After an eleven day stretch at work it was time for a break. My pedometer said I had walked over 100 miles in those 11 days so my feet were definitely ready! I got to sleep a little on the 2hr drive to the Buckeye Lake area which is just about 30 minutes east of Columbus, OH. We had stayed there once last year, but it was later in the year - right around October I think. So this was a little different experience.
I think there are several notable things about this particular KOA which is now re branded a KOA - Holiday. "Holiday" KOAs are like the mid-level parks that are marketed as getaways. One thing I noticed is that there are a lot of staff at this one. There are folks in the office, others at the entrance, more around the campground... and the owners are present and working as well. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating. We had a water/electric site so we needed to make a stop on the way out to dump the tanks. The dump station was a little too high for our low camper so they had no problem letting us use a nearby site so we wouldn't cause a scene at the dump station. :)
The cleanliness at this park is impeccable. The restrooms are VERY clean. There are 3 shower houses/ restrooms. The one at the front of the park looks like it belongs in a hotel. One is a trailer-style restroom area, and the other one looks like it is brand new. It shows that they care about the park and the experience the campers have there. I don't think I've ever seen cleaner showers...
There are a lot of other little things that add to the experience at this park. Mini-golf, a pool, activities, and my favorite - breakfast! I noticed that one of the owners was working breakfast one morning which I thought was pretty cool. There are some great areas for tent campers in the back of the park - very park-like areas. They also have a nice store with the camping essentials and gifts and fun stuff for kids.
Buckeye Lake is not inexpensive - I think it's one of the more pricey campgrounds we've stayed at (I can actually only think of one more expensive and it's another KOA). The KOA discount card helps a bit. Other nit picks - no recycling so we hauled our recyclables home. Sites are a little close together - maybe 15-20 feet between our travel trailer and the next one. Wi-fi limited to one connection and was spotty, although it was Labor Day and there were a lot of campers there.
Overall, I would recommend this park to anyone for the good experience here. Obviously a popular park for good reasons. I commend the owners and staff for running such a great park
