3 campgrounds with availability this weekend
Lums Pond State Park Campground houses luxury yurts with modern amenities just minutes from Kirkwood, Delaware. These canvas structures blend rustic charm with comfort, featuring electricity, heating, and air conditioning for year-round glamping. The park's yurts accommodate families seeking an elevated outdoor experience without sacrificing conveniences. Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA, located a short drive away, offers glamping cabins with premium furnishings and private outdoor spaces. Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Elmer provides unique glamping accommodations including yurts set among wooded surroundings. Each glamping option includes comfortable beds, electricity, and convenient access to clean shower facilities. One guest shared, "The glamping tents were more glamorous than we had tried before, but definitely had a good combination of woodsy and comfort."
Hiking trails wind through the forests surrounding these glamping resorts, with Lums Pond State Park offering water activities on its namesake pond. Guests staying in glamping accommodations enjoy easy access to kayak and canoe rentals, fishing opportunities, and scenic walking paths. Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA features a swimming pool open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, plus a catch-and-release fishing pond for relaxing afternoons. Jellystone Park provides family-friendly activities including mini-golf, playgrounds, and seasonal events. The region's glamping sites serve as convenient baseplaces for exploring nearby attractions in Philadelphia, just 20 minutes from some locations. A visitor noted, "We stayed in one of the glamping tents. The staff was very friendly and the tents were more glamorous than we had tried before, with a good combination of woodsy and comfort."
"The site itself was set back some, and felt secluded while still being near the parking area. Walk to bathrooms and camp store was on the longer side."
"The tent sites are nice in that they are tucked along the wood line slightly away from RVs with more privacy and shade."
Available this weekend
from $27 - $45 / night
"It’s a clean, well kept space, completely surrounded by state forest, very close to shore access along the rivers/bay, hiking/biking trails right out of the campground."
"A beautiful, well maintained park with lots to do, great bathroom facilities and extremely nice people."
"I was a walk-up with no reservation and since it was a weekday the ranger gave me a great rundown of the best spots in the camp and let me drive through to check them out before going back with my decision"
from $21 - $50 / night
"There is a nice, short nature trail which was nice to walk our dog and she enjoyed getting wet in the river. The campground is hilly which means that a fair number of sites are not level."
"I did have major trouble backing in because the road is too narrow for a 45’ motorhome to back in on a nearly 90-degree angle."
from $59 - $86 / night
"They are new-ish Shasta campers, queen bed, 1 slide, rear bunks, 2 entrances. Very clean. Water area is great, splash pad is very fun so is the large blow up slide and pool area."
"We stayed fathers day weekend and they had a breakfast, games and crafts geared towards it."
"No pets though. B and C loop felt like the spaces were very close to each other. A loop was closed at this point."
"Got there at 11pm and the D loop says no pets allowed."
Available this weekend
from $20 - $75 / night
"This is a nice KOA with full hook ups, tent sites,cabins, and even glamping cabins. There is a pool that is open Memorial Day- Labor Day."
"I arrived on a Tuesday a few days after they closed the pool, and by Wednesday I had the whole row of tent sites to myself."
"We stayed here in November with beautiful weather which meant the large farm behind the campground was spraying manure over their fields. We could smell it."
"Staff is always friendly and the store well stocked. Kids enjoy the water park and nigh time laser tag parties and hay rides. "
"My wife and I chose site #10 based on its close proximity to the lake and fishing access. Even when I put my waders on, I pulled in algae almost every time. There is a ton of algae in this lake."
"Outside, to the back of the cabin, was a small deck with picnic table, a grill, and a fire ring. Beyond that you will find a path to the lake with beautiful swans."
from $20 - $65 / night
"We stayed in Site# 51 in the Fence Loop- a pull-thru with 50-amp, water, and sewer. The hookups seemed to work just fine. The all-grass site just fit our 37’ motor home(see photos). "
"We were helping some friends get their house ready to sell and this was the only place that had a spot for the time frame we needed.)
The staff was nice and friendly. The place was well kept."
from $31 - $50 / night
TravelerCountry Acres is a lovely, well maintained campground. Sites are level and bath house facilities clean and modern. Friendly staff in the office. Dog friendly. Local to all the Lancaster attractions. A complimentary farmland tour is offered by bus and it was great. They take you out into an area of Amish farms and shops and make a stop at 2 of these. The fresh Amish pretzels are amazing!
ScoutThe advertisements for Olde Mill Campground were disingenuous. The campsite was 20 yards from a roller coaster. The NOISE of the roller coaster and children on it screaming was as relentless and unnerving as any train we have ever slept near. There was no quiet until almost midnight. The “pull-through” site left my truck almost in the road and our 25’ Airstream slightly over the road on the backside. The site was not level. The sites were close enough to hear a neighbor’s snoring.
ScoutThe campground is in excellent condition. The facilities are top notch. The excellence and care of the campground is evident. The 4 stars is only due to the road noise and many of the sites are on top of each other. You feel like your neighbor is at your camp fire.
ScoutFirst time at this campground really like it a lot will be returning. The bathrooms are always clean. The grounds are always kept up. Just a really nice place to stay. Most of the sites have some kind of shade.
GuideA beautiful, well maintained park with lots to do, great bathroom facilities and extremely nice people. The electric sites aren't all together, so you don't have RV's lined up but maybe annoying for folks who are tent camping. Avoid the locations in the mid-30's by the dumpster, both staff and campers start shaking the lid around 6:30. Between 5 AM and noon staff were driving big trucks and ATV's around with loud reverse horns, and slamming the fire pit grills, which they store sideways. Overall I had a really wonderful time, but that's largely down to good sound reduction inside the van. Almost zero cell service. I was able to get a couple of text messages in and out, but seemed to be a fluke.
LegendWe spent a weekend at French Creek State Park as our home base for the Chester County Balloon Festival. We stayed for 2 nights at a full-hookup paved site, which ran us $55.25 per night.
WHAT I LIKED:
Peace& Quiet: The state park itself was lovely, serene, and felt nice and spacious.
Prime Location: At just 30 minutes away from the balloon festival, this is the closest campground.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH:
The"Leveling" Challenge: We were at site#C-241, which had a pretty significant slope. It took a few boards under the rear wheels and fully extended jacks just to get us anywhere near level.
Tight Fit for Big Rigs: Even though there was plenty of open space behind our site, the actual driveway pad was too short to comfortably fit our motorhome and Jeep together. Compared to other state parks we’ve visited, the interior roads and layouts felt a bit on the tight side.
WOULD WE COME BACK?
LegendThis is a great little state park tucked away in the woods. Campsites are pretty spacious and have nice shade. The campground has two loops, each with a bathhouse located in the middle. Our site (Butterfly Loop #3) was long enough for our motorhome and tow car. The roads are paved, as was our camping pad. The only utility at our site was 30-amp electric. There are water spigots located throughout each loop and we were close enough to fill our water tank. For the most part, the park is big-rig friendly but we did brush against some trees on our way around the loop. Campsites do vary in length so make sure you include your length when booking. We reserved online and were instructed to just go to our site which was nice and convenient. They sell firewood onsite and have a self-pay station which we loved. There is a nice boat launch and the kayak launch has a platform to assist you getting in and out and there are plenty of places to fish from the bank. There is a nature center (which was not open during our stay), playground, picnic pavilions, amphitheater, The bathrooms could use some more attention. The shower curtains were pink meaning they have not been properly cleaned in a while. Needless to say, we did not shower there. The dump station was closed while we were there but we were told we could use the dump station at Tuckahoe State Park (about 10 miles away). We really enjoyed the short hiking trails and paved trail which allowed us to log about 3 miles without having to leave the park. The campground is a really relaxing place to be. We did drive (about 40 minutes south) to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, both of which we recommend. It is also worth a drive to St. Michaels to see the quaint seaside town and visit the maritime museum (plan on spending half a day at the museum). The only downside is that the park is not gated and open for day use so a lot of people just drive through the campground looking around.
LegendOverall, this is a nice, small (about 65 sites) state park with plenty of recreational opportunities inside the park. There is nice separation between sites so you don’t feel like you are on top of your neighbor. Tall trees are scattered about which provide shade at some sites but overall, the park is pretty open. Roads getting to the park are easy to navigate with any size RV. Within the park, roads are paved and free of potholes and there are no low hanging branches. Since the roads are one-way they are not very wide so backing in big-rigs can be a little tight and you might have to run over the grass.
All RV sites are full hook-up and there is a separate area for tents and there is one canvas yurt for rent. The tent sites are nice in that they are tucked along the wood line slightly away from RVs with more privacy and shade. The only downside is that they are pretty far away from the centrally located bathroom and showers. The bathroom has separate rooms for showers which is nice and private. They were tended to daily and very clean. Also, located in the center of the campground is a playground, camp store and laundry. The dumpsters and recycle bins are located in a separate area on the way out of the campground and were frequently full and overflowing. Campsites are paved and some have wide enough that the patio is paved but others have a narrow pad for the RV and gravel patio. We discovered that most sites are level but a few are not (like 22 and 24). The campground is very clean and camp hosts were diligent about picking up trash and cleaning out fire pits every day.
Across the pond (north of the campground) is where most of the amenities are located such as concessions, ball fields, horseshoe pits, disk golf, and more. For those wanting to fish there is a pier in the campground and a self-serve vending machine with bait in it. There are additional fishing piers located in other parts of the park and there are boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards for rent. We stopped in at the Nature Center but it was a bust– just a few taxidermy specimens and not much information. One of the most popular areas of the park is Go Ape which is a ropes/zip line course through the canopy (which does require admission fee). There are nice trails that leave right from the campground– some 17 miles in all. There is a boat launch about a quarter mile from the campground entrance which is suitable for trailerable boats and paddle craft but there are no docks so you can’t leave your boat tied up there. There is an off-leash dog area but it is located far from the campground so it’s best to drive.
ScoutBathrooms are clean and staff is nice
Camping near Kirkwood, Delaware features heavily wooded sites within easy access of the Chesapeake Bay region. The area sits at elevations under 100 feet with humid subtropical climate patterns featuring hot summers and mild winters. Most local campgrounds remain open from April through October, though several offer year-round access with varying levels of hookups and amenities.
Paddling opportunities: Tuckahoe Creek provides easy access for kayakers and canoeists. "There's a kayak launch between sites 46 and 48. The walk to Tuckahoe Creek from the parking area is very short, and the creek leads to Tuckahoe Lake (no gasoline motors) with more of the creek on the other side of the lake," notes a camper at Tuckahoe State Park Campground.
Hiking trails: French Creek State Park offers extensive trail systems across its 7,526 acres. "There are 200 individual sites in four loops, some with full hookups for RVs, some with electric only but mostly primitive sites. There are also several cottages, cabins and yurts available as well," explains a reviewer at French Creek State Park Campground.
Fishing spots: Multiple ponds and lakes throughout the area offer fishing opportunities. At Woodlands Camping Resort, visitors can fish the nearby Elk River. A camper mentions, "Highlight- super fun restaurant very nearby, great food, live music, on the Elk river. Restaurant is Unwind on the Water."
Spacious sites: Many campgrounds feature ample space between campsites. At Lums Pond State Park Campground, a camper shares, "The sites are large and well spaced. Many are in full sun. The bathroom facilities and laundry are clean and modern. There are separate, individual shower rooms."
Clean facilities: Bathroom cleanliness is frequently mentioned as a positive. "The bath house was absolutely immaculate, and the design made even my public-bathroom-phobic sister-in-law comfortable and at ease," notes a visitor to Susquehanna State Park Campground.
Structured activities: Many parks offer organized events. A camper at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park mentions, "We did a birthday package where they brought a cake to the camp with Booboo for my daughter. They have the pools and playgrounds and fishing. Also the bonus of the hot tub being dropped off for two days."
Reservation requirements: Popular sites fill quickly, especially during summer and holidays. A camper at Parvin State Park Campground advises, "Bathrooms were clean but most of the faucets on the sinks were broken. The water has a very high iron content. I couldn't even use it for tooth brushing. Most of the showers were out of order."
Site dimensions: RVs and larger setups may find some sites challenging. "We have a 25' camper, and it barely fit, length and with were an issue. The firepit was about 3-4 feet from our door. No camp fires as it was not safe," warns a Tuckahoe visitor.
Weather considerations: The area's humidity affects camping conditions. "When we were hiking it was very warm and I was definitely sweating. My bag stayed dry and so did everything in it. When we were packing up a severe thunderstorm rolled through," reports a French Creek visitor.
Playground access: Select sites near play areas for convenience. At French Creek, "There is a very nice playground situated conveniently between the loops of the campground. It had some slides, a bridge, lots of monkey bars, ladders to climb on and the best feature was the zip line."
Water activities: Philadelphia South/Clarksboro KOA offers family-friendly water options. "This campground was so well maintained. There was so much to do there a pool, lake, horseshoes, cornhole, playground, big pillow and even more. They offer so many activities during the day and text you so you don't forget."
Glamping options: Near Kirkwood, glamping alternatives exist for families seeking more comfort. "Stayed in one of the rental campers. They are new-ish Shasta campers, queen bed, 1 slide, rear bunks, 2 entrances. Very clean. Water area is great, splash pad is very fun so is the large blow up slide and pool area," reports a visitor at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Elmer.
Hookup availability: Electric-only sites are common, with full hookups limited. At Lums Pond, a camper notes, "All sites have a flat paved area which made set up a breeze. Sites were not on top of each other. Bathrooms were very nice and clean with large showers."
Site leveling: Most campgrounds feature level pads. "The site was fairly level, side-to-side, so I really only needed to level front to back. That was a bonus," shares a Susquehanna visitor.
Dump stations: Always check location and access hours. At Parvin State Park, "The dump station is sometimes secured has a combination lock. Ask for the combination during check-in."
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Kirkwood, DE?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Kirkwood, DE is Lums Pond State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 53 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Kirkwood, DE?
TheDyrt.com has all 28 glamping camping locations near Kirkwood, DE, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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