Agency-listedODNR Division of Parks and WatercraftFree

Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

Drive-up · public land · OH · 39.70660, -81.72511
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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 camping -- ODNR labels Maple Grove '(no fee)'. It is the small, quiet one: ODNR's own GIS shows about eight sites, one latrine, a small parking lot and a self-registration kiosk, right on State Route 284 in the south of Jesse Owens State Park near McConnelsville (Morgan County). ODNR's own page says Jesse Owens 'offers four no-fee campgrounds' and that 'campers should follow the self-registration process' -- free, first-come first-served, with a TWO-WEEK maximum stay. Sites are primitive: no water, no electric, no pad; each has a picnic table and a fire ring. Open seasonally, generally April 1 to mid-December; from November 1 to April 1 the park is walk-in only with latrines available. BRING YOUR OWN DRINKING WATER. Careful: the same park also runs TWO FEE campgrounds -- Big Muskie (50 full-hookup sites, reservations required) and Sawmill Road (fee-based, reservable) -- so 'Jesse Owens' is not free across the board; this free-camping listing is for the named campground only. This is reclaimed strip-mine country, the former AEP ReCreation Land, now Ohio state park and wildlife-area land; the surrounding wildlife area is open to hunting, so wear orange in season. Confirm current rules and the season with the park office (740) 558-6040 before you go -- we have not visited.

USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)
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Weather outlook — at Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 959 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)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 Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee) · public land · OH

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 21 miWDump · 12 miDPropane · 20 miPFuel · 8 miFKroger · Grocery · 8 miGGenesis Maysville Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 21 miRxStarrett & Son Pro Hardware · Hardware · 15 miHMobile Collision Repair · Mechanic · 11 miMMaysville Laundromat · Laundry · 21 miLShower · 11 miShAir-up · 20 miAGenesis HealthCenter New Concord · Urgent care · 20 mi+D & D Bait · Outfitter · 22 miOReinersville Post Office · Mail · 4 mi@Pilot Travel Center 309 · EV fast charger · 11 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • @Mail4 mi
  • GGrocery8 mi
  • FFuel8 mi
  • EVEV fast charger11 mi
  • MMechanic11 mi
  • ShShower11 mi
  • DDump12 mi
  • HHardware15 mi
  • +Urgent care20 mi
  • PPropane20 mi
  • AAir-up20 mi
  • LLaundry21 mi
  • RxPharmacy21 mi
  • WWater21 mi
  • OOutfitter22 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land
Elevation
959 ft
State
OH
Coordinates
39.70660, -81.72511
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee) · public land · OH (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureOhio Power Company Pond Number 9515-025 (water) · nearby
  • Nearest townBristol · ~0.7 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~8.1 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~11.5 mi
  • GroceriesKroger · ~8.0 mi
  • PharmacyRiesbeck's Pharmacy · ~20.8 mi
  • Hospital / clinicFamily HealthCare Partners · ~21.4 mi
  • HardwareHardware · ~20.3 mi

EV charging — from Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee) · public land · OH — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee) · public land · OH — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee) elsewhere

Other camps near Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

Source
public land records
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Source: ohiodnr.gov 'Jesse Owens State Park Campground' (/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/jesse-owens-state-park-campground), read 2026-07-29 -- 'Maple Grove (no fee) ... located 7580 State Route 284 in McConnelsville. The sites are primitive (no water, no electric, no pad) and each has a picnic table and fire ring. There is a latrine for the campground.' Coordinate: ODNR GIS DSP_Services/Viewer_CampingUnits_Amenities/MapServer/1 'Points of Interest (P&W)', WHERE LANDS_NAME LIKE 'JesseOwens%', outSR=4326 -- the 'Campground/Campsite' POI at 39.706602,-81.725111, 0.03 mi from the POI ODNR names 'Maple Grove latrine' (39.706954,-81.725052) and 0.03 mi from that campground's 'Kiosk/self registration' (39.706891,-81.724933); 'Campsites (8)' 0.07 mi, parking lot 0.01 mi. Address check: 0.022 mi (about 39 yards) from SR 284 (OSM way 19181063), matching '7580 State Route 284'. Free status: ODNR's own page labels this campground '(no fee)' and separates it from the park's two fee campgrounds. No Ohio state-park entry/vehicle permit exists, so there is no access fee under the free-only guardrail; self-registration is free. Coordinate cross-checked against ODNR's own published street address using true nearest-point distance to OSM road geometry (out geom, not out center). Nominatim reverse geocode: Bristol Township, Morgan County, Ohio. Ingest 2026-07-29.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
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 Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

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.

Before you go — Jesse Owens State Park - Maple Grove Campground (no fee)

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →