Located between Columbus and Mansfield, Mt. Gilead State Park provides the charm of a small, secluded park, while offering many of the amenities found at larger parks. Mt. Gilead's wildflowers, wildlife, and woodlands offer year-round wonder for hikers and nature lovers. The small lake is perfect for paddling or dropping a line to catch bass or bluegill. A picturesque gazebo and several shelters offer a perfect setting for weddings and family reunions.

The cozy Mt. Gilead State Park Campground offers Full Hookup sites as well as 50/30-amp Electric sites. Pets are permitted on most campsites. Reservations are required and can be made online or by calling.

Mt Gilead State Park Campground

Ok small sites you got that from the title.  Small park, very small however we loved it.  Our site had a deck right behind the camping pad because the site has a descent slope.  The fire pit was down the slope which was cool being out of site from walkers.  Hiking trails very well maintained (only saw 3 pieces of trash while hiking, we picked up the garbage) Bathrooms clean and nice showers.  We went Friday-Sunday would do again for a short weekend. President Harding’s house and tomb close by also a few wineries. 

Small Park

Lovely state park! Happy about the new indoor facilities.

Camp & Hike

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our one night stay at Mount Gilead State Park Campground. The campground seemed to be geared towards people with RVs, as all the sites had electrical hookups. There were also sites with water hookups, but those cost a bit more. We just needed a place to park our car and pitch a tent, so we found a site with a good amout of grass and less pavement. The sites were pretty close together, but there were just enough trees between them that there ended up being some element of privacy.

The rest of the facility seemed nice as well. There was a small playground, and an office that sold firewood. The restrooms and showers were impeccably clean. They were the cleanest of any campground I've seen so far. The showers are free and button-operated. In addition, I believe there was a hiking trail or two through the forest that started at the campground. I would happily camp here again!

Mount Gilead State Park Campground

My husband and I camped here last week without kids. We stayed at site 10\. The campground was quiet and peaceful. Our site was a concrete pad and our grassy area was on a hill. It is dog friendly and the shower house was clean. They also have laundry available. Our kids would have been bored but if you’re looking for quiet, this is a great place.

Quiet, peaceful getaway

We stayed only one night and it was a pretty roomy site. We took a night walk with headlamps and found the disc golf course. This was laid out to be a crazy course and included repelling ropes! 

Great Disc Golf Course

This is one of the smaller campgrounds in the Ohio State Parks system but it’s a little hidden gem. With a larger camper with have to park at the end of the row so not as many trees, but still a great park. The hiking trails are nice and one of the better marked parks.  They camp store is nice and well stocked.  They also have a small lake and a disc golf course.  Site 37

One of my Favorite Small Parks 

Nice campground that's very well maintained. Some of the sites are close together, especially in the site with full hookups, but not too bad. We were in sight #9 that is close to the neighbors, but it had a large area in back with a fire pit. 
The camp has nice trails, a fishing lake and disc golf course along with other activitie. The store was closed due to Covid-19 but restrooms and showers were open.

Great Get-Away!

This park isn’t all that big but it was nice. Surprised that the showers were open during COVID. The showers were nice, you get your own shower room which was quite large. Restrooms were nice also and there was access to “a hole in the ground” bathroom that wasn’t so nice. The camp host makes several rounds around the park and was very friendly. A lot of RV and campers here but site was nice for our tent with plenty of space. 

Nice Stay

This was our first time at this campground, but we visited it beforehand to check out the sites to look for shade, decent size and grass. The full hookup sites were small and you really didn’t have much of a side yard and potentially no back yard depending on the side of the street you were on. The electric sites were sporadic with shade and size. Some had absolutely no shade, while others had partial shade. We stayed in an electric site, with partial shade, grass and very tall pine trees(awesome). Our pad was gravel and not level, but nothing a few blocks couldn’t help. The pine trees we had in our site could be used for hammocks, but we used it for dog tie out which worked great. The pads were perpendicular to the drive, which could make it a little tough for larger campers to back in especially if your neighbor across the street it already there. There is a camp store, but you can’t go inside. There is nice bathhouse that has separate flush toilets from the showers. There are also vault toilets at the end of one of the turnarounds. The park itself had a couple of playgrounds, lots of shelter houses, a bird blind, permanent cornhole boards, horseshoe pits and a short drive to trails and a lake. You can kayak and fish, but no swimming in the lake. We took a hike one day– nice trail system and we kayaked another(small lake). There is plenty to do if you want or you can just hang out and enjoy the quiet and the smell of the tall pine trees. The camp host was friendly and made a few trips out each day to check on the campers and sites. We plan to go back in the fall to check out the leaves around the lake!

Small but Tall (trees!)

Site 29 - this was a nice site in tall pine trees and colors all around. The pad was gravel and pretty level. We had trees in our site that could be used for hammocks as well. We were able to set up our ez-up and still have room to walk our dogs. It wasn’t the biggest site, but definitely not the smallest. We had electric for our camper. We had a good storm one night that caused a small pool of water out front and around the fire ring, but both areas drained very well the next day. There are vault toilets at the end of the road and a very nice shower house as you drive in that were clean all weekend. The park had a couple of playgrounds for kids, disc golf course and lots of hiking trails. The camp store is now open with limited hours. Wood is available but it’s all slab cut. There are also permanent cornhole boards. There are full hook up sites as well but are right next to one another and not a lot of trees. You can drive down to the lake and kayak and fish. It’s a very small campground with a very big park. 

Fall is here!

This was our first trip ever so we decided to go to a smaller state park. This was a really nice place to start.  We were at spot #6, had a porch at the end of the drive which overlooked the woods and the lake.  (Will attach photos) The trails were not long at all. Less than 2 miles total and it was beautiful.  Very quiet all day and all night.  We stayed the first weekend of April and was a little cold over night.  They do offer frisbee golf. It was just an overall relaxing weekend and felt great to unplug from work and the cell phones. Would stay here again.  Forgot to mention they had tent sites, electric only or full hookups.  We paid $29 a night for the full hookups.  They do have a dump station as well and portable water.  

It was our first trip...

Our 3rd time to this park with a new site. We really enjoy this smaller campground with the tall trees. It has pit toilets at the end of the electric and a great showerhouse set between the electric and full hook up. Our site was really big and shaded. We have dogs so this site gave us a little more room in between our neighbor. We had trees we used to set up a small dog run and plenty more if you like to hammock. We have a small camper, but there was plenty of space for tents as well on this site. There is a slight downhill grade, but definitely not a turn off. Not all the sites have shade and not all are level. Some do gather water if you get a lot of rain. The pads are at a 90 degree angle to the road, so it can be a little more of a challenge to back in a big camper. The camp store is open on the weekends and are getting back up and running. There are a couple of playgrounds for kids, volleyball, cornhole, shelterhouses, disc golf and trails. There is a small lake as well that you can kayak, but will have to drive down the road to get to it. We found a ton of wildflowers on our hike (see our pictures). There is very small trail that connects one end of the campground to the other and then there is a bigger trail down by the lake.

Big Site - Great for Camper & Tents

We stayed here for 3 nights with other family members. The park has soooooo much for kids to do it was amazing.   

Short drive from Der Dutchmen, and plenty of fun places to sight see.  

Would for sure come back here again.

The little drive around the pond is a bit of a butt clencher though. 

We loved our stay here! Great for kids!!

Campground was nice and well maintained. The "Camp Host" came around a few times a day to ensure trash was picked up and needs were met. Site 8 has full hookups and a concrete parking pad. The roses are narrow and the larger rig next to us had issues getting in. The sites on our side of the road sloped away from the parking pad. It there wasn’t a level spot off the concrete. We had to use our leveling blocks under the picnic table. 

Nice State Park

Site 32 is a big site in a small campground. We've been in this site before and like it because we can have out kitchen set up by the camper, the fire ring is below and out of the way and we have a lot of space to walk our dogs or hang hammocks. There is plenty of space for tents.

  

The pads are almost 90 degrees to the main road which can make it tough backing in a big camper. The full hookup sites are much smaller and closer together. The electric sites (where we stayed) are bigger and a little more spread out. There is a terrific shower house where the flush toilets are separate from the shower rooms. There are drop toilets at the end of the electric loop. There are also two cabins available for rent. 

  

The tall trees provide good shade, hammock hanging and entertainment with birds and squirrels. There is a very short hiking trail that will take you from the electric side to the full hook-up side. They just added new trellis's on either end and animal boards along the walk. The camp store is nice and has a lot to offer. There's a large playground and a couple of different shelters. You can throw horse shoes, play cornhole, partake in disc golf, kayak or go for a nice hike at this park.

  

We chose to go hiking and saw a little bit of color on the trees and a lot of mushrooms! We like the campground because it's small, kept clean and offers a variety of thinks to do.

Small and grand....

We’ve been here before and like the smallness of the park. It’s really pretty in the fall and has some sites that sit back in trees. The sites can be tight to get in and out of with big campers as the turns are almost at a 90 degree angle. 

Our site was nice - it had trees and space to walk our dogs. There’s a nice shower house with separate flush toilets. There are a couple of vault toilets on one end. 

The camp store is a nice size and has a variety of items. If you have kids there’s a good playground. Lots of trails to hike and play frisbee golf. 