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Reviews for Stone Church
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Shawnee, Oh

Overall TRAIL RATING with 5 votes:
Overall CAMP RATING with 6 votes:
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Individual Reviews

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Half of our group of six stayed to ride the Shawnee trails and absolutely loved them. Three of us left when we arrived at Ben's Happy Trails and found they had an influenza outbreak they hadn't bothered to contact us about. The affected horses were not adequately quarantined, nor was there a sufficiently safe place to house incoming horses to minimize the risk of infection/contagion. Very disappointed. We also found much of Ben's in need of carpentry and fence mending. Paddocks were uninhabitable due to deep, deep mud.
Reviewed by: Diane Wilson on 11/1/2011 10:57:29 AM
 Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 10/29/2011 Hometown: Yellow Springs, OH

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I have ridden Stone Church many times. This is part of the state forest system and so has a fee attached to riding it. I usually get the season pass which also includes Lake Vesuvius and Kinderhook. I would not recommend either Vesuvius or especially Kinderhook. The campground is great, paved and with corrals. There is also a primitive overflow campground. The trails are generally well marked, though the forest roads intersecting are confusing at times. The distances on the maps seem off to me, it takes way longer to ride these trails than the distances marked would indicate to me. Some trails have serious mud bogs even in very dry weather. I love that this is generally very quiet and peaceful.
Reviewed by: Jo on 2/10/2011 2:04:29 PM
 Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 7/6/2010 Hometown: Athens, OH

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I was pleasantly surprised by the new campground; it's obvious that a lot of money went in to the paving, stalls, and overall construction. The sites were close together, which is kind of unavoidable considering that the campground is built into a hillside and each site has its own "terrace," but there was no feeling of being cramped. However, there was no door on the latrine. . .not a problem since the only people staying there were people I knew, and we'd just let everyone know when someone "went up the hill" to use the facilities. The trails themselves were very nice and well-maintained, though in some places the markings were scarce. Because the horse trails intersect service roads in several places, and the correct horse route was not clearly marked, we lost the trail a couple of times. It's a nice place to ride, though, and I would gladly return.
Reviewed by: Audrey on 7/9/2009 11:29:41 AM
 Experience: Expert Ride Date: 5/1/2009 Hometown: Cincinnati, OH

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I actually have not been to Stone Church yet, but I hope it's a lot easier to find in "real life" than it is online. None of the sites I have visited can provide any kind of driving directions to the campground/trailhead, I wouldn't trust Mapquest to get to my next-door neighbor's house without taking me twenty miles out of my way, and the park/forest site only provides GPS coordinates to find it. I'm also getting conflicting reports on the length of the trails. . .anywhere from 17-26 miles. I recognize that it's not exactly a large or popular park, but it would be nice to be able to find reliable directions.
Reviewed by: Anonymous on 5/15/2009 9:30:46 AM
 Experience: Not Specified Ride Date: 1/1/2004 Hometown: Cincinnati, OH

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We made our first trip to Stone Church this weekend. We didnt care much for the layout of the new campground. The sites are way to small and way to close to each other. So we went to the old camp a half mile up the road. We loved it. It does look like it might be a little muddy during the rainy season. The trails are beautiful and very clean. There is some muddy places but we didn't have any trouble.
Reviewed by: Charlie Whitt on 10/21/2007 6:07:12 PM
 Experience: Expert Ride Date: 10/21/2007 Hometown: Scottown, OH

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Stone Church is always my "old favorite" and I've ridden there countless times. The new horseman's camp is spectacular and it's worth it to me to pay the $10.00 fee to use the camp even if just riding for the day. The old camp could use some entrance work - trailers drag pretty bad, and the parking situation could be better. However, when the old camp is mowed, it not bad at all. The trails and scenery at Stone Church are spectacular. It's habitually muddy and wet in some spots but even those spots are mostly effortless. My mare is aging and Stone Church is someplace I know I can take her that is safe for both of us and great exercise for her. She'll make 16 miles there just as easy at anything. If you are into history, check out the Stone Church ruins - read up on it first - it's very interesting. 100% endorsement from me @ Stone Church!
Reviewed by: Jennifer on 6/12/2006 1:12:43 PM
More reviews by Jennifer 		Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 6/12/2006 Hometown: Pleasantville, OH

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the campgrounds are very nice. But not much room for tent camping. The stalls that are provided are extra nice. Trails are kept clean and marked real well.
Reviewed by: The Burgett Family on 8/26/2004 6:12:18 PM
 Experience: Intermediate Ride Date: 8/22/2004 Hometown: BlueRock, OH