0
Pull-thru
USFSWayne National Forest · Ohio
Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area
Overview Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area, named for the old Vesuvius iron furnace, is the Wayne National Forest's premier developed recreation site.
Sites3all reservable
Elev.591ft
Comf.Mar-Nov9 months
Max rigtents
Electric1sites
From Columbus2h39real road time
The honest read
Synthesized from
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
RIDB · Open-Meteo
OSM · OSRM
Updated 2026-05-27
At 591 ft, Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area has a 9-month comfortable window (Mar-Nov). Winter nights average around 28°F, so the shoulder seasons turn cold fast. All 3 sites are reservable in advance, so plan ahead. Popular weekends book out. Within about 4 miles: 10 named hiking routes, 2 peaks, lake or river access.
The campground at a glance
01 · CHARACTER
Reads strongest on reservability and shade. Softest on roomy sites.
Six axes, each scored relative to every other federal campground in the region: quiet (miles to a major road), cool (elevation), roomy (average site spacing), shade, RV-fit (longest rig), and how reservable it is. All six come from data, nothing hand-tuned.
When to go
02 · CLIMATE
avg highavg lowfrost-freedriest · Sep
Mar-Nov
Comfortable window: nights stay above 35°F, days below 90°F.
72%
Of summer weekend-days are dry.
Apr 17
Last spring frost; first fall frost Nov 4.
68°F
Average July low.
Getting there
03 · ACCESS
01
Columbus
111 mi
2h39
02
Cincinnati
148 mi
3h03
03
Cleveland
255 mi
5h15
By drive time
Routed road time (OSRM). Nearest major highway 0.9 mi away.
Picking your site
04 · 3 SITES
Color byShow only
3 mapped sites · dot color = seclusion · click a dot for details. Basemap © OpenStreetMap.
0
Walk-in
0
50-amp
0
Accessible
0
Prime
3
Sites
What's within four miles
05 · TRAILS · PEAKS · WATER
Trails & Peaks
Named hiking routes
10
Trail segments
99
Peaks
2
Water & Access
Lake / river access
yes
To nearest major road
0.9 mi
Method
We synthesize public data layers: RIDB and Recreation.gov facility and site records, Open-Meteo climate normals, OpenStreetMap roads, trails, and water, OSRM drive times, and USGS elevation. We take no bookings, no ads, and no paid placements. Independence is the entire point.