Campgrounds needed for PA & VA

[Miscoehill]

We've decided on a summer vacation. We're heading to PA (Hershey area) and Va (Williamsburg area). I need campground suggestions? We'll probably do Hershey Park and Busch Gardens. Thanks!

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I can only speak for where NOT to stay in the Williamsburg area. Avoid the James river campground at all costs. The entrance is right across from the James river settlement. The place is old and dumpy. pretty much just a field with hookups. The bathrooms were horrible.
Sorry I cant help with a good campground, thats my only experience in the area.
I would hope that an area with so much to do and see would have a really good campground.
good luck

Scott

 

[ftwildernessguy]

There is a nice, small campground in the Lancaster, PA area called Mill Bridge Village. It has an old PA Dutch community attraction associated with it which is interesting and staying at the campground gets you admission here. Appalachian Campground in Shartlesville is also nice and not too far down the road from Hershey on Rte. 78. It has a small restaurant on property, there is an old and locally must do attraction accross the highway called Roadside America (model train exhibit that my kids used to love) and just one exit up from Cabella's.

 

[k3mp]

If you check out Hershey Park's Website, you will see that Hershey HighMeadow campground is listed on there....I only find one thing wrong with that park....the local train runs right behind the campground....they run a shuttle to the park..Good luck on your choice...

 

[natalie from pa]

Hi,
I'm from the Harrisburg/Hershay Area. I would not recommend Highmeadow . It's overpriced and the sites are VERY close together. The only real perk is that you can see HersheyPark from the campground.
Were you planning to do anything else in Central PA?
Eagles Peak is really nice. It's toward Reading. The Vanity Fair Outlet Complex is close by. There are some beautiful wooded sites on the hill and a really nice pool. It's about a 45-60 minute drive to HersheyPark.

Drummer Boy
is also a very nice place. They just put in a Waterslide as their second heated pool. It's near Gettysburg, so those attractions would be close. It's also about a 45-60 minute drive to HersheyPark.

The last one I would suggest is Lake In Wood in Lancaster county. It is a larger campground but the sites are wooded and the amenities are nice. This puts you in Amish Country and also close to Dutch Wonderland. HersheyPark and Dutch Wonderland offer a combination ticket .

I hope this helps.
Natalie from PA

 

[FletchFab5]

We stayed at the Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA when we went to Hershey Park. (it's a Go RVing recommended park) It was very nice and only about 20 mins to Hershey Park from there.

 

[maacogrl]

You should try Eagles Peak in Robisonia Pa. It's AWESOME!!!
We visited them twice and then became seasonals. If you have kids, there is a ton of activities for them to enjoy. Eagles Peak is in between Hershey and Reading and 40 minutes to Lancaster. You can get a site in the meadow with no trees or you can get a wooded site- We like the meadow. If you decide to visit Eagles Peak stop by and say hello, we are at site 128 in the meadow.

 

[lawnspecialties]

We stayed at Anvil Campground in Williamsburg last May. Not a big campground but pretty nice. The only thing is it is located alongside a very busy railroad track. Everyday freight trains from the coal mines in W Va. and an occasional Amtrak come screaming through heading to and from the ports. Not so bad but a few will come through in the middle of the night. If you have the kids and you're going for only a few days, it can be fun. We still have the "squashed" pennies. It is about five miles from Busch Gardens and supposedly is the closest.

There are others in the area as well. Two KOA's. If you don't have a Trailer Life Campground Directory 2006, get one. They are awesome for researching places you've never been. By the way, Busch Gardens is great but by no means DW.

 

[msdznyduck]

We like it quiet when we camp,.....for that try one of the state parks in PA. DD and I usually stay at French Creek, only 10 miles or so from Reading, and take a trip to Lancaster (about 1/2 hr drive or so....farm country, beautiful)

We have also stayed at the Jamestown campground . (We didn't know any better, and DH is a history nut, we thought it would be convenient to the settlement....yeah, a muddy field (and it hadn't rained for a few days) and the bathrooms were disgusting......no showers for us. We only stayed 1 night since it was so bad.

 

[wildernessfamily]

KOA has two, we have stayed at both. It depends on your set up. KOA central colonial, has a lot more trees, but not all sites are level. Up front they have great pull throughs. In the back they can be hard to level. This is our favorite it is a bit of a ride but 20 minutes to Williamsburg, longer to Busch Gardens depending on the traffic on I64. Colonial has a bigger pool that is heated. Not sure about the bathrooms because we don't use them that much. KOA williamsburg is more level but less tress, smaller pool. They are both connected by a nature trail. They are both next door to each other. Colonial was a family owned up to a few years ago and is our favorite, but it will really depend on what you need as far as site size, level. I think they both are far enough away that you feel like you are camping but close enough to the action if that is what you want. Check them out on line. We loved the family atmosphere of Elizabeth town KOA in PA but we used it for only an overnight stay(we would have loved to stay longer) not sure how close or far from Amish area and Hershey. but a very nice campground. We have also stayed at Drummer Boy and that was a nice campground.

 

[lawnspecialties]

KOA has two, we have stayed at both. It depends on your set up. KOA central colonial, has a lot more trees, but not all sites are level. Up front they have great pull throughs. In the back they can be hard to level. This is our favorite it is a bit of a ride but 20 minutes to Williamsburg, longer to Busch Gardens depending on the traffic on I64. Colonial has a bigger pool that is heated. Not sure about the bathrooms because we don't use them that much. KOA williamsburg is more level but less tress, smaller pool. They are both connected by a nature trail. They are both next door to each other. Colonial was a family owned up to a few years ago and is our favorite, but it will really depend on what you need as far as site size, level. I think they both are far enough away that you feel like you are camping but close enough to the action if that is what you want. Check them out on line. We loved the family atmosphere of Elizabeth town KOA in PA but we used it for only an overnight stay(we would have loved to stay longer) not sure how close or far from Amish area and Hershey. but a very nice campground. We have also stayed at Drummer Boy and that was a nice campground.

We might go back to Busch Gardens this year. We have a 30' travel trailer. Which do you think would be the best KOA? Pull throughs are no big deal. I don't want to stay on a slope though. Thanks

 

[wildernessfamily]

If we are pulling in late at night we go with a pull thru if we can get one. Even though we have only a 29 tt with one slide out, diesel truck. Because at night we don't like backing in or leveling in the dark. The Williamsburg KOA is much smaller more level, some back in sites. All there electric sites also have cable TV. Colonial Central KOA has a lot more sites, only their 50 amp premium sites have cable. Colonial has more trees, bigger pool if you have a family. Sites A1-A17, A 25and A 26 some can be little unlevel but are NOT full hookups. Sites A 18- A 21 A27-A52 are pretty level but are right up front in campground A 18 and A44- A- 54 are along the road that goes through the campground, so sometimes you have lights/noise from people coming and going. But most AC take care of it. There are some big sites across from the pool, rec room snack bar, laundry they are A58- A67, A66 and A 67 are NOT full hookups. These are long sites. B1-B52 are sites going down a hill, most of these you need waffle levelers under some tires. Some of these are NOT full hookups. B75-B95 are smaller sites and some are pull in and some are back in's. Depending on the time of year or what time we arrive we like certain sites. We have seen lots of wildlife at Colonial, we actually saw a turtle laying eggs in the spring, we have seen raccoons. We like Colonial but have stayed at both for different reasons. They won't promise you a number site usually at check in. So that could be a problem. I have the campground map if you want to send me your e mail( don't know if that is allowed on this forum). I can scan it and send it, it also has a map of the local area. I will tell you if your family is interested besides Busch Gardens and Water Country, Colonial Williamsburg is there and they do some special evening programs in the summer, ghost walks and such. A friend was to the pottery recently and said they didn't have much not as much as they used to. Hope this helps you.

 

[Disneefun]

I second te vote for Anvil in Williamsburg. It has one advantage of being on a public bus line that goes to all the major attractions so if you don't have a car, you can use that. Plus it's within biking distance of Colonial W'burg. It is a smaller campground and the tracks are there, but we were surprised how little it bothered us. I was nervous at first, but it wasn't bad at all. ALso, you can cut across the tracks on foot and be on Richmond Road where a lot of dining options are.

As an aside, last time we were there (Nov.) I talked to the owner and he was telling me how his father had just died and that he and his brother were now going to take over the CG. Apparently the father had let it get a bit run down, with the idea of selling the land for big $$$ to a commercial developer. The borthers were against this as they wanted to keep the cg in the family, but they couldn't do anything. But the father died before it could be sold and the brothers pulled it off the market and are going to put in the money to spruce it up. It wasn't in bad shape when we were there, but I could see where a little TLC would help.

 

[Suzyq9241]

Triple A has a book for campsites also Yogi parks are very good....

 

[dogcarbon]

I like Spring Gulch in Lancaster County. About a 50 min drive to Hershey. Alos, Eagle's Peak is nice. We have stayed at both.

In Williamsburg we stayed at the KOA (not the Colonial). We were very pleasantly surprised with the place. We loved it!

 

[DisneyDiana]

Just had to add if you will be in PA, you must try a trip to Knoebel's Amusement Park!!! It is not all that far from Hershey. Their campground is great fun. Check out their website. Also, their Haunted Mansion always reminds me of being at Disney. Have a great trip!

 

[GraysMom]

I would like to add my vote for Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA. It is a lovely park (FREE parking and FREE admission!) with nice campgrounds for tents, RVs, and there are also a few cabins available at the Park campground. There is a campground right next to the park as well as a satellite campground a few miles away (not sure, but there might be a shuttle to the park from the satellite campground). The Park itself is nicely laid out with shade trees in abundance. There are also picnic tables near the parking lot if you'd like to bring your own meal. The rides are pay-as-you-go or you can buy a handstamp to ride most of the rides as much as you like. The food is great (and inexpensive) and is often honored by amusement park magazines. The rides range from tame kiddie rides to the Phoenix and Twister (wooden coasters). There is also a large pool next to the park with water slides. All in all a great family getaway (I may be a little biased since I've been going there all my life and spent 4 summers working there ). Mmmm, I can almost taste the fresh cut french fries now I know it's not Disney, but it is a fabulous park! Hope you try it!

GraysMom

 

[Kajunswty]

I second te vote for Anvil in Williamsburg. It has one advantage of being on a public bus line that goes to all the major attractions so if you don't have a car, you can use that. Plus it's within biking distance of Colonial W'burg. It is a smaller campground and the tracks are there, but we were surprised how little it bothered us. I was nervous at first, but it wasn't bad at all. ALso, you can cut across the tracks on foot and be on Richmond Road where a lot of dining options are.

As an aside, last time we were there (Nov.) I talked to the owner and he was telling me how his father had just died and that he and his brother were now going to take over the CG. Apparently the father had let it get a bit run down, with the idea of selling the land for big $$$ to a commercial developer. The borthers were against this as they wanted to keep the cg in the family, but they couldn't do anything. But the father died before it could be sold and the brothers pulled it off the market and are going to put in the money to spruce it up. It wasn't in bad shape when we were there, but I could see where a little TLC would help.

thought I'd bring this one back up...anyone have addtional input...has Anvil had any upgrades? their website is great...it'll either be there or the KOA for us but I really like the idea of it being on the bus stop.

 

[FletchFab5]

I definitely wouldn't stay at Anvil Campground. I'm surprised at the recommendations it received here. The trains are terrible, our whole trailer shook when they went by at all hours of the day. We were there in April 2007 and left after 2 nights for a different campground. The seasonal trailers were rundown, sites very very close together--we couldn't open our awning, kind of dumpy looking, we thought. We found the owner to be less than customer service oriented (and that's putting it nicely). I would stay away from this place at all costs!!

 

[mecamper]

This is a very interesting thread for me. We drove through Pennsylvania this summer and thought it was beautiful. We may be going to Hershey Park next summer! I'm glad to know ahead of time that HighMeadow in Hershey has small sites. We like sites with space between the sites and definately like to have trees around us. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Knoebels sounds like fun too.
The problem is Fort Wilderness has spoiled us!