9000 Center Rd.

Wilmington, OH 45177

Park Office: (513) 897-3055 Campground Office: (937) 488-4595 Reservations: (866) 644-6727

Map of Campground: http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/parks/PDFs/parks/Maps/Caesar_Creek/caesarcreekcampmap.pdf

 

Caesar Creek is a 3,741-acre park with 287 mostly sunny to some shade sites.  Each campsite offers electricity, a paved pad,  picnic table and fire ring. There is a camp store that has firewood (stored indoors), ice and limited supplies.  The staff here is friendly and helpful.  There is good cell phone coverage (ATT and Verizon) throughout the park, no wifi or cable.

General Appearance:

We have visited this park several times for day hikes, but camped here for the first time in early spring.  Our initial observation of the campground was that it was somewhat “parking lot” like with a lot of full-sun sites lined up along a main road.  We were pleased to find out, however, that some of the loops actually offer some nicer, more open, and shaded sites as you drive farther back into the camping sections.  We were a bit discouraged to find out that many of the ideal spots for us were only 20amp.  We were able to find a good 30 amp site that had a mature tree for shade, next to a wooded area, and lots of room.  There are only a handful of full hookups in the campground. The roads were paved and well-maintained as were the sites with many grassy areas that were kept mowed and groomed.

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Family/Pet Friendly

We feel like a broken record, but yet again, a state park campground with no dedicated, fenced in dog park. 😦 All sites are pet friendly, a change from previous years, and all trails are dog-friendly.

There are many activities for children to enjoy including three playgrounds, a basketball court,  paved roads for biking,  a large lake for unlimited HP boating and fishing.  There are four easy in/out boat ramps and ample room for trailer parking. This lake is good for small and largemouth bass and some of the best crappie fishing in the state. A valid Ohio fishing license is required. The park features a 1,300-foot public beach. Changing booths are available. Swimming is permitted during daylight hours only. Swim at your own risk. Pets are NOT permitted on swimming beaches.

An archery range is located off of Clarksville Rd. in the southwest portion of the park. Hunting is permitted in the adjacent wildlife area during scheduled times.

Hiking:

Two trails are for hiking only:

• Visitor Center Trail – 7.2 Miles – Moderate-Difficult
• Spillway Trail – 4.3 Miles – Moderate-Difficult

Four bridle trails also allow hiking:

• Rosebriar Trail – 2 Miles – Easy
• Moonlit Vista Trail – 3.7 Miles – Easy
• Farmer’s Trace Trail – 4 Miles – Easy
• Silidago Downs Trail – 28 Miles – Easy

Two mountain bike trails also allow hiking:

• Fifty Springs Loop – 3.5 Miles – Easy – The Fifty Springs loop is an easy oval loop around the Fifty Springs peninsula, which is a two-mile road ride from the Harveysburg Road trail head. The trail includes one intermediate-level ravine crossing.
• Mountain Bike Trail – 16 Miles – Difficult – The Harveysburg trail system spans the gap between Harveysburg Road and the campground, with 16 miles of trail made up of four principal loops plus connecting mileage. The first 2 miles of the main trail are suited for intermediate and advanced riders; steep climbs and drops on the remainder challenge advanced cyclists.

Caesar Creek offers a 14-mile backpack trail skirting the southeast corner of the lake. Parking and the trailhead are located at the Furnas Boat Ramp. Camping is available in the group camp area. A free permit is required.

Portions of the Buckeye Trail go through the park.

It was nice that the park offers so many options for hiking, but we felt that many of the trails within the campground itself needed some widening/maintenance.

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Nearby Attractions 

• Kings Island
• Renaissance Festival
• Historic Waynesville
• Secret Garden http://www.secretgardenwaynesville.com/
• Fort Ancient State Memorial
• Caesars Creek Flea Market
• Spring Valley Shooting Range

 

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Restrooms

The restrooms and showerhouses are typical to state parks we have visited.  They are adequately spread out through the campground and easily accessible.  The cleanliness was fairly good.  The showers were nice and hot with good water pressure and had a separate dry dressing area in each stall.  Some of the water spigots in the campground for campers to access fresh water were not turned on yet (April 25th).

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