Remove Ads
4.0
103 votes

Lake Hope State Park Campground

27331 State Route 278, McArthur, Ohio 45651 USA

  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Not Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
Add to Trip
Remove Ads

“a natural paradise”

A natural paradise, 2,983-acre Lake Hope State Park lies entirely within the 26,824-acre Zaleski State Forest in the valley of Big Sandy Run. It is a rugged, heavily forested region traversed by steep gorges and narrow ridges. Remnants of abandoned mining and iron producing industries amid the beautiful scenery provide interest and pleasure for hikers, photographers, nature lovers and historians alike at one of Ohio's most historic and scenic state parks. Though the roar of the iron furnaces no longer echoes through the hills of Vinton County, there are many reminders of days gone by at Lake Hope State Park. Situated at the heart of Ohio's Hanging Rock iron region, Lake Hope State Park reflects the rich history of much of southeastern Ohio. The Hope Furnace was built here over 100 years ago to process the iron ore extracted from the region's sandstone bedrock. The iron resulting from the ore smelting process was used to produce many different items, including ammunition and cannon for the Union Army during the Civil War. Hundreds of men labored cutting timber, working the furnace and driving teams of oxen hauling iron ore to the furnace. Charcoal fires were tended 24 hours a day; so much wood was required for this process that the surrounding hillsides were almost completely stripped of their timber. At the height of the Hope Furnace's production, Ohio was one of the nation's leading producers of iron. As time passed, iron ore was discovered farther west and Ohio's reputation as a major iron producer waned.

Read More >

Reviews of Lake Hope State Park Campground

11 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

3.4 Access
4.2 Location
3.7 Cleanliness
2.8 Site Quality
4.4 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G/5G

Confirmed by 5 users | Last reported on October 22, 2022

AT&T 4G

Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on October 21, 2022

T-Mobile 5G

Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on October 21, 2022
Add Review
Thanks!
Your Rating
1
2
3
4
5
Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

August 01, 2017
Rated

Extremely narrow roads, rough time backing in 23' camper. Some spots a little easier. Most sites not close to level. Very little room to sit out and enjoy the wooded area.

Camping pads too small, no good place to park tow vehicle. Very unlevel pads. Roads thru campground narrow, and edge drop-off in spots would do serious damage.

Was this helpful?

Nightly Rate: $27.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 82

2 Access
4 Location
2 Cleanliness
2 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

April 11, 2018
Rated

I did not spend 28 days here in a row but have stayed here between 28-34 nights here in my life as an estimate, starting in 1994 - including spending Christmas Eve camping here several times. Most of the complaints and low ratings are due to people coming in with RV’s and i agree that would be a challenge but tent camping is plentiful and reasonably easy for Ohio. The private sites get seized quickly on weekends but it’s almost a ghost town most weekdays from the end of September through June. Bathrooms are usually cleaned well each mid morning and the sites are well maintained. It’s extrmely crowded October and warm November weekends so get there early, as well as anytime in the summer. Be prepared for noisy neighbors on warm fall nights.

Was this helpful?
This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $20.00

Days Stayed: 28

Site Number: -

5 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

September 05, 2018
Rated

Nice wooded camp grounds. It is the very first State Park Campgrounds in Ohio. Quiet and peaceful. Make sure to go visit the Moonville tunnel close to there. Not the best campgrounds for big rigs. They shower houses could use some updates. Pit toilets in the middle camping spots. Flush toilets at both ends near shower house.

Was this helpful?
This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $28.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 153

3 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
5 Noise
Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

September 27, 2020
Rated

We made a last minute change to go to Hocking Hills and that campgroumd was full so we ended up staying at Lake Hope so we could explore the area. As others have noted unless you're in an electrric site, the majority of sites aren't really intended for rvs but only as a pkg spot for your vehicle while you set your tents up in the mostly unlevel hillsides around the sites. What rvs that were there were doing a lot of leveling and sites were tight. Our site selection was very limited but we found a level enough spot on the side of the road towards the upper lot that worked for us in a 22' class b less than 7' wide.
Be aware that a lot of sites share the same pad so look closely at pics. For example, sites 11 and 12 are adjoining so if you're not there with the other campers it will be very tight living quarters. Park was packed on Saturday with a lot of groups. Everyone was having fun but it did take a few hours into quiet hours for the conversations and barking puppies to settle down.

Upper shower house and laundry were nice and both were clean but older. Upper toilets by rv area are flush toilets and sink and were very clean. Can't say that for the pit toilets next to our site. Even the guys weren't going in.
Never saw the camp host but the lady at check in was pleasant and helpful.
Campground has tons of hiking trails and also lots of mountain biker trails. No view of the lake from campground but we drove over to lake area and spent a lovely day just hanging out by the lake, fishing and hiking. Had dinner from the restaurant and were happy with our selections.

Was this helpful?
This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $22.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 134

4 Access
5 Location
3 Cleanliness
2 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

November 03, 2020
Rated

We got site 64 for one night in late October. Maybe it was the time of year, but the experience was exactly what I’d been looking for in a state park - quiet, beautiful and near perfect!
My only gripe was that we were close to the shower house and people made late night visits and parked with their brights on that shined right into our window. But hey when you gotta go, you gotta go, I guess.
We will definitely be back!

Was this helpful?
This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $22.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 64

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

  • 14 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
July 03, 2021
Rated

I found the pad narrow. Biggest problem was stepped and tight off the pad. Sites are close and you are on a ridge so often quite slopped. Lake is gorgeous, hiking excellent and close to Hocking Hills hikes.

Was this helpful?
roadtripper6864393 would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $25.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 41

4 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile

  • 19 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
June 22, 2022
Rated

Traveling south through Ohio and needed an overnight stop. Looked at the sites online and a couple seemed like we’d fit. Luckily we arrived on a Sunday evening when most everyone had left the park. Had there been any other campers next to the site we were on we would not have been able to get in or out.
We did get on the site but it was extremely unlevel. Since we were there for only 1 night it was fine. We did draw a lot of attention from the campers there as I think most big rigs avoid this park.

Was this helpful?

Nightly Rate: $25.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 076

2 Access
3 Location
4 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
5 Noise

Reviewed by
Chris Angel

  • 131 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
October 21, 2022
Rated

In the Hocking Hills of Ohio, this campground has 161 sites with 60 of them electric. There are shower houses and flush toilets on either end of the campground with vault toilets and potable water interspersed in between. Pads are all asphalted, but rarely level. They come in various lengths, small car to a few pull throughs. Great place for tent camping, group camping, hiking and kayaking. Staff and hosts are friendly. Toilets are cleaned daily. There is also a lodge with good food and reasonably priced.

Was this helpful?
Chris Angel would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $25.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 44

4 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

T-Mobile 5G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

October 22, 2022
Rated

We loved camping here it was very quiet. The stars at night were amazing.

We wanted to take one star off because the parking spot was very small and you had to parallel park and it barely fit our truck width wise so once the passenger door was open to step out and have another 2 foot drop onto the ground because the asphalt was raised above the slope of the ground and I fell on it twice. 😂😂 but I’m young and sprightly so it didn’t bother me much but I could see how if I was elderly or less mobile how that would be a problem.

Everything was very clean and well kept the bathrooms and the bath houses were very nice to use. The bath house we used had hot water the entire time we took a shower.

The firing was kind of a problem because it was able to be moved in therefore it was raised up off the ground too much so we had to think of some ingenuity of ways of keeping the fire contained in the ring. We were really thankful it wasn’t wimdy because it was fall so there were dry leaves everywhere and if it was wimdy the leaves would’ve blown underneath the ring into the fire.

We loved how close it was to all of the hiking we wanted to go to while we were there. However the nearest convenience store is about 20 minutes away but if you’re looking for some primitive camping it was awesome.

Was this helpful?
This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $21.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 157

4 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

August 01, 2017
Rated

Extremely narrow roads, rough time backing in 23' camper. Some spots a little easier. Most sites not close to level. Very little room to sit out and enjoy the wooded area.

Camping pads too small, no good place to park tow vehicle. Very unlevel pads. Roads thru campground narrow, and edge drop-off in spots would do serious damage.

Was this helpful?

Nightly Rate: $27.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 82

2 Access
4 Location
2 Cleanliness
2 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Be the first to add a review to the Lake Hope State Park Campground.

Lake Hope State Park Campground

27331 State Route 278
McArthur, Ohio
45651 USA
Remove Ads

Hours

Hours not available

Problem with this listing? Let us know.

Has RV parking changed? Let us know.

Remove Ads
  • Unavailable
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unknown
    Wifi
  • Unavailable
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Check
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Last Nightly Rate
21.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
40.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
20.0
Max Stay
14
Sites Count
187
  • Check
    Paved Sites
  • Unavailable
    Fifty Amp
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
  • Check
    Rec Facilities
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Unavailable
    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Check
    Boondock
  • Check
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Check
    Group Tent Sites
  • Check
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Unavailable
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Vehicle Wash Permitted
  • Unavailable
    Water Hookup
See More Details (48)

Campground, Restrooms

Remove Ads
Remove Ads

Related Trip Guides

Remove Ads
918682