Susquehanna State Park Campground

Stayed here recently for 2 nights, Thursday and Friday. That was a big mistake, as mid day Friday cars came rolling in. Lots and lots of family and multi family groups, and if that is your thing it is a great place.  The sites are well kept and the tent pads are in great shape.  But the sites are fairly small and some of them are right on top of each other or have trails between them. So again, if you are with a big group this is a great place.

We stayed in site 35 on the Beechnut Loop and it had a decent space for two tents and for two cars.  There is a long driveway, which is open and looks across to the playground.  The only thing I didn't like was that there wasn't really any enforcement of the quiet hours either night and I just never understand people who watch movies and tvs and listen to talk radio when they camp -- especially til 2 in the morning. I'm willing to give Susquehanna another try mid week this Fall, but generally I'd say this is a better place for RVs and campers than for tents.

We decided to stay a weekend at Susquehanna based on the reviews on the Dyrt and it’s closer proximity to home. We arrived and were greeted by super friendly rangers who gave us the lay of the land. We found the rangers to be very knowledgeable about the area and the wildlife, plants, and trees in the park. They had two display tables full of flora and fauna by the check-in station set up for kids and adults alike to glean some knowledge. On one night while we were there, there was a program run by the rangers where kids could learn about some common native and invasive species.

We hiked the Green Trail, which had a sign saying it was ‘very difficult’, but we found it to be no problem for our crew of seven kids aged 3-10 and four adults. We only passed one other hiker. We saw some champion trees, lots of deer, and had some run ins with more than a few spotted lantern flies. One ranger told us they have nine champion trees in the park, we’d love to go back and hike to find the others.

With only two loops, the sites were fairly spaced out with lots of trees between them. We had a spacious electric site for our pop up and camped with friends who had a nice level, secluded tent site. We hardly ever heard any neighbors and all was quiet at night. Each loop shares a bathhouse, and there are some portable toilets spaced around the loop, too. The facilities were cleaned every morning. They even have a large laundry utility sink in the bathhouse should you need it. The only downside we found was that showering at prime time (around 8 or 9 pm) led to very little hot water. A small price to pay for good camping and hiking!

Staff is very friendly. Bathhouse is clean but ran out of toilet paper often; they supposedly clean 3 times a day since COVID but we didn’t see that happening on a regular schedule while we were there.

We loved that our site had a path directly to the bathhouse. This meant there wasn’t any foot traffic from people wanting to shower or use the restrooms. Easy access to the utility sink for dishes, too!

There seemed to be a lot of campers in the surrounding lots and still, everyone was quiet between the quiet hours.

Our specific site was supposed to have a tent pad but there wasnt a spot cleared for our tent and we had to move the heavy picnic table so we weren’t putting up our tent on top of the fire ring. We also had to use a paper plate to rake as many rocks and gravel from the site so we could put up our tent without ripping it.

We bought their firewood for $5/crate and it was really wet. It was challenging to get a fire going, which was frustrating. Ended up not being able to have a fire the last morning there and gave away our leftover firewood.

Probably my biggest complaint is that several times, the park maintenance truck drove down the loop where we camped. Our kids are running around and playing and the only vehicle that sped past every time was the park crew vehicle. All other vehicles (belonging to visitors) were respectful and drove slowly. It surprises me that with families camping here, they wouldn’t be more cautious.

All in all: for our first time camping here, it was a decent experience. I don’t know that we’d go there again, but it was a fun one-and-done trip.

I camped here for just 1 night during a work trip, and was pleasantly surprised with how nice it all was. 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! I chose site 26 I believe, it was very private from neighbors and the road, surrounded by beautiful mature trees, and just the right distance from the restrooms.

Restrooms were fairly clean, had flush toilets, electricity, and hot running water showers!! Since I had to look presentable for work the next day I had sent planned on doing much hiking (hot and humid June) but with the revelation of showers!!! I went for a lovely 3 mile evening hike on the trail just down the hill behind the campsite. Scared a bunch of deer (ok they scared me!!) and checked out the giant old growth trees, hiked over a bridge and stream which was full of fish I could see! Turned around after I got to the Susquehanna itself. The river was running pretty high and fast, pretty cool to see.

Overall, cool spot! Will stay again!!

This was our first visit to Susquehanna State Park. It was a popular weekend in mid-september, and there were limited sites available. We stayed in site 2 of the Beechnut Loop. I had chosen this site, based on two factors: 1. It was available and 2. It was close to the playground. Unfortunately, it was most likely available because it was overrun with roots and rocks (no pad for the tent)- and you also couldn't see the playground from the site.

That said, I think if we had stayed in a site that had a pad for the tent, I would've given this park 5 stars. I docked a star because I'd say about half- maybe more- don't have pads. I didn't get a chance to check out the Acorn Loop, other than a quick drive by- That is where the cabins are, but it otherwise looked similar.

Another reason for 4 stars over 5- not all of the sites had bath to the bathhouse, and the path that they did have was also very rocky and covered in roots. That said, the bathrooms have clearly been recently renovated and were up-to-date, clean and about as great as you can expect for a campsite. The only nicer ones I've seen where at Rocky Gap State Park.

All told, the campground was fantastic. The campstore is small (like literally the size of a closet) but had some main essentials. They also sell ice and firewood at the campstore AND there is an honor system with it available to you after the campstore hours. This is great so that you don't have to time things around when the campstore is open. The camphost does NOT have firewood available, but the camp store is only a little further down the road.

As I mentioned, we stayed on a busy weekend in September and on Sunday morning, I found that there was no toilet paper in the ladies bathroom. Luckily, some generous camper had some and left a roll for the rest of us. When I went back just two hours later, it was replenished- so I don't know if that was a one-off thing or not.

For kids, the playground was fantastic, though, it was not shaded. It is also in the middle of the Acorn and Beechnut loop. This is great if you want to be away from the playground, as you can book one of the sites further off and not have kids running about. That said, this also leaves limited sites that are close to the playground, for families who would like easy access.

The camp road was minimally hilly and would be safe and easy for little kids to ride their bikes, unlike some of the campgrounds that have pretty decent hills. Many of the sites were at the bottom of a hill though, so I'm not sure how that would do in a decent rain.

We didn't get a chance to do any hiking (because we were lazy campers) but very much enjoyed our weekend stay. We will absolutely be coming back... but we will bring our bikes and book a site with a tent pad!

Site was very shaded, and probably the most secluded feel of anywhere we’ve camped. Camping pad was nice and level, although the driveway was slightly sloped. One of our bunk ends extended beyond the pad into the woods, which was just fine by me. Nice amount of space in between sites. Short walk to bathhouse, through the woods behind us. There were also several, very private, “walk-up” type sites for tents. Bath house was immaculate; by far the cleanest I have ever seen in a campground. Must have been recently renovated. Deer Creek day-use area was nice; had a big playground and a few pavilions. Picnic area was an open field with very little shade, and the amount of goose poop was unreal; like walking through a minefield. For that reason alone, I don’t think I would host any events there. There is a little fishing pond there, which my husband and daughter enjoyed. We hiked back to the campground from here, which was a nice easy-to-moderate trail. The beginning was pretty rough for me, since I was wearing my infant son while navigating an uphill trail, but it quickly evened out. There are also plenty of areas to stop along the road in the campground, with access to the creek for wading. The water felt great, but the bottom was rather pebbly. There is a historic area in the park, with a working grist mill, mansion and other little buildings to view. Not really my thing, but was pretty neat. The views of the river are really nice from here.