What a beautiful state park. Drive by the entrance off 23 while on a foodie road trip and decided…read morewe'd stop by on our way back home. Glad we did, the park is so pretty. Curvy roads, lots of trails and an absolute win for us as it they were having their Halloween event at the campgrounds so got to stop, talk to some of the nicest folks and check out the decorated campgrounds. Lots of space for campers left which surprised me but the park is a bit off the beaten path here in beautiful Ohio. My favorite part was climbing up the old watch tower. The top isn't open to get in to the box at top but high enough to have a lovely view of the countryside.

Scioto Trail State park has become one of our favorites after only our second camping adventure…read morethere. It's the perfect distance from Columbus to make it a doable drive after work on a Friday so that we're able to set up camp before too late in the evening. It's also just enough topography to help you forget for a moment that you're in relatively flat Ohio. (I know I mentioned the forestry service/state forest roads in my previous review but they are well worth the drive in the fall. Especially this fall where the cold snap in September lead to gorgeous colors.) On this past adventure, while it was exceedingly rainy, we still found time to take a hike. We walked around the lake which was lovely as most of the maples still had their leaves. Hiked the Friendship Trail which picks up in the offshoot of the campground and ends on the road at the end of the activities field. We also hiked part of the Church Hollow trail which made for some great mushroom finds. I even saw my first ever wild yam plant (identified later as there is NO cell service within the campground area)! We were pretty much self contained camping, in the same spot as last time. I recommend checking out the sites on the off shoot of the campground. The sites are a bit wider and most of the sites are shaded. I visited the pit toilets once when we first arrived and found them to be clean as far as Ohio state park pit toilets go. They weren't being sanitized at the same rate they were a couple of months ago however, I am sure they are used far less when it starts to get chilly and more and more campers are in RVs.

The good is that the hike through the beautiful woods was great, and the pool area well kept. The…read morepool table area needs improvement. I really enjoyed my hike.

Cedar Trails is a nice secluded park! Family friendly. We were there just as it's annual kids week…read morehad wrapped up and there were a couple families still hanging around. Plenty of hiking / walking trails. The pool is not heated and we were there early in the season so it was still too cold for us. The hot tub was great, but could use a little TLC. It is plenty big (made by the residents themselves!). I had to rewrite the brakes in our trailer while there and not one person complained, in fact one of the residents lent me some tools! It's a little rustic and could use an infusion of money to improve the maintenance; however all-in-all a great place. Check out the nearby Serpent Mound park! We will definitely stay there again!

This is one of the nicest campgrounds I've stayed at. It's clean with nice-sized spots. They were…read morevery accommodating. I stayed for 3 weeks in March. It looked like there were a lot of family activities available during the warmer weather months.

From the owner: These are new to whoever is looking.read more

Have been going to Longs Retreat for 6 plus years and always got the same weekend going forward…read more This year we were told we could not book because of a leap year???? 1st off if you pre-booked our usual cabins, be honest, do not lie to me. Last time I checked leap year comes every 4 years. It is sad that I will never go back after this last insane excuse, we literally rented 4 cabins, which is alot of money. If Longs Retreat had any ethics they would of let us do our usual times. 1 star in my book and will not recommend them ever again. Black. Get the hint Longs

Spent the weekend in a Deluxe cabin. Comfortably slept all 6 of us. It was very nice, clean and…read morethe staff was helpful and friendly. I definitely want to back again. Wish we would have taken our kids when they were younger and made it our family weekend get away.

At some of Ohio's State park it's hard to be a human powered vessel when so many boats are zooming…read moreby. You are almost relegated to smaller coves as you try to escape the waves caused by power boats. Not at Lake Hope State Park as boaters are restricted to electric motors only. My wife is all about the well maintained mountain bike trails. We were both all about the small camping pads and many non electric sites. This meant that as tent campers we were not back to back with massive RVs. And our dog was all about all of it, especially since a state park means that he gets to hang out with his pack!  On the down side, there was only one water spigot, one near the check in, that was marked as potable. Perhaps the others throughout the campground are and are not marked. However, we chose to only get water from that spigot. The spigot that was closest to our campsite was way too close to the pit toilet for me to feel comfortable drinking without filtering/boiling.  While we didn't get the chance to actually take our boats off the car, thanks to thunderstorms, we did drive around and find some spots that would work perfectly as put ins. There's a space just off the main road that would work for those who are kayaking, canoeing, or SUPing. The drive to and from LHSP was beautiful, with the visual elevation changes. I loved that it was almost in the HHills area but lacked all the folks (and the restrictions on dogs)! Lake Hope State Park is a place that we will hands down visit again. Although, our first visit there was filled with thunderstorms- we managed to stay dry and camped anyway!

Have you wanted to have a family day on the lake? Lake Hope has the paddle boats and paddle boards!…read moreAffordable, relaxed and fun family day!

An Ohio treasure, Hocking Hills has been one of my favorite parks for my entire life…read more Accessible to all ages, with a plethora of trails both long and short. Plenty of bridges and paved areas. You can really make your Hocking Hills experience as intense as you'd like. With features such as Old Man's Cave and a creek with several water falls, you do not want to miss this park. My personal favorite season to visit is autumn, watching the trees shed their colorful leaves. Gorgeous views, great photo ops, and fun for the whole family. Not to mention free parking.

Hocking Hills is one of the best state parks in the Midwest. Whether you are looking for…read morechallenging trails to hike, a campground, or just a scenic spot for a picnic lunch, this state park is the perfect place. The trails are well maintained and range from easy to challenging. The trails are dog friendly, but please pick up after your puppy. My friend and I stayed at a nearby campground for a week and hiked every day with our two dogs. We arrived early in the morning and hiked different trails. Some of the trails are loops and some are out-and-back. A few of them involve steep climbs, rock stairs, or scrambling up rocks, so consult the free park map for details. The visitor center is very nice, and naturalists are available to answer questions and provide recommendations. Restrooms are clean and well maintained. The campground at Hocking Hills tends to fill up quickly, with reservations being made up to six months in advance. If the campgrounds are full, there are several private campgrounds in the area that are very nice. We actually camped at Campbell's Cove and drove the short distance to Hocking Hills State Park every morning.

Had a blast coming here. I've never heard of this place before, but my friends told me about it so…read morewe went. Very peaceful and clean. Wasn't really crowded at all on a Saturday where it was 82° which shocked me. The rocks may hurt some people's feet so some beach shoes will come in handy for those with sensitive feet.

Wonderful!!!! The cabins are super nice and the lake is just great! I've been here several times…read moreand it's got everything!

We found this secret camp spot not too far from Hocking Hills State Park right along the river…read more Shane set us up over the phone with a campsite and kayaking for the next day even though it was preseason! The campsites had a small bundle of wood for a campfire and they were really well spaced out so you don't feel that you are right on top of the next site. The hot showers and restrooms were well maintained and really nice after falling in on our kayak excursion:) Thanks Shane

Spent the weekend here in the cabin. It was a great time. They set out kayaks for us and we could…read morego at anytime. The cabin had everything we needed including towels and WiFi. The hot tub was perfect. The staff were amazing. The only negative thing I could even say was the bed springs were very squeaky lol