Established campgrounds that welcome vehicle-based travelers, from public campgrounds on the way to somewhere to private camps worth a stay of their own.
We’re working on adding the latest campgrounds in Ohio here.
In the meantime, BLM campgrounds are already on the public land map, with the fees and stay limits the agency publishes and a link to each one.
Logan County. Our own 3DEP query at the summit reads 1,548 feet. The low point is about 455 feet on the Ohio River
Camping on public land in Ohio
There are six federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach in the whole state: Iron Ridge, Oak Hill and the Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area sites on the Wayne, and Mill Creek at Berlin Lake, Mohawk Dam and North Branch Kokosing River Lake on Corps of Engineers ground. Four of the six take reservations. The Corps limit is 14 days in any 30 consecutive days at one project, and camping is only at designated sites.
Dispersed camping is allowed on the Wayne under the same 14-day ceiling within any 30-day period, including at OHV trailheads, where no camp may stay put longer than two weeks. State forests allow camping only in designated areas, and since September 2025 the reservation-system campgrounds require a digital permit and no longer take walk-ins.
Developed campgrounds have numbered sites, toilets, often water, usually a fee and sometimes reservations. They are the easy night on the way to somewhere.
Dispersed camping means no facilities and no fee. It is allowed on much Bureau of Land Management and National Forest land, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether you can have a fire.
Private campgrounds and ranch stays add showers, laundry and hookups: the reset day in the middle of a long trip.
How to find a good one
The managing agency's own page is the only source for current status.
01Check the agency page for closures, fire restrictions and water before you drive in.
02Check the stay limit. Many public lands use fourteen days within a set period, but it varies by office.
03Check vehicle length limits and the condition of the access road.
04Arrive before dark, and have a second option.
Camp so it stays open
Most closures of dispersed areas follow the same pattern of trash, new fire rings and driving off the track.
01Use sites that already exist rather than making new ones.
02Pack out everything, including human waste where it is required.
03Have fires only where and when they are allowed, and drown them.
04Leave gates as you found them.
Questions people ask
Is dispersed camping legal?
On much BLM and National Forest land, yes, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether fires are allowed. Rules are set by the local office and change with conditions, so check before you go. The public land map shows who manages the ground.
How long can I stay?
Many public lands use a 14-day limit within a set period, but it varies by office and by area. The campground details on the public land map show the stay limit the BLM publishes for each site.
Do I need a reservation?
For popular developed campgrounds in season, often. Many public campgrounds are first come, first served. Recreation.gov handles reservations for most federal campgrounds that take them.
How high is Ohio?
From Portsmouth at 534 feet to Campbell Hill at 1,550.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
BellefontaineLogan County, at 1,245 feet the highest of the towns in this guide. Campbell Hill, the state high point at 1,550 feet, is just east of town.1,245 ft
WoodsfieldMonroe County seat and the north end of the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway on SR 26.1,204 ft
LoudonvilleIn the Mohican valley. Mohican-Memorial State Forest, the one state forest besides Maumee where snowmobiles may use designated trails, is a few miles south at Perrysville.974 ft
New LexingtonPerry County seat, the nearest town of any size to the Perry State Forest APV area, which the Division of Forestry calls the most popular public riding area in Ohio.956 ft
New StraitsvilleIn Perry County on SR 595. The New Straitsville OHV trailhead is two miles south, one of two on Monday Creek with loading ramps.793 ft
McArthurVinton County seat on US 50. Gateway to Zaleski State Forest, the second largest, and its backpack camps.763 ft
PeninsulaIn the Cuyahoga Valley between Cleveland and Akron, inside the national park’s 33,000 acres and on the Ohio and Erie Canalway Byway. No camping anywhere in the park.754 ft
LoganOn US 33 at the gateway to Hocking Hills. Hocking State Forest and the Hocking Hills Scenic Byway both leave town on state routes.740 ft
AthensWhere US 33 meets US 50 on the edge of the Athens Unit. The Forest Service names it as one of three cities that make a good place to start or end a visit, for lodging and dining.719 ft
JacksonJackson County seat, one of the four counties in the Ironton Ranger District, between the Pine Creek OHV system and Richland Furnace State Forest.688 ft
SwantonNorthwest Ohio, southwest of Toledo. Maumee State Forest and its APV area, the only one of the four that stays open through winter.684 ft
NelsonvilleOn US 33 about 70 miles southeast of Columbus. Wayne National Forest headquarters, welcome center and the Athens Ranger Station. Monday Creek OHV trails start just north.679 ft
ChillicotheOn US 23 and US 50. The Division of Forestry’s Chillicothe district office, and the way in to Scioto Trail and Tar Hollow state forests.634 ft
MariettaAt the mouth of the Muskingum on the Ohio River. South end of the Covered Bridge Scenic Byway and home of the Wayne’s Marietta field office.612 ft
IrontonOn US 52 at the Ohio River, at the edge of the Ironton Ranger District. Lake Vesuvius and its three campgrounds are 6.5 miles north on SR 93.551 ft
PortsmouthWhere US 23 meets US 52. Shawnee State Forest, the largest in the state, starts just west on US 52.534 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Campbell HillThe highest point in Ohio, in Logan County. Our own 3DEP reading at the USGS point is 1,548 feet1,550 ft
Mount LoganRoss County, above the Scioto valley at Chillicothe. Measured for this chart; no agency publishes a figure for it1,246 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
