days too. This is likely the only way we’ll do the area moving forward
Ranger
Lots of available places to tent camp or park an RV! There’s a nice little beach area along the lake. Several large pavilions. Playground for the kids. During the summer they set up large inflatable slides and create a makeshift lake waterpark! I camp here EVERY year during the Annual Pawpaw Festival in mid September. They have local art, music, beer, and all kinds of pawpaw products! Such a blast! Highly recommend!!!
Guide
This Campground was pretty great! My wife and I stayed in a rather large tent site and my parents stayed in an RV site. The RV site was rather small without much personal space. But it worked for what they needed. The tent site was decently secluded and near a nice small pond.
The campground put on a free BBQ for all of the guests one of the nights! It was very good and well thought out. They also put on a very long firework show that night which was awesome! We must have came the perfect weekend.
The restrooms were rather large and and worked fine. As well as the showers. There are also a few nice looking cabins! There is a camp store in the office, but it's rather small without anything interesting. There is a large barn with a few arcade games that the kids seemed to like.
The best part about this Campground?? DOGS ARE ALLOWED!! We were so grateful of this because we love taking our dog camping with us!
TravelerWe’ve stayed twice at this campground and have had a great time both times. It’s located very close to Hocking Hills State Park. Some of the tent sites are on an incline, but the RV site we had (site 24) was very spacious. There’s a a nice pool and nature trails. There’s even a trail to Ash cave from the campground.
Tent camping near Wayne National Forest in Ohio offers a serene escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Wayne National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Wayne National Forest is Zaleski State Forest with a 4.4-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Wayne National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 27 tent camping locations near Wayne National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
