Lamping Homestead Recreation Area
Lamping Homestead Recreation Area is a serene and remote park located in Graysville, OH, perfect for outdoor enthusiasts seeking solitude and natural beauty. It offers miles of hiking trails with varying difficulties, scenic creek views, and a large pond. The park features diverse, primitive camping sites with fire rings and picnic tables, a pavilion, and basic amenities such as vault toilets and trash receptacles. It is dog-friendly and wheelchair accessible in the parking area. The site is especially valued for its dark night skies, making it excellent for stargazing, with a unique local cemetery adding cultural interest. Visitors should prepare by bringing potable water, as there is no running water available. The area has a quiet, rustic charm without cell service, ideal for unplugging and enjoying nature.
Reviews
Awesome little primitive campground with a wide variety of campsites. Out in the middle of nowhere – ZERO cell phone service which was great for an unplugged weekend trip! (Make sure you have your GPS directions available offline too though or you might get lost on the way there/back.) Almost all the sites were taken by Friday at 5ish, so make sure you get there early to grab a spot since there are no reservations available – especially if the weather is nice. Hiking trail was fantastic – beautiful views and decent elevation change made for an enjoyably difficult hike out in the middle of the forest. Bring your own water – there is no potable water on site. Each campsite has a fire ring and picnic table. Truly a hidden Ohio gem!
If you’re looking for solitude, this is it! Camping only at designated sites. Bring some wood (not much lying around).
This recreation area was perfect in so many ways. I was browsing for a spot to shoot the Milky Way close to home and I stumbled on this spot. Since very little exists online about this area, I has no idea what to expect. Here’s what I discovered.
The main reason I came here was for the night skies. The dark skies here boast a beautiful view of the Milky Way, the best in Ohio as a matter of fact.
I was also looking for a place to spend some refresh and relax time after a busy week. I had this entire area to myself (other than the hollering bullfrogs and singing birds). This has to be one of the remote areas in Ohio.
What I was most surprised by was the Lamping Trail. I’m used to trails at primitive recreation areas like this being a short, flat quarter mile, boring hike. This 3.5 mile (or the shorter 1.5 mile loop) trail follows a beautiful creek, has amazing views of the Lamping pond and has decent elevation gains. I felt like I was deep into the woods along the trail. All enough to entertain an avid hiker!
The area has a pavilion, 7 diverse campsites, 2 vault toilets and no running water, so make sure to come prepared with potable water. Also, make sure to check out the creepy family cemetery on top of a Native American burial mound located just off the southwest corner of the pond.
Great view. We’ll maintained walk up camp area with 2 easy tails surrounding it. 10 options for camp sites. Each has a fire ring with attached cooking grate which was really nice. Reccomend a wagon to get your supplies from parking to your chosen site. Only cash or check is accepted to pay for however many nights. This is a hidden gem for sure.
Camping is NULL/night. Trash receptacles and restrooms there. Very clean, people seem to be respectful there. Picnic area also available. Miles of nice walking trails. Some mud in places, couple creek crossings, and some areas that are steep, but great views and extremely quiet. We didn’t run into anyone else on the trails.