Agency-listedODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft (on USACE William H. Harsha Lake land) · dispersedFree
East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
Dispersed · public land · OH · 39.00690, -84.13476
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
FREE, but it is a ONE-NIGHT backcountry site for hikers passing through, not a place to set up camp. East Fork State Park (Clermont County, east of Cincinnati) allows overnight camping on its Backpack and Perimeter trails only at five designated sites, by free permit from the park office (or by emailing eastfork@ohio.gov). No car access -- you carry your gear in. Carry your own water. Nearest town: Bethel, about 4.1 mi.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 841 ft.
Fire & smoke — around East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)NIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night) · public land · OH
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- WWater1 mi
- FFuel1 mi
- GGrocery1 mi
- MMechanic1 mi
- OOutfitter2 mi
- DDump3 mi
- HHardware3 mi
- RxPharmacy4 mi
- LLaundry4 mi
- @Mail4 mi
- +Urgent care8 mi
- AAir-up14 mi
- ShShower16 mi
- PPropane22 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 1 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
Access
Dispersed
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
841 ft
State
OH
Coordinates
39.00690, -84.13476
Cost
Free · ODNR East Fork page: 'Backcountry camping is free and available by permit only'
Nearby & resupply — around East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night) · public land · OH (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waterWater · ~1.4 mi
- FuelSunoco · ~1.4 mi
- Propane / LPGSuburban Propane · ~22.1 mi
- Dump station~3.2 mi
- GroceriesSams Food Mart · ~1.4 mi
- PharmacyCVS Pharmacy · ~3.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicEastside Urgent Care · ~8.5 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware of Bethel · ~3.2 mi
Nearby restrooms — around East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night) · public land · OH — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaBrown SR32 EB · ~16.7 mi E
- RestroomEducation Center · ~21.5 mi W · NPS
- Highway rest areaI-75 North Boone County Rest Area · ~27.0 mi W
- Highway rest areaI-75 South Boone County Rest Area · ~27.2 mi W
Coming out here — East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night) · public land · OH
- No surface water within about a mile and a half in our records — which is not proof there is none, only that we found none. Plan to carry washing water as well as drinking water.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night) elsewhere
Other camps near East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 5 (free permit, one night)~1.8 mi
- East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 2 (free permit, one night)~1.8 mi
- East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 4 (free permit, one night)~3.2 mi
- East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 3 (free permit, one night)~3.3 mi
How we know this — East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
Stay limit
1 night (limited to one night for transient hikers, not general camping use)
Source
public land records
Confidence
Agency-confirmed — The managing agency's own record names this as a campsite and puts it at these coordinates. About as good as it gets short of standing here.
How it was placed
ODNR, East Fork State Park page (https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/east-fork-state-park, read 2026-09-25): 'Backcountry camping is free and available by permit only at five designated areas along the Backpacking and Perimeter trails. (Permits available at Administration Office at base of stairs or via email request at eastfork@ohio.gov) Dispersed camping is NOT permitted; the use of the Primitive Overnight Campsites are limited to one night for transient hikers, not general camping use.' 'All backpackers must register for overnight areas.' Backpack Trail 16 mi (no horses); Steven Newman Worldwalker Perimeter Trail 33 mi (horses, hikers, backpackers). Campground page (https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/east-fork-state-park-campground): 'Non-electric sites are NOT available in the campground; there are backpacking sites located along the backpacking trails with permit.' ODNR statewide page (https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/primitive-camping): 10-person limit at backpack campsites; reservations not required or accepted; water '(weather permitting)' shown on backpacking trail maps. Land: the lake is the USACE William H. Harsha Lake project; the park is run by ODNR Division of Parks and Watercraft. Coordinate: https://gis.ohiodnr.gov/arcgis/rest/services/OIT_Services/ODNR_POI/MapServer/0 -- ODNR point 'Campsite #1' (SUBTYPE Primitive Camping, LANDS_NAME EastForkSP, status ACT), unrounded. Which trail each numbered site sits on is NOT stated in anything I read. Water: not stated per site; Do not treat any natural water as potable. Fire: no East Fork-specific fire rule found on the pages read. || REVIEW 2026-09-26 (nightshift-verified, fire 2510): Re-read 2026-09-26: ODNR https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/east-fork-state-park re-read: 'Backcountry camping is free and available by permit only at five designated areas along the Backpacking and Perimeter trails ... Dispersed camping is NOT permitted; the use of the Primitive Overnight Campsites are limited to one night for transient hikers, not general camping use.' NEW DETAIL NOT IN THE ROW: 'The 5 overnight sites do not have road access and campers must hike their gear to the site. The sites have a designated fire ring, horse tie offs, and adirondack shelters are available at camping areas 1 and 2.' The campground page and the statewide primitive-camping page (10-person limit, no reservations, 'water (weather permitting)') still say what the row records. ODNR GIS OIT_Services/ODNR_POI/MapServer/0 still has 'Campsite #1' (SUBTYPE Primitive Camping, LANDS_NAME EastForkSP) at exactly this pin. APPROVED: every recorded claim holds, and the pin is the agency's own. It is a real, free, legal hike-in site. The name already carries the two conditions a reader must see: a free permit and one night only. Adirondack shelter at this area. Not a duplicate: nothing published within 4 km. Still unknown: which trail this numbered site is on
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — East Fork State Park - Backcountry Campsite 1 (free permit, one night)
Stay limits →Your first dispersed night →Fire rules & restrictions →Dispersed camping tips →All field notes →