William H Harsha Lake Dam
This place has sites and nobody may sleep in them.Ask for camping here →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:21 UTC
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
William H. Harsha Lake was authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1938. The Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed, built, and operates the project to reduce flood damages downstream from the dam, which is located roughly four miles south of Batavia, Ohio, on the East Fork of the Little Miami River. Construction began in May 1970 and the lake became fully operational in May 1978. Since its completion, William H. Harsha Lake has prevented more than $87 million in flood damages. Originally called East Fork Lake because of its location, the lake was renamed in 1981 to honor retired congressman William H. Harsha. Keep reading
Recreation
Hunting, fishing and trapping are permitted in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Maps are available at the Corps Office, State Park Office and District Wildlife offices. Fossil finding is a popular activity in the nearby spillway - please obtain a free permit from the Visitor Center.
Facilities
The Visitor Center is located one-half mile beyond the main dam on Slade Road. It offers interpretive displays, a scenic overlook and a natural trail. Special programs are available to schools and organizations. For information, please call (513) 797-6081.
Natural Features
In 1869, there were two gold mines within what is now the William H. Harsha Lake project boundaries. One, located on the north bank in the vicinity of Elk Lick Road, consisted of a flume for washing glacial deposits. The other was a tunnel mine in the vicinity of Twin Bridges Road. Both are now under water.
Nearby Attractions
The "Old Bethel Church," located approximately one mile of Bantam on Park Road #1, was built in 1818. It occupies the site of a log cabin church founded around 1897 by Rev. John Collins. The East Fork State Park & Watercraft Office is located approximately 3 miles southeast of W.H. Harsha Dam, on Bantam Road. The park offers a full range of development for recreation, including camping, fishing, boating, hunting, picnicking, and swimming. For park information or boating registration information, please call (513) 734-2730.
What the agency tells you
While there is no camping of any type permitted at the William H. Harsha project, East Fork State Park operates a nearby campground which can be accessed from Half Acre Road, off of SR32 near Afton. The campground may be reached at (513) 724-6521.
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS (SEASONAL) on 2 of 2 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER (PEAK SEASON) on 2 of 2 campsite records
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:21 UTC
The agency files 2 records here and marks every one of them day use, not overnight. On its own record there’s nothing here to spend the night in.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 11
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 4
recreation.gov availability, read 15:21 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
2 records
All 2 records
| Overlook Shelter | day use | 20 amp | yes |
| Tailwater Shelter | day use | 20 amp | yes |
The agency files 2 more records here that aren’t sites for the night. It files them as day use. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Caesar Creek Lake32 mi
Paint Creek Dam Site44 miQuakertown Campground56 mi
Cj Brown Dam and Reservoir - Dam Site (OH)68 mi
Cave Run Dam Tailwater70 mi
Twin Knobs CampgroundDaniel Boone National Forest · 72 miFrom Cincinnati, OH: Merge onto I-71 South toward Louisville. Merge onto I-471 South via Exit Number 1J toward Newport, KY. Merge onto I-275 East via Exit Number 1A- on the left- toward Columbus, Ohio. Take the OH-125 exit- Exit Number 65- toward Amelia/Beechmont Ave. Turn right onto OH-125/Ohio Pike. Continue to follow OH-125. Turn left onto OH-222. Turn right onto Slade Road. End at 2185 Slade Road, Bataivia, Ohio. Distance is approximately 28 miles.
From Dayton, OH: Merge onto I-75 South via the left ramp toward Cincinnati. Merge onto I-275 East via Exit Number 16 toward I-71/Columbus. Take the OH-125/Beechmont Avenue exit - exit Number 65 - toward Amelia. Turn left onto OH-125/Ohio Pike. Continue to follow OH-125. Turn left onto OH-222. Turn right onto Slade Road. End at 2185 Slade Road, Batavia, Ohio. Distance is approximately 69 miles.
From Columbus, OH: Merge onto I-71 South. Merge onto I-275 East via Exit Number 17A toward OH-32. Take the OH-125/Beechmont Avenue exit - Exit Number 65 - toward Amelia. Turn left onto OH-125/Ohio Pike. Continue to follow OH-125. Turn left onto OH-222. Turn right onto Slade Road. End at 2185 Slade Road, Batavia, Ohio. Distance is approximately 116 miles.
From Indianapolis, IN: Merge onto I-65 South. Merge onto I-74 East via Exit Number 106. Merge onto I-75 South toward Lexington. Take the exit on the left. Take the I-71 North exit - Exit Number 1A - toward I-471 South/Exits 1B-C-D/US-50 East/Downtown. Merge onto US-50 East. Merge onto I-471 South. Merge onto I-275 East via Exit Number 1A - on the left - toward Columbus, Ohio. Take the OH-125 exit - Exit Number 65 - toward Amelia/Beechmont Avenue. Turn right onto OH-125/Ohio Pike. Continue to follow OH-125. Turn left onto OH-222. Turn right onto Slade Road. End at 2185 Slade Road, Batavia, Ohio. Distance is approximately 136 miles.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Williamsburg, OH
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°F, day 69°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 23°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
William H Harsha Lake Dam is in Ohio’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Dave Taylor (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
The agency’s own record files sites here and marks every one of them day use. The draft asks whether any could open to overnight camping, and if not, why.
- The member who votes the moneyDavid J. TaylorU.S. Representative · Ohio’s 2nd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationBernie MorenoU.S. Senator · Ohio
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJon HustedU.S. Senator · Ohio
Read the draft, or change the wording
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject William H Harsha Lake Dam has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear David J. Taylor, I’m a constituent in Ohio’s 2nd district. William H Harsha Lake Dam, Ohio carries 2 records on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about William H Harsha Lake Dam (Ohio) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject William H Harsha Lake Dam has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Bernie Moreno, I’m a constituent in Ohio. William H Harsha Lake Dam, Ohio carries 2 records on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about William H Harsha Lake Dam (Ohio) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the same question to the agency in writing.
Subject William H Harsha Lake Dam has sites, and nobody may sleep in them
Dear Jon Husted, I’m a constituent in Ohio. William H Harsha Lake Dam, Ohio carries 2 records on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s own file, every one of them marked day use rather than overnight. I’m asking you to put one question to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in writing: would they consider opening any of these sites to overnight camping, and if not, why not? Road trips and camping on public land are part of how this country knows itself. It’s where a lot of people meet the place they live in for the first time, and it has never been something you had to be well off, or well organised six months in advance, to do. Sent about William H Harsha Lake Dam (Ohio) via campanac.com