Granville State Forest — Hotel in Granville

My partner and I have been making our rounds at staying at local state forests, and we have had relatively good luck until we got to this one.

I was waiting in the car while my partner went and checked us in, and when he came out he said, “That was weird.” First, the dude asked who was camping with my partner, and he said, “Just my wife and me,” and the guy peered to see our car and who was in it, and continued to ask, “No one else?” My partner was like, “No. Me and my wife are just spending one night here.” The guy was skeptical, but continued with over explaining the rules. My partner had expressed that he understood the rules, and repeated that him and I have done this before, but the guy wouldn’t let up. He kept Going over them, emphasizing the “no alcohol” policy, highlighting and circling it, even. My partner told the guy that we are both sober people the first time he had explained the rules, but he felt the need to mention it again. Maybe this is common practice, but it’s a real turn-off for hospitality.

We got to the site and were immensely underwhelmed. The campsite, as another reviewer mentioned, was on a road, apparently near a wellhead, so we had to park in the lot around the corner, which we could see through the trees, past another campsite. The camps were so tightly packed, looking up and seeing a neighbor in every direction, or walking through someone’s camp going to the bathroom, accidentally finding yourself through another camp getting back to your own; it felt like a city train, just surrounded by people, which is what we were trying to avoid.

We made the best of it anyway, and had a good night, and morning, and when we had finally packed up all our stuff, I wanted to take stupid selfies with my partner and, quite literally, just as we were about to take one more where I wanted to sweetly give my partner a peck on the cheek, this guy rolls up on an ATV. I was mid picture taking, phone in the air, arm around my partner, but staring at the guy getting out and walking towards us. I wasn’t going to snap pictures with this dude staring at us so I put the phone down and said we were about to leave. He parroted most of what we said, but didn’t say much without being spoken to. Told us someone was renting our site tonight, and we were like, “Okay? It’s not us.” And he checked his watch and mumbled something about time, and we were like, “What time is it?” And he said, “Oh. Don’t worry, check out isn’t until 11, you guys have plenty of time.” I made a point to check, it was 9:12. He stood there some more and mumbled other stuff, and was just like, “So, you’re leaving?” And we said yeah, and he walked back to the ATV and drove off. Didn’t harass our neighbors, the people up the road, no one on the other side of the woods by the mirrored street, just us…

I still got my selfie, but was peeved about the interaction, and my partner told me that was the check-in guy.

I don’t feel good about this stay, the set up, or the overwhelming uncomfortable vibes overall. Definitely won’t be...

Comments about the campground first... This campground is ok. If you're looking for a long drive into the woods with not a lot around, this is your place. It is admittedly quiet. Keep in mind, there is no place to dispose of garbage. So be prepared to haul it out. And there are no places to buy supplies if you forget anything. You will have to drive at least 15-20 miles. So be sure you are prepared or be willing to drive. Also, I concur that any of the sites along the road are terrible (e.g. sites 3-5). The road is a main road and despite the remote locations it can be very noisy. There are bathrooms and showers (one per bathroom.) They are mostly clean. And there is a place to get water and to wash your dishes. Sites 3 & 4 are not even separated by trees. So best not to book them unless you want to get to know your neighbors. I can't speak to the other sites.

One word of caution... This campground has a zero-tolerance alcohol policy. As with many campgrounds, the website does say "no alcohol". Unlike most, if you bring alcohol or even have it without actually drinking it, you can expect to be kicked out without notice. No warnings. Full disclosure, my family booked several sites here and we were told to leave because we had beer with us. We were not rowdy, disruptive or belligerent. We are not kids. We're 40 something professionals with kids of our own. We have all camped in every New England state for many years and had traveled from several different states to be there. We have never had a problem anywhere else. Did we violate the policy? Yes, we did. But that said, I have never camped anywhere that the policy was so ravenously enforced. Therefore, if you go to Granville, be sure to take the policy seriously. And even if you don't plan to consume alcohol, be sure not to have it in your vehicle because they will look in your cars.

An addendum to my comments.... After reading other reviews, I'm noticing that other people had similar experiences with [likely] the same guy. We had noticed the night we were there that other sites suspiciously cleared out at the same time as well. So this is apparently a "thing" with this guy. Not sure if he has figured out how to profit off of this or what. But clearly he is vested somehow. We suspected this was some sort of scam when it happened. Now I think it's...

A great place to unwind and detox from hectic work and hustle and bustle. We arrived late, checked in, very helpful at headquarters. . He even brought the wood we bought($7) to our car. I've read in reviews they do that to check if you have alcohol( prohibited) and they will ask you to leave if you do have any. If you're camping to party, this is NOT for you. 22 campsites. Some on the side of the quiet road, but most on off road, we chose a site near the camp trail for hiking, it was fabulous, quiet. The bathrooms/showers were a very quick walk. Showers were SO HOT! Bathroom's clean.

Potable water outside. Big huge restaurant quality sink to clean your dishes in.

Bear boxes at every site that when checking in,headquarters they will tell you to absolutely use them. Maybe a bit overkill on the warning, but I wasn't taking any risks and everything fit in there perfectly. Also told not to leave anything with scent or food in your car because a bear can damage the car. Hooting owls at night.

Hiking trails were an easy/ moderate... Lead to a small waterfall that poured into a pool. Signs everywhere for no jumping off the rocks or swimming. But I'm very sure people swim here. I feel like this campground is geared more to adults that are trying to unwind,but there were families with kids and they were awesome. They all were playing outdoor games and enjoying the outside. Quiet time is 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and everyone abided it. Fire pits in each site. Some sites have a drop off behind them, not dangerous, but if you have little ones I would be cautious. I look forward to visiting...