View Park - Guilford Lake State Park - Reviews

Created in 1834 as part of the Sandy and Beaver Canal System, Guilford Lake is a quiet area for fishing and relaxing. Boats are restricted to ten horsepower, so there are no jet-skis or roaring ski-boats, only the common pontoon boats and fishing punts. The park is developed, having only been turned into public land in the 1930’s as a reservoir and a park since the late 1940’s, so it’s not an open space of wilderness, more like a series of backyards with some public-use areas sprinkled in.

The state-run campground is small but tidy, and has its own small swimming beach, boat docks, and playground. Picnic areas and another swimming beach are nearby for the general public. There are 41 spots with electric hook-up, 4 of which are for “walk-ins” only. These are situated near the shore of the lake, and share a shower house that is modern and fairly clean. While I was there, the shower building was rarely busy; most of the campers must have used their RV’s facilities. Like a lot of campgrounds, there wasn’t much in the way of privacy, since the sites were perhaps 50 feet apart, but it is quite shady under a canopy of tall trees. Firewood is available on-site, or from a nearby vendor if you follow the signs on your way out of the campground.

It’s a good spot to spend the night, or even a few days fishing or paddling around, however there are not a lot of tourist attractions nearby to make this a destination campground. Old-fashioned relaxing is more the order of the day, rather than exciting activities. You could use it as a “base camp” if you plan on visiting Cleveland and Pittsburgh during the same trip, it’s about 80 minutes from Cleveland and 90 minutes from Pittsburgh.

The park’s official website and maps can be found at http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks/parks/guilford.htm