Scioto Trail State Park — Attraction in Chillicothe

My husband and our 3 kids spent 3 days and 2 nights. This was our first time @ the Park and it was really nice. Aside from being a little crowded with TON of RV's the park was beautiful and well-kept. I think people have lost touch with what REAL camping means, but that has nothing to do with Scioto Trail at all! It was Harvest Weekend and several activities were available, food, and vendors. The trails were KILLER!! The bathrooms were checked and maintained several times/day. I had only one issue that did get under my skin, but my husband keeps telling me it's not worth it to ruin my great time: When we arrived Friday we had no time to canoe and paddle boat so we decided we would do it Saturday. We were told that we had to wait until the canoe races were over at 3pm by the man working in the Camp Store/Office. We returned after the races around 5 pm and the same man refused to rent a canoe or paddle boat to us because he said "we close at 6." I was shocked ad speechless at first!!! THIS WAS THE SAME MAN THAT TOLD US TO COME BACK AFTER THE RACES! I offered to pay full price for 30 mins instead of an hour. He refused. It is not a lot of work either. The lake is maybe 50 feet from the office and is huge circle, you just swim around for a while....it isn't like a long river we have to navigate through. Others were out on the water as we were speaking. My kids were crushed and I was pissed! What poor customer service!!! That same man then refused to sell us any firewood because it was 6 pm and he had turned off his credit card machine and told us he had no change but if we hurry and find change for our $20.00, then he would sell us a bundle (which was $4.50) so we lose .50 !!!! This guy was a joke in my opinion.... we were now asking families if they could break a $20.00.... I said screw it BC @ this point I was beyond angry and we got in the car and drove 20 mins out of the campground and bought wood.

Later that evening the Game Warden came by and we had a really nice conversation :) He was a very nice man and wanted to know if we got our firewood because he overheard our issue earlier. We told him both the incidents involving the man working at the Camp Store/Office. The Warden did apologize and said "he's new, if it was me I would've made sure you got your wood." I calmed down a bit after talking with the Warden because I felt like we were being treated pretty poorly from a consumer standpoint. Point to my rant: Customer Service is VERY important in ANY scenario-the customer is purchasing not only a product, but a experience....please keep that in mind*

Other than that,...

We stayed in the Camper Cabins with another family for a few days during the week and we had a pretty good time. The environment is laid back and kid friendly for the most part.

The cabins themselves were "rustic" to say the least, but at least there was electricity, a microwave, and a mini-fridge. There is no running water inside these cabins but there is a pump head about 50ft from the front door...with very low pressure. There also are NO SHOWER FACILITIES AT ALL on camp property.

The lake area is relatively small compared to some other state parks but is generally well kept and trash free. We caught a few small fish from the bank and did a little canoeing with the kids. There are also paddle boats for rent by the hour if that's your thing.

The reason it got 3 stars was mainly for the lack of shower facilities and ridiculously low water pressure from the pump head, making it difficult to clean dishes and just get a drink. The cabin floor could also use a moping but overall was clean enough for us. There were also "locals" using the camp property as a cut-through to get to another road on the opposite side of the camp creating higher than normal weekday...

It so beautiful and kind staff also the store is friendly also love the old cabin.It has so much history I wish it would showcase it a little more of what has happened there we looked most of its history up and showed the kids they loved it. I recommended going it has some most beautiful view. Do bring your own blanket to sit up there if you like a picnic there is no tables or shelter but definitely worth it.

It's only got a few porta potty and one open air bathroom that always needs cleaned and smells so bad that we would have to leave to go to bathroom. If your camping there no showers or place to wash up or wash your dishes like a Open Air sink. I wish they keep up on things like they do at Tar hollow or great seal on the hicking and the play parks and add some shorter hikes for kids or families you can't walk around the lake anymore. But love activities they have for kids And dog are welcome...