Iron Ridge, Ohio, Lake Vesuvius Campgrounds Review
Location
Ironton, Ohio – Lake Vesuvius Campgrounds, in the Wayne National Forest
Description
From Recreation.gov: Iron Ridge is one of two campgrounds in the Vesuvius Recreation Area in southeastern Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. Iron Ridge offers a great location for outdoor recreation, with activities like boating, swimming and fishing on Lake Vesuvius. Horseback riding and hiking are also available in the rolling hills surrounding the campground.
Our Review
This facility has two sets of camping areas, and neither entrance is particularly well marked. We stayed in the Ironton camp grounds, but did make a drive through the Oak Hill area once, to compare sites. We noticed the Oak Hill sites seemed to be closer together, and some of the camp sites were just extra asphalt off of the main road; so if you were set up in a camper, all traffic would drive right by your rig; most camp sites are perpendicular, or thereabouts, to the main road through the facility.
Cost
With our senior discount, the campgrounds cost a little over $13/day, which includes full electric and water hookups, with dump station access. Nice!
Layout
The general layout of campsites is nice, with the spacing between them reasonable. You will see your neighbors, but with some trees between you. Most sites were not level, so make sure you have a leveling system for your camper. The “Grill” they so proudly advertise, is really a grate which pivots around a burn pit and at ground level, so unless you like crawling around on your knees while cooking, don’t count on their “grill” to suffice. Just the thought of cooking food right at ground level seems wrong, especially with a dog mulling about. We had an attendant walk the sites with a leaf blower, and a gentleman mowing regularly. The ranger service drove by two or three times per day.
Facilities
Iron Ridge has no laundry facilities. We used the upper bathroom/shower facilities exclusively, because the lower ones were out of service. The bathrooms were clean enough, but as in most places, they really need some hooks. The sinks in the toilet area have no mirrors. The men’s shower was barely warm enough to be called “warm”. Ladies’ shower was plenty warm. The lower bath/restroom facility was out of order but was fixed during our stay. The cellular signals were weak, but good enough for a call. We couldn’t see the Southwest sky for our Dish TV, so we only hit two of three satellites. We noticed there were a lot of downed trees in the woods, so it looked like the forest needed a cleanup; however, this situation made it easy to gather firewood as many campers did. The picnic tables are aging and the wood is nasty, so bring a tablecloth if you want to eat from the picnic tables. The water pressure was very high and I’m glad I had a pressure regulator.
Power Hookup
The power was normal 120VAC house receptacles and the NEMA TT-30 RV receptacle, which looks like this:
Finally, we noticed an abundance of poison ivy and now have extra Calamine lotion in our medical kit.
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