Office Phone:  937-843-3553   Reservations:  1-866-644-6727  Web:  www.ohiostateparks.org

This State Park is located on Indian Lake one of Ohio’s premier man-made lakes. The 5,800 acre lake offers unlimited horsepower boating, excellent inland lake fishing, kayaking, sailing, etc.  Water Skiing is popular in the open zone area. The park is near Ada (Ohio Northern University) and Wapakoneta and is just over an hour northwest of Columbus. There are 405 electric sites, 35 electric premium sites, and 12 full hook-ups.  There are heated shower houses, flush toilets, and a laundry facility (two washers and two dryers).  When we stayed neither of the two dryers available were working. There are two beaches, one specifically designated for dogs, boat ramps and docks specifically for campers.  Many campers park their boats on their sites, which are big enough to accommodate trailers.  additionally, there are 20 boat camping  sites available to dock your boat at your site.  These sites are full-sun.  There are also group sites available that accommodate up to 60 people.  There is a commissary that had a variety of RV products and standard camp food items (bread, milk, hot dogs, pop, snacks, etc.  They also sell ice cream, ice, and firewood ($4.75 a bundle)  The fire wood was a pretty small bundle but burned well. There is a water filling station but no on-site water.  No cable hook-ups or wifi. There are alcohol restrictions.  The entry says no alcohol permitted, but the literature states “the open display of beer, etc is prohibited.  We weren’t  too clear on what that meant but noticed some interpreted that to mean beer in a koozie was OK.

Appearance:

This State Park has a lot of very large, mature trees that offer nice shade for many sites.  (Oak, Sycamore, Maple, Buckeye, etc.)  Some areas in the campground are full-sun.  The roads are all paved and in good condition.  All of the sites also were paved (10×35) with additional grassy area for picnic table and fire ring. The campsites are spread out among the park and are fairly spacious.  There are numerous waste water dump stations, dumpsters, and water fountains.  The campground is well maintained, clean, and inviting. There were several camp hosts throughout the park picking up trash and keeping things clean.

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Area Attractions:

Kayaks, Banana Bikes, Paddleboats, Bikes, canoes, rowboats, etc. are available for rent (most are $7 per hour). There is a nice sand volleyball court and basketball court within the campground. We were disappointed that there were not more hiking trails within the park.  We drove out to Pew Island and walked a nice 1 mile trail along the lake.  There are ample places to fish in the campground along the channels or on the main lake.  There are several restaurants nearby including Froggy’s, which has a pool, and the now-famous Tilton Hilton- known for its hamburgers. Both of these locations have boat access. We had dinner at the Tilton Hilton and although it is pretty much a “dive”,  the hamburgers are good and the atmosphere is fun, as there is always a crowd. Woody’s is located on Russell’s point, a must stop for Buckeye fans. The service wasn’t great but the food was good. Spend-A-Day Rentals has pontoon and speed boat rentals : $285 per day.

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Family/Pet Friendly:

Most of the campground is pet-permitted with the exception of area A.  There are many areas with doggie pick-up bags and trash cans. There were ample places to walk the dogs throughout the park either on the paved roads, a trail, or in grassy areas near the lake. There is a small dog beach next to the main swimming beach.  This was a nice feature and our dogs enjoyed cooling off in the water on the hot day. There was no fenced-in dog park area, which was disappointing.

There are a host of activities for kids to enjoy including the swimming beach (although the water isn’t the cleanest), and several playgrounds throughout the park.  We saw several children enjoying biking and skateboarding on the nice paved roads.  As mentioned earlier, there are rentals available.

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Restrooms/Showers:

Each area has one showerhouse and there is an additional restroom on each row.  The restrooms had three stalls per side.  The shower house had six or so stalls and several showers (I think 6 plus one family/handicap shower)  Overall the facilities were OK.  While it was nice to have flush toilets they were basically rest-stop grade – for the most part clean but in need of updating.  The showers were hot and had great water pressure.  There were hooks to hang your towels, a separate dressing space with a bench, and a small ledge to put your shampoo, etc.

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