As the title says, it was a tough choice between giving it a 3 star and a 4 star because we absolutely love the trails and the closeness to Yellowsprings. The reason why it received the 3 star is because we were very disappointed with the campground. They had cut down the few trees that were there, and there was no sense of privacy or feeling of seclusion. You literally camped on top of each other. I typically look for a campsite with trees, as I am out to be in nature, and also we like to hang our hammocks.
Our experience with Indian Lake was tough, unfortunately we suffered a pretty severe thunderstorm while we were tent camping, it looked like a tsunami coming in. Despite the weather, our experience was still not the greatest one, the trail was confusing and we were eaten alive by mosquitos, even with bug spray. It also was not a very long hike, just a confusing one. The campground had cut down most of the tree coverage, and it was like we were camping with our neighbors. This may be a great family friendly park with a beach and kid activities, but we dont have kids and prefer a more quiet and secluded atmosphere. We will not be returning.
We really enjoy Kiser Lake, although there is only one spot for camping that we prefer. It is the only spot that it doesn't feel like you are right on top of your neighbors and actually has some tree coverage. As far as hiking goes, it's on the limited side, but we had a great time kayaking there. The lake was calm and everyone was very respectful of us in our kayaks.
I was looking for a backcountry camping site that would give me some privacy and make it feel as though I was deep in the woods. Buckcreek had great hammock camping spots and was just what we were looking for, especially considering we scoured several other campgrounds and most of them didn't have trees at the spots, let alone 3 to set up 3 hammocks. The staff was very friendly and we're looking forward to going back in a couple weeks!