Plan Your Stay at Ridge Ranch: Arrival, Rules and FAQs

Check-in and check-out

Check-in is 2:00 PM and check-out is 11:00 AM. Our team uses the time between to get sites ready, and on busy weekends many sites turn over the same day. If your site is open the night before or after, you can add early check-in (10 AM–2 PM) or late check-out (11 AM–5 PM) for a flat fee.

No-wait arrival: the license-plate gate

Ridge Ranch uses a gate that reads license plates. We collect your plate when you book, so you’re checked in before you arrive and never need to stop at the store. No Friday check-in line. The gate also keeps the park limited to registered guests and visitors, which supports the safe family atmosphere parents count on.

Arriving after hours? Call the store ahead of time to pre-check in, and we’ll activate your plate. Driving a different vehicle? Call with the new plate number. Each site includes one vehicle; extra vehicles are registered and paid for at the store.

The camp store

Our renovated store carries groceries and snacks, ice, firewood, pop, bait and fishing supplies, camping gear and RV upkeep supplies, plus scooped and packaged ice cream and apparel. It’s also home to the new arcade. Stop here for Wibit wristbands and beach day passes.

Firewood: USDA-certified or ours

At Ridge Ranch, outside firewood is allowed only if it’s USDA-certified (stamped). Our store sells local firewood from inspected forests within the county, and we’ll deliver it right to your site.

Why the rule? Firewood moved from other areas can carry insects and tree diseases that spread to healthy trees. Ohio’s state parks ask visitors not to bring their own firewood at all, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Agriculture encourage buying it locally to slow invasive species. We had to remove 42 dead trees in our first year here, so we take protecting the park’s old trees seriously.

Campfires belong in the fire ring on your site. Keep them attended and put them out fully before bed.

Golf carts

Bringing your own: electric carts only. Short-term campers pay a $25 per night pass, show proof of golf cart liability insurance and sign a waiver; we’ll give you a window sticker. The park carries its own insurance so guests can have carts, and the pass helps cover it. Gas carts aren’t allowed.

Rentals: we offered golf cart rentals in 2026. Please call the office to check on rentals for next season. Trails on the 25 acres behind the lake are planned for future nature rides.

Carts park for the night at dark, because headlights shine into camper windows and it’s harder to see kids and walkers.

Visitors

Friends and family are welcome. Visitors register at the store and pay a small fee; there are park visitor passes and beach day passes, and overnight guests register too. Visitors leave by 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday and 8:30 PM on weeknights unless they’re registered overnight. Registering everyone keeps headcounts within the park’s limits and keeps the gate working.

Dogs at Ridge Ranch

• Dogs stay on a 6-foot leash, or inside your RV, everywhere except our off-leash dog park.
• Pets aren’t allowed on the beach, in the lake or in buildings. That keeps the swim area clean for swimmers.
• Don’t leave pets unattended outside, and please clean up after them.
• We don’t ban breeds; we judge each dog by its behavior. If a dog shows aggressive behavior, a manager will talk with you privately about next steps.

More in our guide to dog-friendly camping in Ohio.

Quiet hours and the 5 mph speed limit

Quiet hours are 11 PM to 8 AM, so everyone, especially the little ones, gets a good night’s sleep. Kids and bikes are back at their site by dusk.

The speed limit is 5 mph everywhere, for cars, trucks, RVs and golf carts. With kids on bikes all over a family campground, 5 mph means a driver can always stop in time.

Bikes and e-bikes

Bikes are welcome. E-bikes are allowed for adults only, and only pedal-assist models; throttle-only e-bikes behave like small motorcycles, and our insurer allows only pedal-assist bikes ridden by adults. ATVs, side-by-sides and other off-road vehicles aren’t allowed.

No fireworks

Fireworks aren’t allowed at Ridge Ranch, on holidays or any other time. A campground full of trees, tents, RVs, pets and small children isn’t the place for them. Holiday weekends bring events at the lakeside pavilion instead; see the events page.

Cancellations and changes

If you cancel more than two weeks before arrival, you’re refunded minus a cancellation fee of $15 or 15% of the reservation, whichever is greater. Within two weeks of arrival, reservations can’t be refunded or rescheduled, and we can’t refund early departures, weather or no-shows.

Here’s why: most summer weekends fill, and many families plan their season around a specific site. When we hold a site for you, we turn other families away, and with less than two weeks’ notice it’s very hard to rebook. One consistent policy keeps it fair for everyone. Halloween weekends have a two-night minimum and usually fill by the end of August.