37748 Furnace Road
Lisbon, OH  44432

330-424-0256

Head Ranger:  Skip Eidam

Camp McKinley Year Round Rates

Camp McKinley Registration Form

Camp McKinley is located in Columbiana County, near Lisbon, Ohio. The 300 acre camp has been owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America since 1934.

Camp McKinley is the Buckeye Council's most historic camp. The modern history of the area began back in 1807 when Ohio was a new state of only three years. Gideon Hughes, a local businessman, built a blast furnace in "new Lisbon" to supply the needs of the settlers heading west. The remains of the Rebecca Furnace are still visible on the camp property. Mr. Hughes also built a stone "mansion" across from his furnace. The house, known as the McKinley homestead, was the home of President William McKinley's grandparents for a number of years. President McKinley no doubt spent many summers wandering the hill of the present Camp McKinley. The Stone House is now the residence of the Camp Ranger.

The geography of the area changed dramatically during the mid-1800's with the construction of the Sandy & Beaver Canal. On the camp property you can still find the remains of several canal locks, complete with the original cut-stone walls.

The camp offers great diversity in terrain, including wide-open fields, to towering cliffs and ridges. A great many scenic hiking trails criss-cross the property, offering challenges to groups of all ages. Camp McKinley has two cabins, Riddle Lodge and Zaplata Cabin. Riddle has sleeping accommodations for 16 and Zaplata has room for 20 plus a separate room for 2-4 leaders. Each cabin has woodburning cook stoves, metal and spring bunks, picnic tables, privacy and scenic beauty. Water and restroom facilities are located adjacent to each cabin.

In addition to the cabins, McKinley has two sets of "adirondack" cabins. These three-sided cabins offer sleeping for four campers each. There are four adirondacks in the Polar Bear Field, with seven more on a knoll that overlooks "Furnace Run", the valley that once contained the Sandy & Beaver Canal.

For tent camping, McKinley offers a variety of campsites. Several improved campsites, with latrines, running water, and landscaped surroundings are available as well as nearly unlimited primitive sites. The property at Camp McKinley is so diverse; it has been said that you could camp there every weekend for a year and think you were in a different part of the country each time.