Ohio River Campground and Marina near Shawnee State Park offers camping along the Ohio River. The terrain is characterized by riverbanks and wooded areas. Nearby attractions include Shawnee State Forest and the historic town of Portsmouth, with temperatures ranging from 30°F in winter to 85°F in summer.

80 full hook-up sites with paved pads; 5 are ADA accessible
    Shower house with flush toilets and laundry facility
    Fire ring and picnic table at each site
    Pets permitted on all sites

Ohio River Campground and Marina — Shawnee State Park

The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Friendship. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Friendship is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Find the best campgrounds near Friendship, OH. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.

Friendship

The Best Camping Near Friendship, Ohio

The hiking was beautiful and accessible - the campsites were equipped with tables and fire pits - the firewood was plentiful - but you need a car if you're going to see everything. We drove every day, which we hadn't anticipated, but once we saw what was available, we were more than happy to drive to see it! The falls and the nature were incredible and we had an incredible weekend. You'll love it - bring a nice camera! Oh, and a car ;)

Make sure to consult a map beforehand and decide what you want to see most. Your cell service may be spotty, so it's good to have a plan on the front end just in case. And if you do in the summer or early fall, bring some bug candles or bug spray.

Oh and BE CAREFUL with your gas. There aren't a ton of gas stations around, so make sure that you don't drive around and run out of gas too far from a gas station. Be aware of where they are a plan accordingly for a great experience.

Wonderful - but need a car

Most of the campsites have great privacy, despite being fairly close together. The beach is very nice! There are plenty of trails for the hikers, and 2 lakes if you're the boating/swimming type. Lots of elevation for Ohio.

Great little camp gound

I stayed at Shawnee SP campground in August 2020 (Friday night). This campground is geared towards families with kids, especially with RVs. It has all of the amenities: electric at most sites, water, flush toilets, showeres, laundry. There’s a small lake at the campground with a swimming beach and canoe rentals. They also have a gift shop and miniature golf. North of the campground there is a lodge with cabins and larger fishing lake. The campsites are very close together and the campground was full when I was there. It was surprisingly quiet at night. I prefer a little more privacy and separation from other campers. Looking around the campground I’d say that Site 8 is the best site for car camping or RV camping. There are 2 tent camping sites (111 and 112) that provide separation from other campers but you have to park and carry your gear back to the sites

Family Campground 

Such a neat campground where many spots are on the side of a hill and the campfire ring is above or below it on the hill. 

Forest camping

Just a beautiful park. Clean well maintained. Lots of amenities. Paddle boats, marina, 18 hole disc golf, bike park, huge dog park, store,archery range, playground and trails. 

Large beautiful diverse fun.

This campground has some of the largest and best spaces camp sites of any full hookup we have visited. There are great walking paths and biking/ scooter options. Our site was closer to the main road than any other but it was still a few hundred yards away. There is river access and it is close to Shawnee State Lodge and Portsmouth, which had great flood wall murals. The site was very clean but could use more trash cans to keep it that way. There is either a  shooting range or someone shooting on their own property nearby that did steal some of the peace Saturday midafternoon but it was only for a few hours and wasn’t close enough to be a big deal. 

Large, Clean, and Family Friendly

Stayed one night. It was clean, and uncrowded. They were flexible. The first site we had we were unable to set up our StarLink so we scoped out another site where there were no trees and then asked to switch and they were accommodating. We were working most of the time and when we weren’t it was raining so we didn’t see much of the park. 

Peaceful easy parking 

We stayed in Site 09. The sites are spacious with level, asphalted pads. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table.

Toward the front of the campground is a great splash pad, playground, and dog park, which includes an agility course. These are located away from the RV's; therefore, the campground was very quiet and peaceful.

Nearby was a marina, fishing access, and an archery range. The surrounding hills are pretty.

The bath house was clean. A laundry room was available.

The only drawback was the lack of shade. Because this place is relatively new, in time--as the planted seedlings grow--this problem will lessen.

Photos of Ohio River Campground and Marina — Shawnee State Park

Real photos from real campers