BATAVIA, Ohio — East Fork State Park will host a two-day “Not Quite Halloween Campout” Friday and Saturday, packing the campground with archery lessons, costume contests and a haunted trail walk, according to a post from the park.
The event runs both days out of the campground’s Loop C, with day visitors charged $3 per vehicle for a visitor’s pass. Visitors can avoid the fee by parking for free in the campground overflow lot near the camp store, the park said.
Friday’s schedule opens at 1:15 p.m. with an introduction to archery at the Loop C shelter, followed by Spooktacular Bingo at 2:30 p.m., where cards cost $2 each. The Nature Center hosts a reptile feeding at 3 p.m., and campers can enter pets in a Howl-O-Ween costume contest at 5 p.m. A golf cart parade lines up at 6:30 p.m. in the left lane at the camp store, with prizes awarded for the best-decorated carts. The night wraps with the free Legends of the Threshold haunted trail starting at 7 p.m. and a movie at the Loop C shelter at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday’s activities begin at 11 a.m. with a tie-dye station, where T-shirts run $15 and hoodies $37, payable by cash or credit card at the camp store. An “Oh My Gourd!” pumpkin-carving contest follows at 1:30 p.m., with entrants asked to bring their carved pumpkins to the Loop C shelter. A masquerade costume contest open to all ages and groups runs from 2:30 to 4:15 p.m.
The park said roads will close at 4:45 p.m. ahead of trick-or-treating from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The night closes out with karaoke hosted at the Loop C shelter and a second run of the Legends of the Threshold haunted trail, both starting at 7 p.m.
East Fork State Park spans roughly 4,870 acres surrounding the 2,160-acre Harsha Lake in Clermont County, with its campground and nature center located off Old State Route 32 near Batavia. The park’s campground includes hundreds of electric and full-hookup sites along with a camp store, playgrounds and miles of hiking and bridle trails.
The information contained in this story was obtained from East Fork State Park.