New campsite reservation system coming this fall at two Ohio state forests

Columbus — A new system for campsite reservations is now available for Hocking State Forest and for Mohican-Memorial State Forest.

There are 23 campsites available for reservation at the Hocking State Forest Horse Campground, and seven park-and-pack campsites available at Mohican-Memorial State Forest. The sites were previously first come, first served camping areas.

“Ohio’s state forests provide visitors with a unique camping experience,” said ODNR Division of Forestry Chief Dan Balser. “This new system will not only allow people to plan ahead but give us a better idea of who is using the campground and allow us to improve our services.”

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The new reservation system is now available to book reservations that start on Monday, Sept. 1 and beyond. When making a reservation, people will be asked to provide their name, address, vehicle license plate number, as well as the camping equipment they plan to bring to the site.

After Sept. 1, all campers at Hocking and Mohican-Memorial state forests will be required to show a valid camping permit. All permits will be issued through the new reservation system via email when booking reservations are completed. Campers can bring a printed copy or save a digital version on their phones.

The ODNR Division of Forestry provides the following guidelines for making reservations with the new system:

• There is no charge to set up an account. Accounts are set up using the OH|ID secure login system.

• There is no charge to create or cancel a reservation.

• Users may reserve a campsite up to 90 days in advance.

• Users are limited to reserving 14 days within a 30-day window.

• Users may reserve up to two campsites for the same dates at one campground.

Check-in starts at 3 p.m. on the start date of the reservation. Check-out time is by 1 p.m. on the end date of the reservation.

A digital or physical copy of the reservation permit must be present at the campsite.

The Mohican-Memorial State Forest and Hocking State Forest campsites will continue to be first come, first served until Monday, Sept. 1. The campsites located in Fernwood, Harrison, Shawnee, Tar Hollow, Vinton Furnace, and Zaleski state forests will continue to operate under the first come, first served system.

The web pages for both Hocking and Mohican-Memorial state forests will also have links to the new reservation system. The forest reservation system is separate from ReserveOhio.com, which is used to book cabins and campsites at Ohio state parks.