The Shawnee State Park campground has more than 100 sites suitable for tents or trailers. All sites have electric hookups, and the campground has central dump stations, heated showers, flush toilets and laundry facilities. Other amenities include a playground, picnic area, amphitheater, miniature golf course, beach and boat rentals. The campground also has games and sporting equipment that registered campers may use free of charge. In addition to the main campground, Shawnee has a group camp that can accommodate up to 45 people and a 57-site equestrian campground on state forest land near Bear Lake.
Shawnee has two camper cabins available for rent, each of which sleeps up to five people. Each unit has a covered porch with a porch swing, outdoor picnic table and charcoal grill. The cabins have electricity and are furnished with a heating and air conditioning unit, table with chairs, microwave oven and mini-refrigerator. No linens or cooking supplies are provided, so guests should plan to bring their own bed linens, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, cooking utensils, dinnerware and water containers. Cabin guests may use water fountains, shower houses and laundry facilities in the nearby campground.
Shawnee State Park offers campers a variety of outdoor activities. Two lakes, Roosevelt and Turkey Creek, have launch ramps that provide access for canoes, kayaks and boats with electric motors. The lakes, which are stocked with bass, catfish and trout, also provide opportunities for fishing. Swimming is permitted at public beaches on both lakes. The park has six hiking trails that range in length from one-half mile to 7 miles, two bridle trails and a nature center. An 18-hole championship golf course has views of the Ohio River.
Attractions within an hour of Shawnee State Park include Shawnee State Forest, the largest of Ohio's state forests, which has a 42-mile backpack trail with primitive campsites. The forest also has more than 70 miles of bridle trails, an equestrian campground and five fishing lakes. The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, 8 miles northeast of the park in downtown Portsmouth, hosts art exhibits and performing arts presentations. The Adena Mansion and Gardens, 56 miles north of Shawnee State Park in Chillicothe, offers tours of a restored 1807 mansion.
