traci2

We had a great time at this spot! We would have never of thought. You check in at the hotel and pay $15 if you want water and electric. They told us that if we sign up in the casino for a free membership we get a free night. Basically you get a member card and you scan it at the casino and they award you some gambling $ to start with for free. I ended up walking out with an extra $25! So our stay was basically free if you look at it that way. Apparently some people just throw away their card and just sign up to get the free night of full hookups.

The parking lot is huge and trucks spend the night as well. There is a shuttle bus if you need a ride over to the hotel and casino, but it’s not too far of a walk. The staff are super friendly and generous! They even let us use their coin laundry room in the hotel, maybe because there weren’t many people staying there. Either way, it was only $1 for the single washer and a $1 for the dryers(2).

Also, if you like sushi you gotta get take out from the Mosa Hibachi & Sushi food truck. I know, I know, sushi from a food truck, in Oklahoma, but it was amazing. And I’ve had sushi all over the east coast so believe me when I tell you, it is great.

Called to see if we can stop here, answering service said it is still closed and cannot park there.

This was a nice stop to take a break from driving west for a few days. We waited out a rain storm here, checked out the free art museum on the Indiana University campus, and got some work in. Cell service wasn’t spectacular, but it did the trick. We used our generator for a couple of hours a day, but someone was running theirs all night. There was a dumpster.

You drive down a dirt road for about 5-10 min until you get to the camping field after you turn where you see the Blackwell Horse Camp sign. There are two loops on each end of the field so not to worry about having to turn around. You pretty much park wherever you can find a spot, but if it’s not crowded it is easy to not be “that guy” and park right up on your neighbor.

There were about 5 other campers there during the week and maybe 10 on the weekend. Hunting season was going on so we did see a gutted out deer hooked up to someone’s camp there and many hunters.

There is a huge Kroger where you can pay to refill your 5 gallon drinking water container in Bloomington. We dumped our tanks at the flying J some miles away, and for the first time ever, paid for a shower. It was worth every penny.. hot, clean, and no time limit. There aren’t really places to fill up water for fresh tank or jugs for free so I would make sure you bring some in.

Good place to stop right off the highway. I followed the directions directly to the pin on the map here on the post. We regrettably arrived at night so we were unsure of where to go so we turned around and pulled off into a wide dirt lot for the night.

When we woke up, we saw that we were amidst a lot of pretty little lakes. You could also hear coyotes howling in the early morning. It was a very peaceful and quiet nights sleep. There was one other person there, may have even been a patrol we heard drive in at night and leave in the morning. Toilets, no water.

We were very pleased with our stay here. The owners were very helpful and kind and because we boondock often, it was nice to have full hookups. We stayed at a “view site” which had a stunning view but we were very close to our camping neighbors. We stayed during their Halloween event which was a social distanced parade & trick or treating, pumpkin carving contest, and decorate your site contest. Super cute to see everyone all dressed up. The property is beautiful with horses and some wooded sites, as well as less private sites. We were right on a hill so that was a little nerve wracking backing in but one of our camper neighbors helped us out. We would stay here again if we wanted to be with full hookups again in Pa. Just be extremely careful driving around this campground because there are unsupervised children everywhere riding bikes and scooters in the road. Great stay! Very clean, family friendly, fits big rigs, fun, & beautiful!

This camping area was pretty full. A lot of hunters out camping right now. We went around the loop and pulled off to the side with the camper still hooked up just to get stopped somewhere before dark. Just brought our stairs in so people could still pass us with ease. It’s not right off the highway so it was a gamble but it did the trick. We didn’t drive up past the left turn area just in case we couldn’t turn around.

This camping area was pretty full. A lot of hunters out camping right now. We went around the loop and pulled off to the side with the camper still hooked up just to get stopped somewhere before dark. Just brought our stairs in so people could still pass us with ease. It’s not right off the highway so it was a gamble but it did the trick. We didn’t drive up past the left turn area just in case we couldn’t turn around.

We needed a free place to stay and work(close to Pittsburg for grocery delivery & good WiFi for online work) for a couple of weeks before our journey to AZ. The limit here is 14 days, it has a pit toilet(which we didn’t use so we don’t have details). There were plenty of sites and it was mostly quiet. There is a non-potable water spigot but it says clearly on it to not use for even washing. I’m not even sure if it works because we didn’t even bother trying. Instead, we asked permission at the laundromat when we did our wash to fill our water jugs and just conserved as best as we could. There is a pit for dumping waste water(not black water) in the grounds. We used our honey wagon for black tank and dumped at the Flying J on our way out.

There is everything you could ever need in Wintersville and Steubenville. The Kroger in Steubenville is massive and has a better selection than the Wintersville one. There is an RV repair shop called Murphs RV that sells propane at a great price close by in Richmond.

Some people complained about the shooting range that you can hear from your camp, but it didn’t bother me much. You can hear it, but it’s not ridiculously loud and usually stopped by nightfall.

One last thing, we unintentionally arrived at night so it was a bit tricky finding the exact location. Best to arrive during the day but if you can’t, follow the previous commenters direction of following directions to Fernwood Forest Campground by taking Bloomingdale exit off of 22 and making a left. Then turn left at first blinking light(which wasn’t blinking at our time of arrival), go short distance and turn left between two cemeteries, go about 2 miles and you will see a sign for Fernwood Forest Campground. You will most likely be seeing Fernwood signs by now. This way you won’t be driving in circles trying to find Hidden Hollow.

Also, once you follow the signs for Fernwood Forest, if you are coming in at dark, you will come to a road block that says closed, just turn left here and the campground is right there. We were a bit nervous turning here because we are long and didn’t want to get stuck somewhere and it’s hard to see but luckily it was exactly where we needed to be.

We enjoyed our time spent camping here. The sites were relatively private during the week when it’s not so busy. The camp employees were very helpful and the sites were well maintained and clean.

We stayed at two different sites. Site 23 was to the left of the ranger station and site 88 was to the right of it. We had better Verizon service in site 23 and not very good at site 88. We work online so it was difficult for us to get steady service, however there are places in town you can go to.

The closest place to do laundry is in Milton or the Burlington area, so expect to drive a good 30 minutes to a laundromat.

We would definitely stay again.

We’ve stayed here twice because it is close to family. Both times we enjoyed our stay. Fits large rigs and there are 7 sites to choose from. The office to get your printable permit(or stop in) is very helpful - only open during business hours. The volunteer park rangers are friendly and helpful too. There is no water but they have porta potties, picnic tables, and fire pits. Right on a lake with lots of pretty lily pads. Many people come here on nice days during the day but is empty by nightfall. Occasionally, there were people using our picnic table so it would be nice if there was a sign saying specific ones are for paying campers. Prices raise during Fall. We paid $28/ night in October with just the two of us and electric. Pretty high for almost boondocking, but cheaper than any around. No generators allowed.