Great Trail Camp Great Trail Camp is located in beautiful Malvern, Ohio, on 276 acres of rolling hills with a two and a half acre pond. It once was an old Native American trail overlooking the famous Great Trail along the Sandy Valley. Great Trail Camp became operational in the summer of 1954, and is named after the famous east-west road across Ohio. The Native Americans made the Great Trail to connect the western end of Lake Erie with the forks of the Ohio River at present-day Pittsburg. Camping accommodations at Great Trail consist of a variety of different facilities The camp is divided by a public rural road, with the north side referred to as Main Side and the southern part referred to as Ranch Side. As of October 1, 2009 all of main side is closed except for the cabin at Outpost, which is being used for the camp monitor.
Location Malvern in Carroll County
Great Trail Sites
Great Trail Capacities & Costs Capacity Great Trail Camp 1 night 2 nights Site Type 72/24 Thomas Hall (Main Side) N/A N/A Dining Hall/Cabin 66/30 Renkert Ranch* 75 95 Dining Hall/Cabin 27 Nightingale Cottage (Main Side) N/A N/A Cabin 20 Outpost (Main Side) N/A N/A Platform Tents/Cabin The Barn* 40 50 Day Use Only 28 Double R* 40 50 Adirondack 28 Whispering Winds* 40 50 Adirondack 24-28 Established tent sites* (Main Side - Rustic Ridge, Starlight Circle) (Ranch Side Lakeview?) 30 40 Platform Tents 10 Lacey House N/A N/A House Lakeview N/A N/A Adirondacks Hilltop N/A N/A Teepees
Great Trail Camp previous costs and information Intended for site information and comparison of costs for sites no longer available.
Main Side Site Descriptions Thomas Hall, on main side, was built in 1953. This lodge has a large hall with wooden arches and built in wooden window seats running along the 2 long sides. There is an inside fireplace, kitchen, and bathrooms with showers. The basement has bunk bends for overnights. It is located next to a paved parking lot and has a flag pole in the front yard. Behind Thomas Hall is a pavilion. Behind this is an outdoor amphitheater with brick seats built into the hill. At the base are two fire circles with brick sets and a stone patio between them that was created by girl scouts for a Gold Award. Lacey House and Nightingale Cottage are two building that can support smaller groups, both of which are near Thomas Hall. There are 3 cement platform tent units on Main Side. All have 7 cement platform tents that sleep 4 each on cots. All have fire circles with brick seats, and a latrine and washstand with electricity. Rustic Ridge and Starlight Circle have pavilion/shelter unit houses with electricity, brick fireplaces and storage rooms. Rustic Ridge has a paved road going into camp, to the latrine, a couple tents, the unit house, and fire circle. Outpost is a similar unit, but has a one room cabin with heat, electricity, oven, and refrigerator instead of a shelter. Descriptions of Ranch Side sites are found after Main Side site pictures.
Great Trail Site Map
Parking Lot ^ Basketball hoops Latrines
Thomas Hall (currently not available) Swimming Pool
Buildings behind Thomas Hall - back
Thomas Hall - inside
Thomas Hall Kitchen
Thomas Hall Basement & Bathroom
Amphitheater behind Thomas Hall Both sides of Great Trail Camp have amphitheaters, making this a great place to hold performing arts themed camps to satisfy our drama queens! Fireplace recently redone as a Gold Award project.
Lacey House (Currently not available)
Lacey House Living Room
Lacey House Kitchen & Dining Room
Lacey House Basement
Currently not available
Nightingale Cottage bathroom
Nightingale Kitchen
Nightingale Living Rooms
Rustic Ridge (currently not available) Paved roads to latrine, a few tents, pavilion & fire circle make this site Handicap accessible
Starlight Circle (currently not available)
Currently not available Cabin & Tents rent as one unit
Outpost Building (currently not available) Ramp to this oneroom cabin makes it handicap accessible.
Great Trail Camp Renkert Ranch
Renkert Ranch Site Descriptions Renkert Ranch is a fully equipped lodge with an industrial kitchen, cooking utensils, indoor restrooms, shower and fireplace. The lodge is directly adjacent to the main parking lot and flag pole and overlooks a natural amphitheater and fire pit. The building is updated to ADA standards and is handicap accessible. The lodge is built into the side of the hill, with a walk out porch from the basement. There are bunk beds in two of the rooms in the basement. Double R and Whispering Winds are 2 former cement platform tent units that were converted to season cabins. These cabins are 4 sided buildings with two screen doors & two windows each that sleep 4 on cots. There are 7 per site. Each have fire circles with brick seats, a latrine and washstand with electricity, and a pavilion/shelter unit house with electricity, brick fireplaces and storage rooms. Hilltop is another former tent unit. The set up is the same as the other sites, except the cement platforms are converted for teepees and there is a totem at the unit house. This site, along with another tent unit called Lakeview, was also closed by the council on October 1, 2009. The Barn is available for group activities and overlooks the lake for a scenic view. The cement basement has tables and electricity. There is a latrine, a fire circle, and an outdoor water spigot. The site is currently only available for day.
Lodge
Back of Lodge Tiered amphitheater Fire Circle
Lodge Main Floor
Lodge Porches
Lodge Kitchen
Lodge Basement Several bunk rooms Showers ^ Laundry room Infirmary top right Nurses room
Double R
Built on cement platform tent bases Whispering Winds
Hilltop Teepee Site (The teepee at Tiimberlane is from this site site is great for sleeping out under the stars or pitching tents.) Cots can be found in barn
Lakeview
The Barn front & back Front
Barn Inside
Has not been used for many years. Shower House