Maumee Bay State Park: A Surprise Awesome Weekend!

The surprise awesome part is that we stayed dry. Otherwise, I expected it to be awesome because we always have such a great time camping with our unofficial family/friends camping circle.

We were supposed to have rain. Lots of rain. All weekend. Friday night it was expected to be heavy and then rain through Saturday and Sunday. When you’re glamping it’s not a big deal, you can stay inside and watch TV or read. So rain never really cancels our camping trips anymore. Setting up and tearing down can be muddy, but we still go.

So we headed south on I-75 (which to another surprise was open, as it had been down to one lane for construction) and the clouds were pretty wicked. In the distance, to the left of the tree, the skies had opened up.

We even saw an Airstream motorhome!  First time for me. A friend commented on Facebook who actually works for Airstream that they stopped building them in 2004 or 2005.  My folks had an Airstream trailer in the mid-80s. I always thought they looked like a big foil-wrapped hot dog.

75 to 280 east took us over the Maumee River and I got a shot of the National Museum of the Great Lakes, and also the museum ship, Col. James M. Schoonmaker. Hopefully a field trip before the year is over!

280 to the Route 2 exit for Oregon, Ohio. We love Route 2 as well, it’s scenic, small town country setting and a really nice ride. A left at S. Norden Rd. and we’re into the park. The campground office has the same kind of parking you see for tractor trailers at a rest area. Long, diagonal painted lines where you can pull in and park while you check in.  Then you can go on in without having to wait for anyone in front of you.

One of the things we love the best are the sites.

Paved, ANGLED pads that are long enough to fit your truck and trailer, so your truck isn’t sticking out in the road blocking traffic while you unhook. The angled sites are super easy to back into. Bill got us parked in seconds without me having to get out and guide him. There are “islands” of bushes and shrubbery in between each site for privacy, but they are open around back, so if you’re camping with your neighbor, you can walk between sites.

Just intermittent sprinkles of rain, so far.

We did eventually turn in for the night when the sprinkles got a little heavier. Saturday morning was breezy and cool. After breakfast, we went for a walk and came upon a very old drinking fountain/water spigot that to my surprise still worked. Most of the time when you see these in parks they were decommissioned years ago.

Later I got to stretch out for a bit in my gravity chair and take in a few chapters of my current read.

We alternated between watching the skies and the radar all day. Luckily all we got was the peaceful sound of chirping birds and the breeze through the trees. Our site backed up to a field of tall grasses where many types of birds and even a few rabbits darted in and out. Saturday ended with a very cool sunset.

Ahhh. And still no rain.

We talked, laughed, discreetly enjoyed our beverages and called it a night just before the skies opened up.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday and before packing up, we took another walk, this time heading down one of the bike trails. This park is HUGE. They also rent bikes which I’d definitely like to do next time.

I found this little dude and moved him into the grass with a twig. He’d have gotten squished! Bill laughed at me.

Speaking of critters, there were still quite a few of mayflies (fish flies?) hanging around.

THEN, we’re packing up (quickly as it’s starting to sprinkle) and this little guy hops his way under our truck. Dude, come on! We tried for several minutes to get him to hop into the grass and avoid an early death.

We said our goodbyes and got in line. If you camp with an RV, you know the joys.

But even this line went quickly, and we chatted with one of the camp hosts while in line. Bill told me this park is now his official favorite campground, and I’m pretty much in agreement. If you’re in the Toledo area, check it out! It’s spacious, clean, private, super easy to park and lots of stuff to do.