Turkey Creek Campground

Shawnee State Park is located in the foothills of the Appalachians and therefore it is hilly as well as forested. So the overall environment is quite pleasant. However, the park has deferred maintenance and it shows (common in many govt campgrounds). The bathrooms while recently painted are still quite dated. The electrical service is suspect. Ours went out for a few hours and during the busy weekend I could see a substantial voltage drop on my EMS. The dump station is unpleasant and not well designed. It's basically a ceramic lined funnel, so if you have an elbow at the end of your dump hose, it won't quite give you a straight shot down the pipe. Not pleasant. At least there is a hose there for additional cleaning. One positive note is that while we were there (during the pandemic) bathrooms were being cleaned 4 times a day and were sparkling. The staff was working hard with what they had.

You will want to be careful in selecting a site. If you have a big long trailer, some of the higher numbered sites may not fit you. The lower numbered sites are in an open park-like area with decent separation between sites, though few trees. The higher numbered sites are back in the woods so there are trees and bushes between many of the sites, so there is some privacy. The pads are paved and set up to be two-wide, one long spot for a trailer and one shorter spot for a vehicle (or two vehicles if tenting). Nice design except the edges of the pad commonly have a steep drop-off on them. So you may have a three foot drop immediately after your exit steps. Dangerous in a dark campground at night. What many people do is park their trailer in the middle of the pad and their vehicle on nearby dirt. Be warned, while there is electricity at the site, there is no water. Fill up with fresh water at the dump station as you come in. Also we did not receive a mobile signal back in the woods however there is a weboost at the campground kiosk that draws in a bit of signal from Verizon.

There are a number of nice hiking trails in the area and many activities (boating, fishing, swimming) on the two lakes in the state park. So keeping busy is easy.

Living in Ohio and visiting many state parks, this is one of my favorite public campgrounds in the state. It's mostly because the staff here truly care about their park and it shows. Everything is mowed, cleaned and cared for as best as they are able. As a life-long, (now retired) park employee I can see it right away. I feel appreciated when I'm here. First the positives. Shawnee State Park and Shawnee State Forest are as remote as you can get in Ohio. No Verizon service and I suspect no service for the other carriers either. This is hilly, unglaciated deciduous forest with excellent hiking, fishing and isolation. Don't underestimate the hikes in this park and be prepared. The restrooms/showers are clean and stocked. The campground is quiet and virtually devoid of drive-through traffic. Site pads are paved. There's a small amphitheater, playground, boat rental and mini-golf course in the campground in the busy season. Now the negatives. Most site pads are fairly short and the sites themselves are often hilly. The campground is best suited for class B's, pop-ups and smaller campers. There are sites for 5th wheels and RV's but your options are limited. Some of the electric hookups look older. Call the camp office and they'll likely provide you with guidance for your rig. Hope this helps!

What a nice surprise, Guess it is far enough from the large metro areas that it is too far for a weekend trip. Very quiet and clean. No hordes of kids on bikes, no loud music, really nice.

The site was on an asphalt pad with reasonable spacing between the campsites. Not gonna say private, but you couldnt hear your neighbors conversation. Sites are probably too small for big fifth wheels as my truck and trailer fit comfortably but I am in a teardrop.

Bath rooms were clean and well stocked. Shower had plenty of warm water, pressure was an issue but probably from a flow restrictor.

No cell coverage, occasionally I would get a batch of text messages but nothing reliable.

I spent my honey moon there in cabin 2 it was clean and quiet took great care of going to plan to come back in August thank u