|
Kentucky
Dale Hollow State Park
Dale Hollow State Park is located in southern Kentucky on Dale Hollow Lake. The lake straddles the state line...half
in Kentucky and half in Tennessee. The scenery around the lake is absolutely beautiful. This has been our choice
for two Thanksgiving outings and we are mostly by ourselves in the campground. We have yet to go there in the summer
months, so can't comment on how the park is when crowded.
Amenities include electric, water, showers, flush toilet, pool, marina, fishing, hiking trails, lodge, boat launch, horse
camping.
Dale Hollow State Park Website
Michigan
Alcona Park
Alcona Park is located in Glennie, MI off of Route 65...about 30 miles north of Hale. This park is right on the
banks of Alcona Pond which is the backwater of Alcona Dam on the Ausable River. There are 48 full service sites, 105 with
electric and water, and 350 rustic. The campground has a nice sandy beach, flush toilets, plenty of clean showers in the full
service and semi-modern areas(you do have to purchase tokens at .25 each...you can finish with one quarter, if you hurry),
washer and driers in the full service area, playgrounds, horshoe pits (they loan you horshoes for as long as you're there).
They have very few organized activities, but there is plenty to do in the area. Our favorite is tubing down the Ausable River.
Also, the campground is only 30 minutes west of Lake Huron. Living in Columbus, Ohio this park is about a 7 hour drive, but
is definitely worth the trip. The best part for us is that the park owns, as best we can tell, all of the land around Alcona
Pond. There is no developement or private residences in sight...absolutely beautiful. They take reservations, even allowing
you to reserve without paying. As long as you pay within two weeks of making the reservation they will hold your site.
Alcona Park Website
Ohio
Blue Rock State Park
Blue Rock State Park is located in Blue Rock, Ohio just within the Blue Rock National Forest. This is a wonderful
pine forest that sets a beautiful backdrop for this quiet little camground. There is a small lake above the camground
with a spillway that feeds a creek, which runs through the middle of the lower campground. The sound of the water
and the smell of the pines is what has us hooked on this one. It's dry camping only, so those that insist on electric
and water will want to pass this one by. It does have a shower house...a rarity for a dry campground. The facilities
are nicely maintained and the park staff is very pleasant. There is a small swimming beach, and the kids have a blast
catching crawfish in the creek. This is one of our favorite campgrounds, and we'll definitely be going back.
Ohio DNR website for Blue Rock State Park
Deer Creek State Park
Deer Creek State Park is located off of I-71 about 20 minutes south of Columbus, at the Mount Sterling exit. This is
a beautiful, well maintained park on the back waters of the Deer Creek Dam. The bathroom and shower facilities were clean
and well maintained in the campground, but the bathroom facility by the boat ramp was to put it mildly...gross. There is a
good variety of campsites. As you enter the camp area, to the right are the wooded sites and to the left are the open and
grassy sites. The park has 7 different hiking trails...we've hiked most of them with the Ridge Trail being our favorite.
It is 1.5 miles and had an observation blind overlooking a small vale that is stocked with corn and a salt lick. Including
the path to the observation blind it's probably more like 2 miles. The sites have 15/30 amp service but no water at the sites. Fresh
water stations are plentiful throughout the campground, but no direct hookups. Also in the park are 25 cambins, and a lodge
overlooking the lake with both outdoor and indoor pools. The "gross" bathroom by the boat ramp is the only black mark this
park receives. We would recommend this park, and will be returning to camp there again ourselves. The big plus for us is that
it's about 30 minutes away from home.
Ohio DNR website for Deer Creek SP
Delaware State Park
Delaware State Park is located off of Route 23 just north of Delaware, Ohio. This park is quickly turning into our local
favorite. The park is set up with A,B,C & D pods with 5 legs off of a central point in each pod. Each pod has it's own
bath house and playground. The facilities are very well maintained and the park personnel are very friendly. They have a naturalist
that schedules daily activities Memorial Day to Labor Day. They also have movies and wagon rides on the weekends. The park
is located on the edge of the Delaware Resevoir and is great for boating, swimming and fishing. The only fault I can find
here is that the campground doesn't have it's own beach...you have to go to the public beach. The beach is still in the park,
but can at times get a bit crowded. The fishing was good while we were there. Bluegill, crappie and catfish were caught using
wax worms and hotdog. Somebody caught a 15 pound catfish off of the hotdog. The sites vary between wooded and open grassy
areas and the pads are paved. The electric sites have 15 amp hookups, but no water at the site. There are water spigots and
grey water dumpsites by the bath house and down each leg of each pod, so not having the water at the site was not a hassel.
We highly recommend this campground.
Ohio DNR website for Delaware State Park
Mohican Wilderness
Mohican Wilderness Campground is located in Glenmont, Ohio on the banks of the Mohican River. We've camped twice
here and have been very pleased both times. If you're looking for a fancy campground keep on looking. If you're
looking for a quiet place on a river bank with large grassy sites, then this is the place you've been looking for. Both
times we camped here we had riverfront sites. The sites are huge at about 60'x60'. The bath and shower facilities
have recently been remodeled, though still are nothing too fancy. They are kept clean. One knock on the
bathrooms is that the stalls do not have doors...only shower curtains. Not a problem for most adults, but I would take
our youngest son to the bathroom when he needed to sit down, as he was nervous that somebody might peek in. This campground promotes
itself as a quiet family camgpround, and quiet time is strictly enforced. The owners and staff are very friendly and
hard working. This is one of our favorite campgrounds.
Mohican Wilderness' Website
Salt Fork State Park
Salt Fork State Park is located off of I-77 just north of Cambridge. This is an expansive and beautiful campground.
One thing I found particularly nice is the access for shore fishing, as we do not have a fishing boat. There is ample
parking for fishing all along the road to the marina, as well as at many other points throughout the campground. We
caught a mix of blue gill, large and small mouth bass, and striped bass. All of the facilities are very nicely maintained. Each
shower houses has a washer and dryer located in both the men's and women's sides. The staff was very cheerful and
helpful. We hiked several of the hiking trails and all are very well maintained. All are very hilly, so be
prepared for a good workout. Hosaks Cave Trail was very cool, but heed the warnings and stick to the blazed trail as
it can be dangerous around the falls. We really had a great time at this park and will definitely be going back.
Ohio DNR website for Salt Fork State Park
Tennessee
Cumberland Mountain State Park
Located just outside of Crossville, TN on the Cumberland Plateau, this is a very nice campground. We camped here
over Thanksgiving in 2003. They have electric and water, full hookup, and primitive tent sites. We hiked some
very nice scenic trails bordering Byrd lake. The facilities were kept very clean and the park staff was friendly.
We would camp again at this campground.
Cumberland Mountain State Park Website
|
