PA campers

[juligrl]

I noticed there are a couple of PA campers on here. Any campgrounds you just love? I'm looking to try one new place this summer for one of our camping weekends.

 

[kc5grw]

Yea, I think there are lots of PA campers here....Oh wait...You mean Pennsylvania campers

 

[4Hammers]

I have two places I would reccomend.

We spent a week at Yogi Bear Jellystone in Quarryville/Lancaster. We have an 8 year old son. He had a blast. The pool area is so much fun. There is spash zones with slides (big & small), water cannons, and all sorts of stuff that sprays water. Kids of all ages were having a great time. They also had cartoons at the pavilion every morning, a pizza lunch with Yogi & ****oo, and other activities. The facilities were very clean and well cared for.

We also spent a weeked at Otter Lake up near Stroudsburg. It was a rainy weekend in fall, so it was little quiet. The lake is very pretty & there were a bunch of people fishing. They have both and indoor and outdoor swimming pool, play grounds, & activities for the kids. We're hoping to fit in a visit again sometime over the summer or in the fall. We're heading to Fort Wilderness for 2 weeks in August, so we're running short on time off from work.

We really liked both places & I would highly reccomend them.

 

[juligrl]

I think Otter Lake was one I was looking at, glad to hear a good review. Thanks!

 

[FLBound11]

I once went to a campground just outside Harrisburg, PA and it was great! I think the address was in Harrisburg, but it wasn't actually in the busy city area (of course).

 

[Tigger0624]

When we camped in PA we were still tenting- but my favorite place to camp up there was Promosed Land State Park up by the Poconos- granted no fancy pools etc- but a beautiful lake, great fishing, beach, boat rentals, playgrounds- even a few lake front sites for tenters that were my absolute favorite! They also have plenty of RV sites with full hookups that had much nicer bath houses than the tenting areas did...

We used to get one of the lake sites every time and Matt would fish with the boys while I would relax in a chair looking out at the lake enjoying the peaceful serenity and fresh air.

I would actually make the 16 hour drive to camp up there again if I could convince Matt to drive that far with all 6 of us and the Newfie in the truck Especially in the Fall with all the leaves changing colors... sigh... oh well...

 

[juligrl]

I'm a tent camper so actually, that does sound ideal! I'll have to check out the DCNR website to see what I can find on that. Sounds similar to Prince Gallitzin (which I do have booked for this summer) with the lakeside camping. How nice would that be - put my kayak in from my campsite.

 

[loriandmatt]

PA camper here. i have to 2nd otter lake and i also think may have stayed at the jellystone park that 4Hammers mentions. if it is the same one, it is now called splash magic. still a great place with lots of activities for the kids a great pool and quite close to Knobels amusement park. (a GREAT little park)

We also really like Lake in the Woods. it is more in the lancaster area where as the other two above are in the pocono area.

We stayed at Old Mill once. the sites and campground are underwhelming, but the facilites were nice. the big draw there is that the campground is surrounded by working amish farms. great if you want to experience that. it dosen't hurt that the amish kids come over with their little red wagon selling baked goods and canned preserves either. I think i gained 12 pounds on that 3 day weekend.

 

[GOBA Mom Lynn]

We haven't done too much tent camping lately in PA, but did stay at Hershey Highmeadows when we went to Hershey. It is nice, with a pool and free shuttle to the park. The only drawback is the train that rumbles by adjacent to the camp. If you're a light sleeper, it may be a problem.

If you want something more rustic, theres a book (I'm reading the one from the library) called "The Best in Tent Camping...Pennsylvania". The author (Matt Willen) rates campgrounds by privacy, beauty, spaciousness, quiet, security and cleanliness. Most of the campgrounds reccommended are in state parks or wilderness areas, it seems. I now have a list of about 5 or 6 campgrounds I'd like to make it to someday!

Happy Planning!

 

[Dancemom03]

We haven't done too much tent camping lately in PA, but did stay at Hershey Highmeadows when we went to Hershey. It is nice, with a pool and free shuttle to the park. The only drawback is the train that rumbles by adjacent to the camp. If you're a light sleeper, it may be a problem.!

You should feel & hear it from the group camping area at the top. They put groups right next to the tracks.
Even so, it's one of my fondest memories of cub scout family camping every year. I mean, when they say "the ground moved" there, they mean it!


We used to really like Granite Hill just outside Gettysburg for a warm weather getaway when DS31 was younger. I drove by the other week and was surprised to see it still looks inviting twenty years later. Definitely nicer than Hershey Highmeadow but then, there's no theme park in Gettysburg, unless you count the battlefields or Land of Little Horses.
Anyway, the waterslide built into the hillside was even still there with kids sliding down it and there were paddleboats out on the lake. Hopefully by now it's included in the price though. At the risk of sounding old, I can't believe how expensive campsites have become...

 

[juligrl]

We used to really like Granite Hill just outside Gettysburg for a warm weather getaway when DS31 was younger. I drove by the other week and was surprised to see it still looks inviting twenty years later. Definitely nicer than Hershey Highmeadow but then, there's no theme park in Gettysburg, unless you count the battlefields or Land of Little Horses.

We are a family of civil war nuts (my husband and I are the nuts and the kids get dragged along, but they don't complain too much ) so actually that does sound like fun! I'm scheduled for Caledonia State Park for our weekend trip to Gettysburg this summer, but Granite Hill sounds like it might be nice for a quick fall weekend.

 

[LarryJ]

For about 10 years we drove from the Dulles Airport area to State College for the home football games camping on campus. On each return trip we always stayed at the Hagerstown, Pa. KOA to rest up and dump and get ready for the next trip. It's a nice campground, but really not great things for kids to do except enjoy the wooded area.

Since it's just the two of us old foggies now and pools, kids related stuff is beyond us we stayed at the Harrisburg East CG twice this last May/June trip to have a base for visiting the Nat'l Civil War Museum and doing the Hershey Park routine.

We also stayed at Artillery Ridge Campground in Gettysburg when doing the Gettysburg thing and it's the closest CG to GB Nat'l Park and it has a great diorama on the Battle of Gettysburg at the CG and is free to campers. Not much from what I remember for kids.

When we did Valley Forge this trip we stayed at Brandywine Creek Camground and it was nice, but tucked back on a narrow road, but we still did fine with our rig.

Not a lot of help, but maybe a couple of ideas if you are coming east into Pa.

Larry