Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Wheeling? Finding a place to stay in West Virginia while traveling with your horse has never been easier. At The Dyrt, you can find top-rated spots for horse camping, as reviewed by campers.
Located in eastern Ohio, Salt Fork State Park encompasses a diverse and beautiful landscape featuring forested hills, open meadows and misty valleys decorated with winding streams. This magnificent state park is Ohio’s largest state park, with 17,229 acres of recreational facilities available to visitors. Salt Fork State Park camping is possible at more than 200 individual campsites, open year-round.
$23 - $34 / night
Sites 25, 27, 29, 31 & 32 are electric.
Campground Closed for Renovation: The campground on Leslie Road will be completely unavailable during renovations beginning October 20, 2019. NOTE: A one-lane bridge on Echo Dell Road CANNOT accommodate vehicles with trailers or RVs. You must approach the Park Office, Wildlife Education Center, Gaston's Mill, and Pioneer Village from the south if you are traveling in a large vehicle.
$18 - $50 / night
Traveler
More trails to add to the collection.
Guide
When you pull into Beaver Creek Family Campground you pretty much have two choices: either you go left into multiple Pine tree sites or right into two cabins and more RV friendly open sites. A few of the RV sites have electric, but no water for their tanks. I suggest the pine sites for any tent or hammock campers. I stayed in one of the first set of 3 pine sites numbered 43, 44, and 45. There is some brush and cover between these sites, but each has a pull in parking pad. If 45 was occupied with a RV, 44 would not be as nice as it was. Backing into 44 and 45 would be tricky as well. To be fair any larger RV that came in better know how to get through tight quarters.
The back area of each of those 3 sites looked best to get even ground for a tent. My buddy hung his hammock between the tree to the left of the picnic bench and to a tree back and left in the picture of site 44. Site was fairly clean, but be sure to move the pine tree duff away from the fire pits to be safe.
Probably the nicest pit toilets I have experienced and while we didn't use, it the sun shower building would give anyone privacy if they had packed a portable shower. Lots of trails to choose from and the pioneer village in the state park gives you many options to spend the day. Had some luck fishing at the Canoe/Kayak area in the South East area of the park close to the Group Camp Sites.
TravelerDated, but pretty clean bath\shower building with clothes washer and dryer ($2). Sites in C-loop are far enough apart to not feel too crammed together. Power pedestal has 20, 30 and 50 amp service. 30 amp worked fine. Lots of trails, allowing dogs on leash. True, other amenities are a drive of at least a couple miles to get to. ATT service was fine for streaming using ROKU and my phone as a hotspot. Paved, level pads, but not long enough for largest trailers. Check size if you have one. Sites at South end of loop get the most shade
Guide
Paved, free, self register, FF, pit toilet, cell service 3 bars. Only negative to some maybe gunfire at nearby range during day. Fernwood state forest.
TravelerAlways love going to salt fork. Bathrooms are always clean and I appreciate having wash racks for the horses. If i had a complaint it would be that the campground is always pretty busy
LegendSomeone cancelled and this amazing site fell into our lap. I always put a ridiculous amount of time into finding sites that match our wants/needs list. This campground has very few sites that make the cut, but F08 was perfect. Backed up to the woods, has a view of the lake, shade, privacy, hammock trees, medium size, electric, bathroom directly across the street, water and grey water dump directly across the street.
Everywhere we camp, we color code a campground map with sites we like/dislike. This campground had about 7 sites we liked out of over 200. There are almost no sites with shade or privacy, many are small and oddly angled towards the road. They do all have 15A, 30A and 50A hookups and newer, level pads. The bathrooms however are very outdated. They still have the spring loaded faucets that you have to hold open and the men's shower houses is still a shared room for your things and changing. Worst of all, the water pressure was terrible and constantly changing.
This campground is in one of Ohio's largest state parks and is very popular. Which is why a lot of these negatives are pretty shocking to us. Like the never developed D loop. You would think for such a large and busy park, they would want as many sites as possible and to update the facilities.
One of my complaints about all of Ohio's state parks is the lack of tree preservation. Almost all of the state parks just clear the land to install power/water. You'd think a Ohio State Division of Wildlife State Park would take a bit extra care and attention to preserve some of them which also makes for a much better camping experience.
Overall, the positive rating isn't for the campground but rather the almost 20,000 acre state park. It is insanely huge and has many, many places to see and explore. There are beaches (even a private one for the campground), boat launches, hunting roads, historical house/cottage that is a museum, a cave and more.
Lastly, The Dyrt never seems to map the campground correctly so I couldn't do their cell network tests. However, Mint/T-Mobile and Verizon had pretty strong 5G. It slowed down a few times but was there the entire time.
Scout
Perfect for our little Scamp trailer. Only 5 big electric sites, no showers or potable water. As a result it was so peaceful! We loved our rainy stay. There are some lovely hiking trails around the lake and spillway. But lately there has been no swimming because of blue green algae.
ScoutThunderstorm had filled all hotels so I looked fora free campground. Set up my site and stayed in my wagon due to storms. It was very peaceful.
TravelerSmall quiet state park. Nice trails and very big sites on the one side.
ScoutVery well kept, completely free 1st come campground just outside the very small town of Bloomingdale, OH. Pit toilets and no source of safe, clean water anymore. Very quiet everytime I've camped there, many times btw. Great, quiet, close to nature experience.
TravelerSelf-register with cards located at pit latrine building. 14 days every 30. No problem getting 40' skoolie in and parked in mostly level spots. Camp fire rings and picnic tables at most sites. 🚱 hand pump available, grey water pits and trash cans available. Here late April through early May. 22 total sites, never more than 4 people camping here, including us.
TravelerWe stayed in the A8 campsite. Sites aren't too close together, spots aren't level but not awful. The bathrooms were the worst state park bathrooms I have ever used. Expect to use your car a lot at this park as things are spaced pretty far apart.
ScoutThe sites that were around us had a perfect view of the Beaver Creek Valley. Our site was more in the corner with trees and brush blocking the view but we still enjoyed our site. Check in was easy since you can go right to your site and they have your trip details already pin to you campsite post. We stayed during the week so we didn’t share the campground with that many people. The campground was mixture of large sites and some small sites. The smaller sites were near the playground. We were thoroughly impressed by this campground, even if it was a smaller state park. We only stayed a night but we had a really nice and relaxing time at the state park. We were able to check out two of there trails but they have a quite a few trails. They had the pioneer village which was cute and interesting to walk through. Overall, a perfect low stress one night trip.
ScoutStayed in G17 for the weekend. Electric site, full sun/no shade. Always a great time at Salt Fork Campground! Conveniently located to private beach and boat ramp. Facilities are clean and well maintained.
TravelerThere are a lot of great full hook up sites here. Great for families and couples alike. It is a state park so if you are looking for a full blown activities schedule that is not going to happen. But the park is super nice and well taken care of. Private boat marina and beech for the campers. And the lake is very clean. Shower houses are clean and all have coin operated laundry in them
RangerIf you like peace and quiet this is not the place. No privacy. Dogs barking constantly, cars driving up and down the road constantly...kids screaming and running up and down the road especially young ones that definitely need adult supervision. Most of the sites are small and too close together. Not much room to maneuver a trailer into the narrow uneven pads. The rest of the site was full of rocks, cigarette butts and bottle caps. Came for a relaxing weekend and so far just been annoyed by rude people. Drinking water available but rvs are not allowed to fill tanks. Vault toilets. Full at&t reception. Quiet time 10pm-7am
ScoutWe picked this campground because of it's proximity to an event we were doing and because it had showers. There are showers...but they look as if they've been boarded up for several years and are definitely NOT functional - they are also down by the lake and not actually at the campground. We ran a mud run and ended up having to wash mud off in the lake before going back to our tent. Prior to reserving I did try calling the park office but was never able to get a hold of anyone - there was also no one working the check in station when we arrived and our neighbors who had been at the campground for 2 days prior to us said they hadn't seen anyone at the station since they arrived either.
They also advertise a water filling station but neglected to mention that it is non-potable water so if thats something you're looking for then keep that in mind.
The majority of the campsites are also so hilly that you can't put a tent up on a flat spot. We ended up sliding downhill all night because the space we rented was on a hill (and you can't tell in the photos they provide online).
The one redeeming quality was the bathrooms do look new and kept clean
Overall not thrilled with the campground. Very tightly packed spaces and majority are on a hill. No working showers or potable water.
If you're looking for a place for a camper then it would probably be fine since the parking spaces were pretty flat but for a tent I would look elsewhere
TravelerEnjoyed fairly level pads, very clean vault toilets, beautiful grounds and walking trails.
ScoutWasn't very primitive and the gun range is so close all,you hear all day aware guns but beautiful site 22 is at the end and away from others more than the other sites
GuideI’ve always loved this quite, small campground. It’s been closed over the last 2 seasons due to the Ash bore, but the future is bright for this area.
Be sure to take in the Pioneer Village
TravelerWe stayed here for one night while traveling I-70. Tip: Access this park from nearby I-77 instead of I-70 unless you want to take a meandering and hilly side road. Other than that, the roads in the park are in great condition, and signage made the campground easy to find. We arrived well after dark when the park was closed, but instructions posted outside the camp office were to proceed directly to our reserved camp site. Comfort station was clean and well-lit and even included a washer/dryer. We navigated to I-77 on the way out, which used main thru-ways. Would stay at again and maybe for longer. Our T-mobile signal was existent but barely there.
RangerNice lake, small sites, clean bathrooms/showers. Kinda meh..
TravelerI stayed at salt Fork for 2 weeks. I never saw so many hunters in my life. My site was really amazing. The changing leaves gave excellent views. The lodge has an indoor pool and good food. Make sure you have plenty of gas. The nearest gas station is 20 mins away. They had a ton of ticks. I pulled 4 off of my dog.
TravelerNice lodge with pool. Pet hedgehog worked the front counter. Bigfoot stuff everywhere. Okay trails.
TravelerPlenty of nice park in lot and walk to sites. All on the edge of the woods, surrounding small open fields.
GuideThe park itself is huge with many hiking trails, a huge lake with unlimited horsepower (bad for kayaks), an interesting historical museum, a cave overhang and lots of Bigfoot lore.
The campground is average for an Ohio State Park- think huge, exposed fields with no tree cover, and hundreds of RVs parked 12 feet apart. The sites are tiny and exposed, and the main campground is constant chaos in the summer. Think 6-10 dogs surrounding your site and barking all at once, all night long. 8-15 children on bikes going back and forth, mostly on training wheels (NOISY!), screaming from your driveway from 7am to 10pm. Adults who think it is appropriate to yell at full volume to people ten feet away, all day and all night long. Parents who scream at their children from four feet away. You get it- the opposite of peaceful. I left a day early, I was so frazzled by the five dogs across from me barking at each other all day and all night (they were all at the SAME SITE. Why did they bark at each other? Why did no one stop them?) and all the yelling people. Insanity.
I drove by the primitive site and it looked much more peaceful, but it was also a big grassy lot with the tent spaces side by side, maybe 18 feet apart. Not sure if they were sloped or not. Note it is a long drive from the primitive site to the shower houses, and this site has pit toilets.
The bathrooms in the main campground were average- not clean but not disgusting, so that's a plus.
This park has a reputation for having a party atmosphere and I didn't observe that from my site, but when I was in the nature center, this dude walked in and he was one of the drunkest people I have ever seen in my life. Don't get me wrong: I drink a lot, I've experienced a lot of drinking environments, but this dude was HAMMERED. He followed me all around the nature center, wouldn't leave me alone, and the ranger just asked him if he was feeling ok. I shudder to think that this dude was driving a boat- he would have killed someone. But this isn't the park's fault, just note that I think that there is a big party atmosphere on this lake and take caution.
In all, I would try the primitive site to see if that's better, but I'll never camp in the main campground again. There are other campgrounds nearby that are probably more peaceful than this one.
TravelerGun range 5 mins away or so. Bees are ridiculous.(they love sugar) oh yeah, Harvest Spiders all over the place so be cautious. Bathrooms are disgusting but they have toilet paper 🤷🏻♀️.
Normal Camping Bugs also. So bring big spray. Picnic Tables ,Fire pits,paved.
Clean after yourself! Trash near the campsite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Wheeling, WV?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Wheeling, WV is Hidden Hollow Campground — Fernwood State Forest with a 4.2-star rating from 11 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Wheeling, WV?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Wheeling, WV, with real photos and reviews from campers.
