John Bryan State Park Campground — Hotel in Miami Township

We camped in a tent here on a weekend in August, looking forward to the prospect of a small campground that is mostly only tents without electricity.

Campsites: From the aerial photos this campground looked pretty open, and in person it is exceptionally so. The campground is mostly flat, with sites sloping toward a stream on the eastern edge. Aside from these sites, there is pretty much zero privacy and very little shade except on sites in the NE corner. Sites are clustered pretty close together too, so expect to get to know your neighbors. Fire grates and picnic tables were in good condition. This campground has not been modernized much besides the newer vault toilets and moving the campground entrance from Route 370 to the park entrance road with a new parking lot. The south lips are NOT advisable for people with more than a small motorhome or camper as the roads are all one lane wide and trees are very close to the pavement even on tight curves. If you have a long RV, do yourself and everyone else a favor and don't even drive through the south loops because you will not be able to get back out easily and 90% of the sites are tent-only.

Toilets: Vault toilets are modern but not new, so they are cleaner than the disgusting dark old fashioned ones typical of Ohio state parks that I remember from when I was a kid. They seem to have been durably constructed and kept mostly clean, but they have really not been maintained well. It would be great if they fixed the doors to stay closed and made the lights automatically shut off to keep the bugs down, and if they would post signs to keep the toilet lids closed it would really cut the smell down. It appears that we either had some clean campers or that the toilets are cleaned every couple of days because things never got disgusting, but they didn't seem as clean as some USFS campgrounds we've been to out West.

Campground: The low number of electric sites and the lack of flush toilets seemed to keep the bright lights and glampers away which was good. However the resulting lower price of sites and proximity to Dayton and other population centers attracted a very young and sometimes noisy demographic of campers. We saw absolutely zero park officers patrolling the campground the entire weekend. We didn't have any issues with drunken or belligerent neighbors, but it would have been great to have park officers enforce quiet hour rules as it was very difficult to get a good night's sleep from the noise most of the night. If you get lucky on getting good neighbors, this campground is out of the way and small enough with narrow roads that it would be very quiet.

One last tip—DO NOT buy firewood from especially the roadside about 1/2 mile north or from the park office. The wood is very green and smolders more than it burns. I recommend buying firewood from a gas station or grocery several miles away closer to Dayton, Xenia, or Springfield, as it's likely to be dry. Don't buy from roadside vendors unless the wood looks weathered! We found some decent firewood at mom & pop grocery in Cedarville, but definitely caveat emptor here because Ohio is crazy wet and it takes a while to dry out wood, and most people will sell it too soon.

This campground would easily gain a full star if the toilet facilities were improved/maintained in some inexpensive ways and park officers walked around after 10pm occasionally. It would gain a fifth star if it offered more shade and privacy, but that is not likely without expanding sites and planting trees.

Surrounding Area: The campground is very conveniently located close to trailheads for Clifton Gorge, which includes a couple of nice waterfalls. It's also a stone's throw from the hip college town of Yellow Springs, as well as Glen Helen nature preserve (which is run by Antioch College) which also has some pretty waterfalls and hiking trails. It's also within about 10 miles or so of the USAF Museum in Dayton, as well as Xenia and Springfield. The surrounding countryside is very rural and has some pretty terrain thanks to the Little...

John Bryan State Park was beautiful. Did not even feel like we were in our home state of Ohio. We spent two days there tent camping, the third weekend in July 2019. Very spacious camp sites, very serene, staff was exceptionally friendly & the park was very clean and well maintained. Being a first time camper, I was very picky & John Bryan exceeded my expectations! Each campsite has a nice picnic table and fire ring. We cooked and ate our meals all right there. The fire pit did have a grill rack but we brought a taller one we purchased at Meijer and it sat perfectly on the fire ring. Could easily ride bikes around the park and there are specific bike trails as well. Bathrooms are pit toilets, but did not smell, but not sure how you can expect them not to. There was clean drinking water with a drinking fountain & a spicket below for filling buckets, pots etc. I noticed a tall shower like water area with a long hose labeled “not for domestic use” that was accessible as well. The shelter houses were large, spacious and clean, would be nice for family gatherings. The camp post, Mr. Nickles, was very kind and informative! Shaded campsites with plenty of trees for hammocks and such. There were dumpsters for your trash. There was firewood available at the camp post. Trails for hiking from John Bryan to the Clifton Gorge are amazing. I will mention this hike took nearly 3 hours one way. Not touristy at all, quiet & we felt like we had the trail to ourselves. Small children would be in danger if not good listeners as there are many cliffs, caves and raging waters. As well as calm, still shallow waters that you can walk in and fish as well. We also hiked the Glenn Helen and it was definitely touristy (we parked at the Corry St parking and it was $5). May not be touristy if not...

This is one of the strangest and disappointing places we have ever camped. The office wasn;t open-no one to check us in or ensure our spot was reserved. The campground itsself is very small. Our site was good...maybe too good. People seemed to be eyeballing it. We pulled out at 10am to dump our trash, waste, and 5 minutes later two people were in our campsite. Good thing we weren't going back. The sites seemed to be a free-for-all and we weren't sure how many people there actually reserved their spot. One man was sleeping in a car, others were ctent amping in places that we were told were closed for some type of renovation. On our first reserved day after getting settled in, we left for 2 hours into town. When we came back and all our campfire wood was stolen! (Don't assuume your items will be there when you get back if your camper is gone just because you reserved the space). Pack it all up! For the positives..The park was very clean., the story book trail was super terrific, and hiking to the bridge was nice. The left over Halloween decor made the bike paths more fun. Nonetheless, this isn;t a place we would ever...