October 2020, 3-nights, weekday-weekend
Autumn colors were beautiful when we entered Sleepy Hollow State Park. |
Sleepy Hollow State Park reservations and arrival
We had originally planned to stay in this campground in the spring, before it closed due to the pandemic. At that time, state park trails were open for no charge, although all of the campgrounds were closed. Since my husband's employer was also closed, we visited the park in April to do some hiking. We enjoyed the recreation in the park, so we made a new camping reservation for October.
The office was not staffed when we arrived on Thursday evening, and we checked in via the yellow phone. A bottle of sanitizer and wipes were available next to the phone. 😊 Park staff left a vehicle sticker at our campsite on Saturday morning when we were out hiking.
One of the few photos I got of campsite 114. There are better photos on the DNR reservation site. |
Campsite 114 and more
Campsite 114 is mostly open with trees around the perimeter. It has an asphalt pad, as do most of the campsites in this park. It is mostly grass, except for the mud/dirt around the fire pit. The electrical box was closer to site 116, almost 50' away, as listed in the description on the website.
View from campsite 114 at Sleep Hollow State Park. Looking at campsite 113 where the campers were [illegally] sawing branches off trees next to their site. |
Campsite 20 at Sleepy Hollow State Park |
If you refer privacy, here are some of the site numbers worth checking out in the north and south sections: 18, 20, 22, 25, 126, 136, 142, 145, 178. As I mentioned, most of the sites in this campground are great. This list is just a few of the ones that happened to stand out to us as we walked through. We also thought our campsite, #114, was a good site.
Picnic-beach area on Lake Ovid at Sleepy Hollow State Park. Photo taken from pavilion near restrooms. |
Recreation: beach, boating, fishing, hiking
A large picnic area with two pavilions and a swimming beach is located on Lake Ovid within walking distance of the campgrounds. A fishing pier and disc golf course are located next to the picnic area and large parking lot. The hiking trail from the campgrounds is easy to navigate. Another picnic area with a pavilion is located next to the group site campground.
View of Lake Ovid from one of our hikes in Sleepy Hollow State Park. |
Bridge out to the island on Lake Ovid. |
The park brochure says there are 13 miles of hiking trails in the park, and it seems like there are more than that to me. That is a good thing--I am not complaining! We have hiked three different routes, and still have not hiked on all of the trails yet. This trip, we hiked almost 10 miles the first day, and we hiked only 5 miles the second day. We got caught in the rain and wind near the end of our hike the first day. After hiking up and down hills at a fast pace that day, we decided to take it easy the next day!
View from the bridge out to the island on Lake Ovid. View from the island on Lake Ovid. |
Little Maple River in Sleepy Hollow State Park. |
Flooded trail at Sleepy Hollow State Park in April. |
In April, our hike around Lake Ovid from the parking lot was over six miles. We did not get to hike some trails that trip because the ground was very wet. In fact, a section of the trail between Price Road and the boat launch was flooded. Fortunately, there had been another way around.
Overall, misc., area info
Overall, we love this park. We like to hike, and want to spend more time hiking again next time. We also want to bring our small inflatable boat or kayaks to take out on the lake. It was a bit cool in October for our small boats, although the fall colors were amazing in the middle of October.
There are only two lanes at the sanitation station, which does not seem like enough for a campground with almost 200 campsites. Since the north campground was closed, and we left early in the morning, we did not have any trouble when we left. We had to wait a few minutes, as both sides were full. No one else got in line behind us before it was our turn. I imagine one needs to be prepared to wait when the entire campground is open and the campsites are full.Looking Glass Brewing Company |
We had not planned to leave the park after arriving; however, since Looking Glass Brewing Company was in our HopPassport, and not too far away, we decided to check it out. We were glad we did, and will visit again next time we are in the area. We enjoyed the beer, the food, the service, and the atmosphere. Our favorite beer was an IPA; Screaming For Vengeance. We shared the Cauliflower Buffalo Dip, which was delicious.
Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share this post!
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