Address:

3615 S. Old State Road Delaware, Ohio 43015

Park Office: (740) 548-4631 Camp Office: (740) 548-4039 Marina: (740) 548-6056 Reservations: (866) 644-6727

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/alumcreek

 

Overview

Alum Creek State Park is located about 20 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. It contains 3,387 acres of water, some of which is unlimited horsepower for the tubing/skiing enthusiast. There are four boat launches throughout the park. Alum Creek Marina offers bass boat and pontoon rentals. The park offers over 50 miles of trail, which includes hiking trails, mountain bike trails, and bridle trails. The Alum Creek State Park Campground consists of two separate camping areas. There are a total of 288 campsites of which 285 contain electric and 3 are full hookups. Pets are welcome on any site in camping area 1 and only in designated sites in camping area 2. The campground also has 5 camper cabins and 3 cedar cabins to rent. A group camp section has 100 person capacity. The campground offers a beach and boat ramp exclusively for campers. We have camped at Alum Creek on two occasions.  The camp store offers firewood for $4 per bundle and has a decent amount of wood that burned well.  Ice is also available  (large bag $4, small bag $2)  Otherwise, there are only minimal food, souvenir, convenience items.  For example they did not have paper towels.  The campground does not have cable or wifi, although cell coverage was good for both Verizon and ATT. The campground is open year-round, including one heated shower house.

 

Appearance

The campground consists of paved roads and campsites. In general the campground is groomed and taken care of, however, is not overly elaborate with flower gardens and such. Trash containers were located in many parts of the park. We found this to be very convenient relative to other campgrounds or state parks. There is a ton of poison ivy surrounding the campsites as well as along the trails.

Our first experience was in camping area 1 at site M3. The site was ok as it was located across from the restroom and next to the gray water disposal. However, it did contain afternoon sun, though the website indicated full shade. Our second experience was in camping area 2 where we camped at site B3. This site was a bit more secluded as there was vegetation between sites. The site across the street (B2) was even more secluded and will probably be the site we reserve in the future. When exploring the campground, we came across site B37, a premium site located near the water. The site was secluded, included a fire ring further back in the woods, and had access to the water for fishing. Premium sites cost a few dollars per night more, but would be well worth it.

Rating: (1-5 lanterns with 5 being the highest)

 

 

Activities:

There is something for everybody at Alum Creek State Park and surrounding areas. The Polaris shopping area and mall is about 15-20 minutes from the campground depending on traffic.  Cabela’s is about a 20 minute drive. The Columbus Zoo is 25 minutes away, and is one of the nation’s premier zoos.  The surrounding state park area offers numerous hiking, mountain bike, and bridle trails.  We hike both of the mountain bike trails (6miles, 7 miles) and found them fairly challenging but nicely wooded and scenic.  The Lewis Center trail is easier to hike because the trails are wider which makes it easier to move out of the way when bikers pass. There are also hiking trails within the campground.  Alum Creek is a nice boating and fishing lake with some sections with horsepower restrictions but mainly a pleasure boating lake. Delaware State Park is a 25 minute drive and ample hiking trails are available.

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Pet/Family Friendly

Alum Creek is a family-based campground. There is a playground in each of the two main areas with modern equipment.  Camping area two, located near the camp office, also has a permanent cornhole setup, full court basketball, volleyball, horseshoes and a pavilion/nature center.  There is also a planned mini golf course that is under construction near the check-in.  We saw a couple of disc golf practice holes in the campground and on the east side of the park (ten minute drive) there is a full course.  There is also a swimming beach in the campground. The roads are all paved which makes biking throughout the campground a nice family activity.

Alum Creek is pet friendly but only in designated areas.  This limits availability in peak times and also excludes many sites in area two that are very nice and wooded.  Many state parks in Ohio that used to have pet restrictions have lifted them, but it is still in effect here.  it would be nice to have a fenced in dog park in the campground but there is a wonderful dog park and dog beach a short 5-6 minute drive away.  This dog park has three large fenced in areas with ample shade and dog pick-up bags, as well as a dog swimming beach.  This park alone is one of the reasons we have returned to the state park numerous times.

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Bathrooms

The Alum Creek Campground includes five restrooms with flush toilets and four heated shower houses located throughout the park. In general the restrooms were clean but not overly inviting. They were typical state park restrooms. Some of the shower houses have updated ceramic tile in the shower stalls while others have painted walls that have a good amount of peeling. The sinks are push button but have both hot and cold.  The showers have continuous flow (not push button), good flow and hot water. The toilet paper is incredibly thin.

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