Great Seal State Park Camground

Rates show $20, but must pay the online reservation system another $6.50 so really $26.50 to stay here. Primitive only with 1 pit toilet that smells awful. None of us will use it and another group tried to bring their small toddler in who cried on going in. This kills the site for us. We have used pits before without issue, but this one is unusable. Outside loop of 11 sites smell of horse poop and there is some poop in each site. Inside few sites are non-horse, but worse location as they have no trees or shade.
It is very quiet and peaceful though. Sites are pretty level gravel sites. Saw a few deer and rabbits. Can barely hear the road in the distance of the city.

This small campground has so many problems I don't know where to start. I camped on several nice weekdays in March. First, the good aspects... It's convenient to Chillicothe and things I wanted to see and do. The sites themselves are fine for cooler season camping. With minimal shade or electric, I would personally avoid the heat of summer. Gravel site pads are reasonably level and sufficiently spacious. The outer sites have a place to tie horses, but are otherwise usable for non-equestrian campers. There was one potable water source that was functional. The park itself has a lot of nice hiking and feels safe. Now the negatives... One of the park's best overlooks (dedicated as a Covid-19 memorial) is actually located in the campground. So is a popular trail. Couple that with it's proximity to Chillicothe and there's absolutely no privacy. It's a parade of locals either using the park amenities (fine not their fault), cruising the campground or dumping their trash in the overflowing dumpsters (seems to be a popular pastime). Traffic continues well after dark and resumes before sunrise in the morning. It's unexplainable why park officials designed a campground in this way. It felt unsafe to me after dark. The lone pit toilet with just one commode each doesn't have a privacy door and isn't lighted at night. In fact there's no security lighting in the entire campground. After a two night stay I never saw a marked park vehicle, staff or security. Avoid this one if you can.

I think this is a nice place to spend a night or 2. The trails are what really impress me here. There is a trailhead in the campground that connects the whole trail system. The pit toilets are not nearly as bad as everyone says in my opinion. That or maybe I just have really low standards for pit toilets. There is a nice memorial at the camp ground entrance as well. The cell signal was great. I would definitely stay here again when in the area.