Iron Ridge - Lake Vesuvius

We love Iron Ridge Campground. The sites are pretty large and spread out, and it’s very shady. The cost is amazing, and the hosts do a great job of cleaning them of debris and anything people leave behind. Speaking of hosts, Mark and Kelli go above and beyond to make sure campers have the best possible experience. They have helped us so much over the past few years. We camp at Iron Ridge pretty often because we have family in the area. Mark and Kelli always go the extra mile to stop by and say hello. Our dog absolutely loves them and knows them by name. Mark even did some dog sitting for us one day when we had a family member in the hospital. They keep the restrooms clean and know the area very well. Mark always helps the Wayne National Forest rangers with maintenance issues. We were visiting Mark just a few weeks ago when a big storm blew up. The wind was terrible and the electricity flickered a few times. As soon as the storm passed, Mark was in his truck driving the loop to check on everyone. That night he helped cut three trees at a nearby campground. A few weeks earlier, he helped cut trees that had fallen across the road to Oak Hill Campground. I cannot say enough good things about Mark and Kelli. Iron Ridge has become a home away from home for us. It’s just a short drive to Lake Vesuvius and many trailheads. Ironton is just a few minutes away. We wish the campground could be open year-round because we would certainly use it.

very nice, fire pit sadly was missing its grill(luckily we had a camp stove). showers were not available at that time. spot for tents was large but not very flat

very nice fire pit has grill good spot minimal hammock trees

Spacious private campsite and close to hiking / swimming!

Had a great time ! Site was clean and cozy. Does have a large tree at entrance of site that is dead. Really needs cut down before it falls on someone’s vehicle or camper.

Love this NF campground so close to our home! We are heading back in a few weeks for fall colors. Bathrooms are clean and showers work. Love having water hookups even though no electric. Camp hosts were very nice and even called to see if we had left something behind. It’s quiet and peaceful. We had OK Verizon service…enough I good check on my elderly mother each day. We had some crazy storms so skipped hiking, but plan to hike next time.

Clean bathrooms, good campsites. Camp hosts were nowhere to be seen.

There was no soap or hand sanitizer in the restrooms. There was a bracket on the wall but nothing was attached to it. Someone that had the site prior to us drained the urine from their rv on to the parking pad. We had to cover it up with dirt to suppress the odor.

Had a great time with friends. Campground is well-kept and the bath house was also very clean. We ended our trip early due to a power outage and some bad weather, but would definitely recommend.

The sites at the top loop of the iron ridge grounds are really not accurately represented on the .gov site. Most are pull-offs with steep grades, multiple in some cases, to get from parking/firepit down to picnic table and then down further to a tent pad. It looks like a couple of sites actually have stairs due to the grades. The weather has been drought-level around here, and the sites are hard, dry, dusty, rocky, and worn.

The camp host at the end loop had dogs that were left to bark inside the camper but still clearly audible throughout the loop. The bathrooms at the loop were on the better side of average. There is no firewood here.

Other sites between the entrance and the loop appeared better situated. They are still on a pay envelope system for FF campers; No QR codes or website/app options for this.

I drove three hours to get to this campground and found the sites and situation so unpleasant I left after two hours and went home.