Top O' The Caves Campground

I'll start by saying I have a cattle dog and a lab. Both have a bit of anxiety but are otherwise well trained and medicated (after much consideration with vets behaviorist and trainers).

Campsite is clean, accessible, and accommodating.

This is my complaint:

Before making our reservation the dogs had been doing extremely well on their walks. Little to no reactivity for weeks. Still, I did my best to find a “more remote” site that still had electric.

I understood there may be some traffic, but I severely under estimated how much. I found the map and video tour very misleading and difficult to read.

We ended up very close to the main entrance and right next to the highest traffic road in the whole camp site. The dogs were very stressed and barked at every car that went by. We made every effort to reduce this with our training techniques including keeping them on short leashes in hand to redirect, and leaving the site entirely during prime check in hours.

The campsite staff asked if they would settle the first night and I had every reason to think they would after the first night, based on experience, but they did not. There was no other communication about the issue or trying to find a resolution. I acknowledge I probably could have been more proactive myself, but I had read the relevant materials and did what research I could ahead of time. Since I had not heard anything I believed we were within expectations.

Upon leaving we were approached by a member of the campsite staff that told us we were not welcome back, and the dogs should have stayed home, that they had numerous complaints through out our stay and we had been a nuisance to everyone due to excessive noise (I'm paraphrasing). I was apologetic as I was under the impression it was being managed well enough since we had not heard anything.

When we got home I sent a note to the management to let them know I found the conversation with the staff member to be unprofessional and unhelpful. I offered a few ways they could make things more comfortable for everyone. I had a neutral tone and was focused on solutions and preventing another circumstance like this for them. Their response was about the same as the staff member and actually I had violated several policies I was unaware of and had not seen until their mention in this email.

I say all of this to say, based on my experience, they expect dogs to be practically silent and extremely obedient. Also, if you are bringing dogs that need any kind of special accommodation to stay relaxed, I HIGHLY recommend calling ahead and ensuring you have what you need at your site and have understood the policies and map (etc) correctly.

The staff will not be proactive about offering solutions or communicating potential conflicts early which could prevent your visit from being as quiet and relaxing as you may have liked.

The location is great. The staff was friendly. The bathrooms were fairly clean but the lights are on a timer so they go out on you when you're in the stall. The worst part is the lots are so sloped that it took all my wood, stackers, levelers and a bit of luck to get my camper level. In all my years camping I've never been on such an incline. The water was rusty well water, but tasted ok after my filter setup. The power showed an open neutral in the 30 amp hook up so I ran my cable to a close by empty lot and it tested ok. The camper next to us had their truck doors open and radio cranked up all day amd into the night. We asked if they could turn it down a little and they just laughed. I normally don't say anything to anyone camping but it was just so rude. I was walking up to the front desk to complain but they finally turned it down some when they saw me walking to the front. The wifi was spotty at best and we had zero Verizon cell service. Overall I would stay again, but I will try to find a more level spot if they have any.

This place is off the beaten path, meaning that you probably will lose cell service getting to it, so make sure you have general directions. We have Verizon and had no cell service while there (which was pretty nice actually). We stayed in a primitive (no electric no water) tent site just down the hill from the campground set a little bit off into the woods. It was certainly private, with only one set of tent campers about 100 yards away. Bring your bug spray for sure! (We stayed in June.) Game barn for kids, there's also a pool that we didn't make it to. There are RVs off in the distance as well as cabins. Cabins didn't look well kept. Beware: there are TONS of raccoons, as in dozens and dozens that like to roam around at night. They were fine, just curious and woke us up with their communication a few times at night. They will come right up to the tent and sniff and touch the tent, so don't be concerned. They're just very active at night. My guess is people have fed them and/or garbage is not always secured. Showers and bathrooms were subpar. I still used both but some showers weren't in working order. We would like to come back to this area and explore Hocking Hills more, but would probably try out a different campground.

My family stayed at the Cedar cabin over Labor Day weekend (September 2021). We were very excited to stay, play all the games offered, and have a relaxing weekend. Our experience was anything, but that. The cabin smelled so bad that we could hardly stay inside. It smelled like a mix between musty, mold, and bad cleaner. In fact, this ended up aggravating my son's asthma to the point where we had to check out early. We inquired about a refund and never got an answer until a month later(which they declined the refund request). The place was so dirty and nasty that we had to clean the dishes and all the counters before we even unpacked. The putt-putt course was closed, half of the arcade games did not work, and our firewood was stolen when we were exploring the area. The"prizes" you could redeem your tickets for were the cheapest toys I have ever seen. I was tempted to give my kids$10 each and go to the dollar store to get some"real" toys. We paid nearly$600 for the weekend and definitely did not get our money's worth. Please, please, please, please DO NOT stay here ever.

Older campgrounds with a lot of things to do. Put put golf and a fun small arcade, although dated, were great for down times inbetween hikes. The pool was a little bit too dirty for me but the kid liked it enough to cool down in. Showers and bath house were relatively clean. A lot of campers, which makes it harder to keep up with during the day but its always mopped and ready the next morning! Camp shop had a little bit of just about everything you forgot to pack. Workers were ALL super friendly and helpful. We stayed in the shaded walk in sites. Very few of these were level. 125, 120 and 138 looked like better spots than 121(our site). If you want shade, these are the spots to be, all other primitive sites are really out in the open with little cover. Beware of parking down there if its raining or you expect rain. There were a lot of people, from cars to trucks, that got stuck down that little hill and had to be towed out! Unpack on the gravel drive and park up the hill would be my suggestion in cases of rain. The water spigots were well, of course, but you better let it run for a long bit! I've never seen such brown water at camp. This place needs some upgrades and a little attention here and there but it was a fun place that I would recommend if the state park is full up and you are lookin for a place near by!