Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Parkersburg is the way to go. It's easy to find Parkersburg campgrounds for horse camping with The Dyrt. Search nearby equestrian campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Pets are permitted on all sites. Sites 44-60 are electric. Sites 1-43 and 61-95 are non-electric. Sites 65-81 are tent camping only.
Mountwood Park Family Campground offers 87 campsites suitable for tents, trailers and recreational vehicles. The campground has 16 full hookup sites, 64 sites with electric/water and 7 primitive sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Multiple bathhouses are located throughout the campground offering hot showers and clean restroom facilities. Firewood, ice, souvenirs and camping supplies are available from the campground host while on duty. Families can enjoy a variety of campground activities throughout the season. A playground and New Nature Trail are also available for registered campers.
Want to go camping but not in a tent? Then try one of Mountwood’s Primitive Cabins located in Mountwood Family Campground. Each cabin comes equipped with electric, two sets of bunk beds, ceiling fans/lights and a table with four chairs. Each Primitive Cabin has a fire ring and a charcoal grill and is located near the bathhouse and playground. Maximum occupancy is four pe
Do you want to have a lake view from your tent? Do you want to step outside your campsite into your boat and start fishing at the morning first light? If so, one of Mountwood’s five Lakeside Campsites is for you. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. The Lakeside Campsites are rented on a first come/first serve basis and are available for rent year round.
We have a horse camp too!
$20 - $40 / night
There are 78 primitiive campsites and one group site available for organized groups. Latrines, waste drains, picnic tables and fire rings are provided 10 sites are available for campers with pets
Primitive camping is allowed at no charge at the trailhead, but only during the horse and mountain bike riding open season.
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.
Guide
Easy pull-thru site for our small travel trailer. Each pull-thru is set-up for horses, but RVs are allowed (according to NFS website). Maybe because it was Halloween night, maybe due to hunting season, I dunno, but there seemed to be more traffic than expected for this road. Our only neighbors got a little... rowdy, but it was okay.
Campsite fee is $15 on the honor system. If you have a National Park's Golden Age or Access pass, they honor a 50 percent discount.
I had good 4G ATT cell service. Worked well, with no drops. Data was a bit slower than usual but still good.
The only facilities here were a single pit toilet (surprisingly clean) and a trash can at each site. There may be more services during the height of the season, at least water for horses, but nothing else I could tell.
A short distance further down the road, just after it turns to gravel, at the Old Stone Church trailhead, there are grassy places to back in smaller campers/RVs. And even further down the road, after it turns back to asphalt :D, there's a private campground with utilities, I think, but we only saw it and didn't check it out.
Guide
Was a “okay” small area to stay at for free. There was a lot of bees, yellow jackets. The bathroom was clean, but the "non-flush" toilet was just gross.
Traveler
Very quiet campground with little to no other riders around. Only complaint would be the non equestrians staying in the equestrian area
TravelerParking for regular cars is 100 yards before restroom (the others are for horse trailers only). Close to the restroom there’s a picnic table, tentspots and a manual water pump. A lot of insects, humid and dense deciduous forest surrounding the trailhead. The Kinderhook trail was overgrown. The Paw Paw trail on the other hand was very smooth, dry and wide. The trail leads to the top of the hill.
ScoutArea is dedicated to horse trail riding. Nice clean area just off main road.Can camp here in certain spots. Not much area to camp. No fire rings, one picnic table. Definitely only for very small camper, car camp, or tent, small group. Nice trails. Seem to be well maintained. Does have a small hand pump water spigot. Has no flush vault toilet. No hook-ups of any kind. I did not camp here due to severe weather warnings. With att had 2 to 3 bars cell service.
Guide
Stayed one night. OHV trails closed for winter. Hiking allowed year-round. Most campsites inaccessible during off-season. Pit toilet closed for winter. Probably busy on weekends during the season. Nice place.
TravelerStayed here for two nights. Saturday was super busy, and we snagged the last available spot with a fire ring. The second night we only had one tent near us. There are plenty of pull-off areas on the road leading up to this trailhead that were being used night one as well. There were restrooms and several fire rings. Cell service was available, but not great.
Scout
Small campground, lower camp sites are pretty close together but it's treed and shady with a creek running through. No one was here during our stay so felt like we had the campground to ourselves. Newer flush toilets near the group camp sites are nice. Camp store has showers for camper use. Really pretty lake!
Traveler
Stayed at a non-electric site for a weekend after Labor Day. All adjacent campsites were empty. It was great with silence and space, but would be considerably less enjoyable during peak times. Showers and restrooms were acceptable and what you might expect from a state park. The lodge on the opposite side of the lake offers great food and drinks.
Scout
Only stayed for a night but it was very quiet and only a handful of other campers. All the sites seemed relatively level. Some of the electric hookups had damage but being able to choose your spot upon arrival helped. We arrived in pouring rain and had no issues with our campsite when we could see it in the morning lol.
Bathrooms and showers were relatively clean and accommodating.
Seemed a lot like a hidden gem and I definitely recommend. Especially if you have a dog. Across the street, the park portion of this campground has a dog park, playground, historical site and pond for fishing
FYI . Most of the sites seemed small so it might be best for smaller setups. Also I did not see any pull through sites.
GuideThe site was a good size, but not secluded. Decent hikes around the campgrounds
ScoutBurr Oak campgrounds is so relaxing and quiet I would recommend finding some wood early or buy it I'm not sure if you can bring your own so check before you do. The non-electric site's atr a little hilly but we slept in our Kia Soul next to the picnic table and fire ring
Scout
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.
ScoutThere’s access to bathrooms and showers, there’s also a plug in right where we camped which was a plus but didn’t need it. The park was empty and if it was busy you would be close to other campers
Traveler
We have hiked in and hammock camped at Zaleski a handful of times. Twice it rained so much some of the trails were uncrossable but even then we still enjoyed ourselves. The is one spot about 3 miles in that is pretty far off trail, flat and on top of a hill. It's where we usually start our trip.
GuideThis is an extremely primitive place that is not run by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is run by the same woman who runs the boat rentals at several other state parks in SE Ohio- this is her business. There are very few amenities here. There are pit toilets, potable water towards the front, and that's it. There is a road that runs alongside the entire length of the campground, right at the edge, so you can hear cars and coming and going, especially at night. I was here in late October, so I can't attest to whether this place has a loud party atmosphere like many other state parks, but it seemed pretty chill, probably due to the fact that you can't reserve a site in advance- you pay when you arrive, and pick your spot then. The boat house's hours said they were still open for the season, but I arrived long after they were supposed to open according to their hours listed on the door, and I never saw a person all day. So I went to go rent a boat at a different place. All in all, the campground is fine, just the traffic along the road was a bit annoying, and the sites are not very wide- you are close to your neighbors and there is nothing separating the sites.
Guide
This is a great campground that runs along the ridge above Lake Hope. Tons of great spots. Not a lot of privacy, but still great. Good hiking all around and the lake is beautiful.
ScoutSites are only rented in person once you arrive, they have clear instructions at the entrance. Sites were nice and level, but a bit on the smaller side. Plenty of trails for hiking around the park.
GuideLook, just go find some dispersed places out in the national forest instead of ending up here. The campsites are usually littered with trash and the latrines smell for a good distance - you'd be better off digging a hole.
RangerI stayed at Dock 3 - NOT the main campground. These are non-electric/primitive. There is a vault toilet and a spigot. Perfect little spots on the lake. Table, firering. Only complaint is the streetlight in the parking lot was very bright. But it was a fantastic basecamp for a weekend of trail running and kayaking. The 22 mile trail around the lake is very well marked and easy to run. Absolutely will be back.
RangerI stayed one night at the group site for the Thunderbunny trail races. It was raining and I was prepared and just slept in my car, as many others did. Group site is set off from the main campground which is nice - it was quiet and felt remote. Just one portajohn. I'm not sure if there was water because I didn't need it. Strouds is a beautiful park for trail running, during all seasons, I love it! Also great spot for kayaking!
ScoutA place of wonder
ScoutLovely park near Zanesville. The park is beautiful, lots of wildlife, and the trails were great. There is a creek running through the main primitive campsites below the dam, with minnows and crawfish for the kids to catch, plenty of shade, and the remodel a few years ago added nice bathrooms over in the group camp area up against the base of the dam. The fishing was good, and the activities with the naturalist (Cayden) were fun and engaging. The hiking was wonderful, the equestrian trails looked very nice, and the fire tower was a fun climb. The beach was a little dirty from the geese, but that didn't slow anyone down on swimming. Also, while the showers were up by the beach, there was always plenty of hot water.
GuideEnjoyed 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.
GuideGreat area. Camped here with my friends and I’ve been here on a backpacking trip through OU. That being said there are backpacking trails and hiking trails as well as mtn biking. It’s huge. Millions of spots. Pretty expensive (50$? A night) for a place with thousands of spots to camp at. The general store is cute and has everything you need. Must be a confusing place at night because a group of people harassed us when we were sleeping telling us that we were in the wrong spot. They ended up sleeping in the spot next to us and slept off their anger.
ScoutGood
TravelerLuxurious accommodations and continental breakfasts won’t be found here…..a space to unwind and reflect will. The sites are sloped and ill paved but the sights, the sights are quintessential Southeast Ohio. Rolling hills dotted with little burgs where the oil has dried up but the resolve has yet to. A slight traverse down the hill lends views normally reserved for travel mags and postcards if just a bit of adventure is employed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Parkersburg, WV?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Parkersburg, WV is Burr Oak State Park Campground with a 4-star rating from 32 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Parkersburg, WV?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 equestrian camping locations near Parkersburg, WV, with real photos and reviews from campers.
