Ohio Campgrounds

jkjenn

I spent last weekend at the Silver Springs Campground in Stowe, OH. Stowe is in close proximity to Akron, OH as well as Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The national park has no campgrounds and the commercial campgrounds in the area seem pretty steep for what you get. The campground is part of the Stowe municipal parks. It has 27 sites, all electric but no other hook ups. Water and a dump station are both available at the park. Your alternatives would be nearby state parks, which are mostly highly regarded. Ohio seems to take camping very seriously, which is very nice. Some of the state parks even have WiFi available at the campground offices. I chose this park due to its proximity to the University of Akron for home football games (Go Zips!) and its very cheap prices When I camp for football games, the campsite is primarily a place to park the T@b and sleep.

The campground is next to the Stowe Heritage Park, which features historical buildings and ball fields.

What I liked:

• The price, you can't beat it - $12 per night for non-residents.
• Location - convenient for both the university and the park. Close to Akron means close to Goodyear headquarters and the blimp flew over my campsite! There are also many Metroparks nearby.
• I had great TV reception with my cheap little $9 magnetic antenna.
• My site was very level (site #27)

What could have been better:

• Reversed polarity on the 30 amp plug on the pedestal. Neighbor mentioned that the electric at the campsite was not that great.
• Neighbors were very close and their conversation kept me awake. It is definitely mostly a campground used by locals and it is very social. The neighbors were very nice, so I overlooked the late, somewhat loud conversation.
• Train could be heard into he distance. Not the type of thing that would wake you up but noticeable when you are trying to drift off to sleep.
• Not a country setting, felt fairly suburban.

Other: Price $12 for non-resident, open into early November, some sites are more private than others, some have more trees. Also, some sites seemed very small. No reservations accepted, first come, first served. Park official comes around frequently to collect the fee.

My T@b was of course the curiosity of my neighbors and I gave another tour. They seemed please to learn that LG and PV were both not far away. As another side note, the weekend I camped here, the second nurse with Ebola from Dallas was visiting family in Tallmadge, OH, about 10 miles from the campground. I ate dinner with friends in Cuyahoga Falls Saturday night, about 6 miles front he patient's home. That really brings the disease closer to home!

radren

HI Jenn,

Your cheap little magnetic antenna, is that the wire strung across the trailer to attach on the air conditioner vent ? Where did you get it? 

ren

jkjenn

radren said:

HI Jenn,

Your cheap little magnetic antenna, is that the wire strung across the trailer to attach on the air conditioner vent ? Where did you get it? 

ren

Yes, exactly. I had to use the screws on the air conditioner vent to find some metal. Sorry, it was actually $12 - I got it from Amazon.

USWildflowers

Jenn - Our family farm was in Stow, 1835 until 1959. We were there in September for my mother's burial at Stow Cemetery; my brother and his wife stayed in that campground in his Little Guy 5-wide. That was the trip where we discovered our T@b-to-be. Good review of the campground, thanks.

gcw

kybob

Thanks for the tip on the campground in Stow. I'm a Golden Flash!

jkjenn

Sorry to hear that....Go Zips!

Sewspclprius

Thanks on the Stowe info. I never knew it was there! I usually camp north.

jkjenn

Maybe we will have to a mini meet up in the fall. It was pretty full when I was there on a weekend.

kybob

Maybe for the Kent, Akron game! I think there is a state park near Ravenna with a camp ground. Go Flashes!

jkjenn

That will be the day after Thanksgiving, again. Nice the OH state parks have winter camping!

jkjenn

I spent two nights at Atwood Lake at site 234 during the first weekend in May, 2015. This site is a corner site with full hook ups. I had decent Verizon signal while there (3-4 bars) but no TV reception with my inexpensive antenna.

 It only takes a moment to realize that this campground is filled, almost entirely by permanent campers. These are almost all either big rigs or even regular residential type trailers. I found it difficult to find my loop, and since it was early season, there were no park staff personnel present to assist and no map. I had made my reservation via phone while en-route, so I did not have the luxury locating the site ahead of my arrival.

I chose Atwood for a few reasons. First, it was relatively close to the Pleasant Valley Factory, where I was picking up my T@b trailer after some warranty work. Second, it had full hook ups, making it easy to de-winterize. Lastly, I wanted to try the cellular connectivity to determine if I could work from my campsite at the Tearstock rally later this summer.

What I liked: 

• Pet friendly
• Clean restrooms. I was probably the only one who used them. I did not use the showers.
• Friendly campers. It felt very safe.
• Lake view from my corner site
• Quiet - no loud campfires late at night.
• Price was very good for full hookup site.

 What could have been better:

• Didn't feel like I was getting away from it all due to the trailer park feel and the close proximity to other campsites.
• It was not very user friendly for first time campers - no maps, instructions, etc.. This could have been due to the early season date.

 Would I stay here again? Well, I am staying for the Tearstock rally in the group site, but I would stay here again, although this would not be my first choice.

 Cost: $20/night, Full hook ups, Picnic Table,

RZRBUG

Pretty much agree with that.  The group site feels more like "camping," although hookups are electricity only with a few places to get water, vault toilets and places to dump gray water.  The black tank dump station is at the main campground near the visitor center.  It also has some nice hiking trails, if you're into that.  Make nice places to walk the dog.

It has one of the largest and nicest fenced doggie parks I've come across while camping.  Since they are building a new welcome center, I was wondering if it is still there.  It was on the left at the Ranger's station.

jkjenn

RZRBUG said:

It has one of the largest and nicest fenced doggie parks I've come across while camping.  Since they are building a new welcome center, I was wondering if it is still there.  It was on the left at the Ranger's station.

It was still there.

Verna

Hummm......I guess I didn't wander around enough.  I didn't find the doggie park.  Sunny Day doesn't like other dogs, although I'm wondering if she'll get along with Rocky.  She's not mean or anything like that, she just prefers humans, her brother (my sister owns him), my brother's dog, and my two neighbors' dogs. 

What do you consider the visitor's center?  The office, laundry and camp store building?

RZRBUG

Verna said:

What do you consider the visitor's center?  The office, laundry and camp store building?

Yes.  Didn't know what else to call it. 

The doggie park is on the left at the entrance.  It isn't signed that I remember, but is a large chained link fence area.  Apparently, not many others noticed it as it was nearly always empty when I went.  Not many structures, other than a fountain and some sitting benches, but the grass was thick and mowed.  I do seem to recall a fake fire hydrant.

Cyclonic

I am with Larry, I actually prefer the group area over the regular camping area, despite the lack of amenities.  It really does feel a little more like camping.  I think the all of the seasonals in the regular area take away from that.

However; you can't go wrong with a price of $20 for a full hookup.