The Dirtiest State Parks In America, According To Travelers

There are over 10,000 state parks in the United States, and, as you might expect, there's a lot of variety within this group. Some state parks are major tourist attractions, welcoming over one million visitors every year. For example, New York's waterfall-filled Watkins Glen State Park has been described as "like the Grand Canyon, but easier." Wisconsin's Devil's Lake State Park draws millions with its dreamy camping spots, shimmering lake, and scenic bluffs, and Oregon's Silver Falls State Park boasts the most majestic waterfalls in the state.

However, not all travelers visiting a state park have a great experience. In fact, some go to social media afterwards (or even while they're still there) to complain about dirty campsites, clogged toilets, broken bottles, and even dirty diapers buried in the sand on beaches. The lack of cleanliness can often be blamed on underfunding, with states including Wisconsin, Virginia, Oklahoma, and California reporting a significant backlog of maintenance issues in recent years, due to lack of funds. Here are five of the dirtiest state parks in America, based on traveler reviews. 

Ohio's East Fork State Park, southeast of Cincinnati, is a 7,480-acre park. It's home to Harsha Lake, used for swimming, boating, and fishing. But in one busy thread, Redditors warn visitors that they should avoid getting in the water. "Algae blooms become a problem in late July and August. Usually when it's been hot for an extended time. Comes from fertilizer runoff from all the fields nearby," one wrote. Another added, "I was there a few years ago. The algae was 'fine.' The water felt gross. I left when a turd floated past me."

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) have indeed been a recurrent problem for Harsha Lake for about 10 years, if not more. Governor Mike DeWine's H2Ohio initiative, launched in 2019, aims to improve water quality throughout the state by introducing new technology to tackle problems including algae blooms. "Many of Ohio's inland lakes suffer from harmful algal blooms," Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz said in 2022, according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. 

Oklahoma's Lake Thunderbird State Park features numerous ways to enjoy the water, including two swimming beaches, two marinas, and nine boat ramps. The park is nicknamed "Lake Dirty Bird" due to the reddish hues of its water, which come from surrounding red soil. But Redditors say that the park features dirty campsites, too. "Trash, junk, garbage everywhere. And the occasional body..." writes one Redditor. (The comment appears to refer to a 2023 murder, in which a killer dumped a woman's body in the park's lake.)

State officials have said that Lake Thunderbird is safe to swim in, although the red soil can stain swimsuits and clothing. "The (nickname) and the color of the water is based on the soil," Robby Short, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, told The Oklahoman in 2024. "There's no danger in that, unless you go swimming in white clothing, there's the danger it might get stained."

Jordan Lake State Recreation Area drew numerous complaints about trash left behind by visitors, particularly on the park's swimming beaches. This state recreation area west of Raleigh features a swimming beach, over a thousand campsites, and 15 miles of hiking trails. "It's like this every weekend morning. Dirty diapers, cans, shoes, fishing line, corn cobs...scattered everywhere. GROSS!" wrote one Redditor. Another recounted, "Jordan Lake is the reason I carry a box of trash bags in my car."

In recent years, North Carolina parks have struggled with a recent influx of visitors that started during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. "We do have needs running through staffing, infrastructure repairs," Jay Greenwood, south district superintendent for North Carolina state parks, told WCNC in 2021. "We've got a lot of old, aging infrastructure all across the state that, of course, there's a lot of demands on now that have been increased greatly by the visitation."

Numerous threads in r/Pennsylvania feature complaints about Beltzville State Park. A 3,000-acre park in the Poconos, Beltzville State Park offers a swimming beach, boating, fishing, hiking, hunting, mountain biking, and other activities. Redditors say the park attracts rude weekend visitors who leave trash everywhere, including dirty diapers. "Me and a group of friends used to drive over an hour to Beltzville multiple times every summer to check out the waterfalls and hike around (and occasionally take a dip)," one Redditor wrote in 2022. "This was about 10-15 years ago, and it was pristine, and we always left it the way we found it. Went again maybe 5-6 years ago and it was overrun by people swimming, with music blaring, trash everywhere (saw a floating, soiled diaper in the water) and park rangers obviously overwhelmed. So disappointing, haven't been back since."

Underfunding appears to be a major issue, leading to deteriorating facilities and chronic understaffing. "The condition of state park facilities is deteriorating, with some facilities being shuttered, and some recreation activities no longer available — while demand for park use is higher than ever before," reads a 2019 report from Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as reported by local news outlet WHYY.

Michigan's Belle Isle Park had the most complaints by far of any state park, with the majority of the complaints centered on the park's swimming beach and the water quality of the Detroit River. Located in the Detroit River, Belle Isle is a 985-acre island park containing an aquarium, conservancy, a golf course, athletic fields, walking trails, and more, in addition to the swimming beach.

Redditors pointed out the history of E. Coli in the Detroit River and complained about people leaving trash on the beach, including broken bottles and dirty diapers. One Redditor wrote, "The last time I was there I saw a lot of actual trash everywhere and a loaded diaper left on the shore. I wish I had better experiences there because it should be a beautiful place and treated with respect but people suck." Outlier Media notes that although many Detroiters remain skeptical about swimming in the Detroit River, the water is generally safe to swim in with two big exceptions: After a heavy rainfall, which can wash bacteria-ridden goose poop from the shore into the swimming area, or if you have a cut on your body. Also, do not swim if the park has issued a beach closure alert. As for the trash problem, Belle Isle's anti-litter campaign, Keep Belle Isle Beautiful, regularly organizes volunteer clean-ups. 

Outside of the beach, many of Belle Isle's other amenities, such as the aquarium and conservancy, generally earn widespread praise from travelers. "The Belle Isle Aquarium is the oldest public aquarium in the US. Fun fact aside, this place is also absolutely gorgeous," writes one Redditor .

Research for this piece started with searching Reddit for uses of the term "state park" and the word "dirty." This led to many Reddit threads in travel-related subreddits including r/camping and r/roadtrip, as well as state- and city-specific subreddits. To identify a contender for the list, I read through the threads that appeared in my search to make sure I understood the full text and didn't count unrelated comments or questions. I only counted one complaint per user. I didn't count complaints about issues that aren't hygiene-related, such as comments about overcrowding or the presence of mosquitos.

After compiling the list of parks, I then cross-checked them with Tripadvisor and Google Reviews to confirm that many travelers had made similar comments. Finally, I searched for local news sources that had reported on the issues mentioned.