9800 North Shore Drive
Hillsboro, Ohio 45133

 

Park Office: (937) 393-4284
Camp Office: (937) 393-3210
Marina: (937) 393-4250
Reservations: (866) 644-6727

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/rockyfork

Rock Fork State Park campground is located outside of Hillsboro in southern Ohio. The campground consists of 171 campsites suitable for trailers and tents at the northwest corner of the lake. There are 96 sites with electric hookups, and 44 sites with full-service hookups. The campground is equipped with showers, flush toilets, laundry facilities, dump station, and camp store. Pets are permitted on all sites. There is a launch ramp and docks are provided for campers with boats. The campground provides free WiFi ,  available at the camp office to registered campers. Campground activities include miniature golf course, two basketball courts, a practice Frisbee golf course and corn hole. In addition, the camp office loans games and sporting equipment to registered campers. Campers can fish of the docks of the lake with a valid Ohio fishing license. Kayaks ca be rented at the camp store.

As you can see on the campground map, the campground offers sites to meet all sorts camping needs. Click here to view:  (http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/Portals/parks/PDFs/parks/Maps/Rocky_Fork/rockyforkcampmap.pdf)

There are sites that offer what we like to call “sideways pull throughs” where the camper will end up parallel to the road. These are excellent sites for big rigs and 5^th wheelers. For the most part, these sites are full shade (Camp Area 2). We were surprised on how many sites were walk-in sites. There is an entire row on the perimeter of the campground dedicated to walk-in sites (#    ). If you are looking for shaded sites there are two areas we would recommend. We stayed on site #166. That entire row consists of shaded sites. Site #155 is at the end of the cul-de sac and offers a large area for your camping experience.  Sites #42-52 also offer shade, however, some sites are short and would not accommodate long travel trailers or 5^th wheelers. There was also sites located at the bottom of the campground near the lake. Though the location was a premium, all sites were full sun.

Appearance

Rocky Fork Campground is well manicured. Fire rings are cleaned when patrons leave, grass is adequately mowed,flowers are planted throughout the campground, and the trees are properly trimmed. The lake is beautiful and offers some great photo shots at the break of dawn. We loved the fact that there were large,mature trees throughout the campground.  It really gives the campground a park-like setting, not to mention lots of shade. The roads are all paved and most sites have large, paved camper pads.

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Family/ Pet Friendly

This campground has two nice playgrounds,a putt putt course,two basketball courts,an amphitheater, and paved roads for biking.  We did not see a schedule posted of planned activities or games, but check the website for details.

The campground is pet-friendly and there are no site restrictions. There is no fenced in dog area but plenty of green space to walk your dogs and  pick up bag stations located throughout.

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Area Attractions/Activities

Rocky Fork State Park is located in Highland Co., an hour drive SW of Columbus. Rocky Fork lake and scenic Rocky Fork Creek offer many opportunities for nature lovers in the park and nearby nature preserves. There are no trails within the campground but a birding trail across the street.  The trail was well-maintained and had a nice viewing blind overlooking a pond.  We saw a few cranes while we were there. There is another longer trail that is a bit more challenging down the road.Overall, we found the trails to be a bit disappointing considering the size of the park.  An excellent disc golf course is located at the South Beach area, and a practice course is available in the campground. There are several picnic areas around the park provide tables & grills.
2,080-acre Rocky Fork Lake offers two sand swimming beaches with bathhouses. All boating is permitted with no hp limit. Marinas offer fuel, dock & boat rental, & snacks. Boat camping/swimming are permitted in designated areas. Enjoy fishing for bluegill, bass, muskie and crappie from the shore, accessible fishing pier, or lake.  Hunting is permitted in designated areas.

If you are looking for a day trip there are several mounds nearby including the Great Serpent Mound.

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Restrooms and Shower Houses

Rocky Fork Campground provides three shower houses. Two were located at the upper part of the campground and one was located down by the lake.  Each shower house had flush toilets and three shower stalls. The showers were hot and the stalls were roomy. The campground had seven restrooms (without showers) scattered throughout the campground. The shower house near our site did not have a soap dispenser and the hand dryer did not work. One issue with the showers was that there was not a curtain between the dressing area and shower.  The shower head sprayed well into the dressing area.  Beware of this and do not set your things on the bench provided or they will be soaked. The restrooms and the shower houses were clean, however. Laundry facilities are located in both shower houses in the upper part of the campground. Each laundry room provided two washers and two dryers. Each cost $1. Unfortunately, there was no change machine in the laundry facilities. However, we were quite impressed that a state park campground offered the amenity of a laundry room.

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