Best Cabin Camping near Parkersburg, WV

As with any trip, do your research, read your reviews, peruse Google Satellite maps and talk to locals when you can.

Mountwood County Park http://www.mountwoodpark.org/about.html is located about 15 minutes east of Parkersburg on Rt 50. Heading east on Rt 50 from Parkersburg, WV you will arrive at Mountwood County Park on the right...but the campground portion is a mile further east on the left side of the road. Both are marked by road signage...but most would assume they are all in one location.

If you bring your quads, dirt bikes or mountain bikes with you when you camp, then Mountwood County Park is for you. Right off the back of Mountwood are plenty of ATV trails to keep you busy during your stay. If bombing mountain bike trails is your thing, then across the highway from the campground is your dream. If relaxing in a serene mountain or river valley campground atmosphere is what you desire...keep driving east on Rt 50 another 20 minutes to North Bend State Park.

The primitive tent sites ($20 nightly) are less than desirable and more of an afterthought...and I'm being gracious. There is patchy tall grass, dirt and rocks with no leveled areas. And you have to wander a distance to the restroom/showerhouse when needed. You can rent the tiny cabins ($40 nightly) up on the top of the hill if you desire. They were rented and filled during my visit, surrounded with trailers filled with quads (not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting). One of the main ATV offroad trail entrances is a hundred yards or so past the primitive tent sites so anticipate traffic and some noise. There were a few electric/water sites available for RV/Campers but the majority of them were filled.

It does appear that that there are several "long term campers" at numerous sites, as wooden steps and decks are built and attached to the campers. I would not describe the campground as neat and tidy, but fills a need.

The other portion of the county park lies across Rt 50 about 1/2 mile east. This is where you will find a nice 50 acre lake...shaped like a "T" on its side... for short paddles or fishing (no swimming permitted), a solid collection of varied ability MTB trails and a cool, little local WV Oil history museum. Being a bit of a history buff, I was fascinated by the museum...how the local town was created during the oil boon and then destroyed by fire...of an enormous wilderness mansion that sat where the campground now sits. Interesting stuff.

There is a nice dog park if you brought your pooch. Several picnic areas with picnic shelters, playgrounds, and decent shared hiking trails.

As stated, if your main purpose is to MTB or ATV, then you might be contented with Mountwood County Park Campground. As county parks go, Mountwood County Park, itself, is nice and has a lot to offer. If quiet camping is your objective, I would recommend NorthBend State Park just down the road a piece.

Stayed 2 nights at camper cabin in April.  Lake Hill Cabins runs the campground and boat rentals.  The prices advertised on their website are not accurate.  Expect to pay about 25% more.  The cabins are supposed to have solar lighting.  There is a handwritten sign saying the lights don’t work taped to the light switch.

The go to camping location for Athens. Many campsites, trails, and amenities. Anything from boat rentals, a small store, and docks to use near the lake. Strouds also has a beach with a volley-ball net! All walking and biking distance from most of the cabins.

This state park has a beautiful lake and a nice beach. There are boat rentals and a frisbee golf course. Overall, this part of the park is beautiful. 

The campgrounds, however, leave a lot to be desired. The people were really nice, but the facilities were terrible. The pit toilets were filthy- covered in flies, spiderwebs and dirt. They look like they have not been hosed out since the 70's. The showers and sinks are in an old, old building- it could be fine if it were cleaned daily, but it was filthy too. I was there 3 days and the showers and sinks were never cleaned. They were pretty gross from the start, but then by Saturday night one shower housed a pile of feces. No kidding. Poop in the shower. 

We stayed in the camper cabin, which is just a very basic shed with a bed, bunk beds, air conditioning and heat. We stayed there because it was July and I wanted A/C and electricity. The cabin smelled like mold. 

I'd go back to this lake but will not stay in the campgrounds again.

We have stayed here a couple of times in a tent and a class a motor home.  

The campground is pretty secluded but beautiful rolling hills.    While the site we stayed in with the motorhome was fairly level, sites are mostly small and tight on hilly terrain.  That said, I would still recommend this as a nice weekend getaway 

One of our visits was during hunting season and both the campground and the cabins were mostly being used by hunting parties. 

This is also close enough in proximately to serve as an alternative camping area for visiting Hocking Hills

We have camped here in tents, pop up camper, cabins, backpacking the nearby Zaleski State Forest and most recently, in our travel trailer. It is our favorite State Park that we have camped at. The campground has been recently updated, new pavement on the road and in the campsites. The nature center runs a lot of programs, including hand feeding hummingbirds, Christmas trail of lights, movies, hikes and more. The dining lodge is excellent food, the Sunday Brunch is great and they have a wood fired pizza oven. The lake has kayak, canoe, peddle boat and other rentals. The swimming area is large for a state park and has a small playset. Trails to suit all ages and experience levels. Moonville tunnel and rail trail is nearby. The front shower house is closed for remodeling, however, there are very nice flush toilets near the camp office and a shower house at the back section of the campground.

It was wonderful for our RV and family staying in their beautiful cabins

The park has nice camp sites, cabins if you like that kinda thing! But watch out for the FOG on the lake at night!!!!¡ It gets so bad you can't see past the end of your boat!!¡!!¡

On the border with West Virginia. There aren’t really sites on the water but there’s a nice path to the lake from the camp sites and lots of deer. We spent most of the time on the water (there’s a power limit on the boats) but the campsites were nice in a simple kind of way (showers but no flush).

The site that we are currently staying in is nothing like the pictures online(I am more than happy to share photos.) I contacted the owner, he talked down to me, continually interrupted me and even raised his voice trying to intimidate me. The site has serious concerns. Such as the Nextdoor cabin fire pit is located less than 6ft from where I am suppose to park my brand new truck. There is only gravel, no grass for 12ft outside of our camper. Our site appears to be a driveway or turnaround and numerous ppl have tried to drive through, Esp with gulf carts. I raised my concerns and unhappiness to the owners and they argued and talked down to me. The husband raised his voice and essentially yelled at me basically telling me we could pack up and leave. This has not been a great experience so far and I am not sure I will ever stay at a jellystone or recommend one to anyone in the future.

North Bend State Park is located at the halfway point of the 72-mile North Bend Rail Trail, so it’s a great camping spot for hikers, bikers and horseback riders who want to explore this scenic trail which crosses 35-bridges and cuts through 11-tunnels where the B&O Railroad used to travel. 

I highly recommend this trail to hikers because the scenery is spectacular, the wildlife plentiful, and the tunnels are really cool. The trail passes through some quaint towns such as the former oil boom-town of Cairo where many of the buildings from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s are still standing. 

North Bend State Park has a year-round lodge, year-round cabins and two campgrounds open from mid-April to mid-November. 

The Cokeley Campground has 28-sites with both water and electricity, picnic tables and fire pits. The bathhouse includes a small coin-op laundry. It’s close to the boat dock at North Bend Lake. I didn’t select this campground because it doesn’t have much shade.

I stayed at the River Run Campground which has 49-sites along the shores of the North Fork of the Hughes River with electric and non-electric sites to choose from. Four sites are ADA accessible. Each site has paved parking, a picnic table and fire pit. The bathhouse was clean and nicely tiled with hand soap and paper towels provided. The on-site staff was extremely friendly and you get a generous wheelbarrow full of firewood, cut from local downed trees, for$5. 

The lodge looked a little dated, but had a good home-style restaurant which was popular with travelers. The year-round cabins have been updated with ADA wheelchair ramps and wraparound decks. I may return and rent one after the campground closes so I can do some cross- country skiing on the North Bend Rail Trail this winter.

I paddled on the North Bend Lake which was extremely peaceful and beautiful, with the colors of fall surrounding me on all sides. I brought my own kayak, but they had boats for rent. There were several fishermen on the water and on the lakeside dock. They told me they catch bass and catfish at this 300-acre lake. The trail around the lake would be good for birders because I spotted ducks, hawks and wood-peckers.

North Bend State Park would be good for kids because they have playgrounds, mini-golf and an outdoor swimming pool(closed when I visited in October, but looked really nice).

This campsite costed about 2o dollars per night . There is electricity and restrooms. There are showers like usual and there is also boat rentals which was really expensive. There i short hiking trails nearby

We love Lake Hope. Many trails to hike. The lake is beautiful and there is a very nice lodge for meals. They offer paddle board, kayak and other rentals which was a blast.

This out of the way, hard to find and get to park was once great. It is still a good place to camp, but there is little in the way of maintenance or upkeep going on other than what the volunteer groups are doing. The trails are generally good, some are great, hiking and mountain biking groups are keeping them in good shape. The geese are out of control, the beach is often filthy with goose crap. Fishing is hit and miss. I doubt you will see a Ranger or State Park employee, that can be a good thing or a bad thing, you decide. LOTS of Geocaching opportunities. Athens has a great deal of places to eat, nightlife, shows and any supplies you may need. The trails link into the city trails so it is possible to hike from town to the camp, but it is complex and quite a haul. Pets are allowed, but not on the swimming beach. The Group campsite it larger and has it's own pit latrine, parking and picnic tables. We have used it for Scout groups. A swingset is across the road in the main campground. There is one electrical outlet, near the entrance of the campground at the bulletin board. There is also a large wooden screen near the entrance where you can use your own projector to watch movies at night. Be advised, the cabins are tiny wood shacks.

At lake hope you can enjoy camping in many ways rather if it’s by tent (the way I prefer) or by camper. It’s a very nice place to have some family fun. Very nice beach and swimming area. Hiking and horse back riding trails. Canoe/kayak rental. Very nice dinning area at the lodge. I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone.

Campground was well maintained, even the pit toilets. Our campsite was huge #46. But some sites seemed very small. It’s a short drive to the lake house for the beach and boat rental. The food at the Lodge is delicious! The drive to get there was rough. Don’t count on GPS. Look it up and plan it out before you go.

Honestly this is a really solid camp ground and my partner and I stayed for about a week. We were able to camp right by the lake. The trails are great for hiking and some more intermediate mountain biking. And there are boat rentals of many different types. All and all a great camp ground with lots of activities and hiking to be had.

I love this state park because of the lake, beach, boat rentals, old growth forest and nearby Hocking Hills. However, most of the campsites are on a slope. Like, a steep slope. I'd recommend visiting the campground before you book to get a level site. Some areas are more level than others. Bathrooms are a bit old, but it's better than not having any showerhouses at all, am I right?

Several campsites are on a slope so this calls for being creative with placement of tent.
Firewood available for purchase on site. Lake Hope lodge provides great warm and dry spot for delicious food.

Several activities available, fishing available anywhere on the lake, kayak rental for $10 and good size lake.

Very clean pit toliets and running water available dispersed throughout the park. Several hiking trails, zaleski is nearby, hocking hills is 30 minutes away. Moonville tunnel and iron furnace in the area.

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.