Best Cabin Camping near Elmer, NJ

My son absolutely loved this place. There’s anything and everything you could think of available to keep everyone busy. A water park, volley ball field, playgrounds, amphitheater, nature center, nature trails, and boat rentals at the lake.

It is a huge park, with secluded spots available for tent camping, cabins, and regular open spaces for camping rvs with electric hook up. Staff was friendly, campgrounds were well kept. It can get a little crowded but it’s worth it to stay. If you don’t like crowds, I suggest coming during the week days!

I get you need to have rules to keep order, but when I say the people at this campground were a little extra, I mean it. We stayed 2 nights at Land & Shore and the first night was Friday night and all 6 families that are members with our own sites were hanging out around a fire pit and at 1016pm someone security person drove by with one headlight and told us at 11pm we would have to pit our fire out. I think it was a little bit overkill and there was other campers that had a fire going, we were not being loud or anything and when she came by or anything so we didn't understand the urgency of telling us that, plus when did quiet time mean you couldnt sit by the campfire. The next day when I was in the hot tub my daughter walked up to me to ask if I could get her a drink and she was not about to get into the water but the over concerned lifeguard walked up to say ... you need to be 18 to be on the hot tub and we all looked at each other that were in, and the old man next to us says well we all are and he said we'll she's not and he replied for me l, that good thing she wasn't in then ... let a parent be a if you see someone not obeying the rules, okay, but we were, and we don't need your 2 cents because you're not even 18. I liked the area but wouldn't go back to this same campground, the sites are way too close for me and your practically on top of your neighbors, but we went with family so... the beach is within 10ish minutes and is beautiful but your suppose to have passes, we biked around the area and along the beach it was very nice. I did like the lake and waterpark. However, the water in the waterpark was ice cold.

Atsion cabins are excellent rustic cabins situated directly on the water. They come in a variety of sizes accommodating up to 7 or 8 people.

They must be reserved in advance and a multiple night rental is necessary. They book quickly during the busy season. However, we rented for Halloween weekend and had it all to ourselves! No neighbors!

Nov 1 marks an end to cabin rentals until the Spring.

Large, screened in back porch with chairs over looks the water. Full kitchen with oven and fridge. Private bathroom and real bedrooms. Big, stone fireplace…. So don’t forget the wood.

Each cabin has it’s own outdoor cooking space and picnic table.

But we made a mistake! While there is electricity, there is NO heat or AC. Our last day was November 1st and it was COLD. Too cold to leave the fireplace for the bedrooms. Be aware of the weather and pack some good bedding. Linens were not provided.

We were sad to find out it’s no long a Yogi Bear Campground, only Adventure bound. Everything else is the same, just no friendly bears. We stay 3 weeks ago during covid and there were limited activities. Dj in the rally field was fun and the train rides were up and running.
The campground has def changed in the last 10 yrs. Cabin rentals are everywhere and have replaced a lot of transient camper sites and it seems like many more seasonals than before. I booked another trip for Halloween.

West Chester KOA This is a really nice KOA not too far from downtown Philly. The campground is located in a beautiful part of the Pennsylvania countryside with rolling hills which meant the roads getting there are narrow and windy. A bridge nearby the campground was washed out earlier by a hurricane so we had to take an alternative route going about thirty minutes out of our way. (Make sure you check their website for directions!) There is a lot to do in the surrounding area like visiting the historical sites in downtown Philadelphia, Valley Forge, or exploring Amish country. 

This is a typical KOA with lots of amenities and activities for kids– swimming pool, jump pad, miniature golf, volleyball, butterfly garden, gem mining, playground, store, dog park, nature trail, etc. There is a large pool area with pavilion but it was closed during our stay since we were there early in the season. The campground is right on the Brandywine River which is a slow meandering pretty river that is great to get your feet wet or go for a paddle. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent if you have time and as there is very little current in the river you can paddle out and back without any trouble. 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. Our site (#27) was level for our RV but the patio sloped downhill and we could not use our picnic table or find a level spot for our chairs. Some sites are “premiums” with paved patios, Adirondack chairs, fancy firepits, BBQ grill, and tables and chairs with an umbrella. These sites are really nice, but you pay a lot more for them. Some sites are located adjacent to the river with nice waterfront views, but beware some might be muddy. There are lots of camping cabins and a couple of glamping tents. 

Overall, the campground is very clean with no trash lying around and the grass was mowed and trimmed. The 50-amp electric was good as was the water pressure. The sewer connection uphill from our site so it did not drain properly. There is basic cable but since you are so close to Philly there are plenty of over-the-air channels. The Wi-Fi at our site worked well. Garbage is picked up at your site. The surrounding area has plenty of restaurants, shopping, and interesting things to see and do.

We stayed here for 3 nights while visiting family In Philadelphia. It is a 20 minute ride into Philly and Uber was was quick and responsive.

*note- this does close for winter and reopens in April but call park for exact closure dates because they do change.

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. They also have a catch and release pond and we found a pickleball court at a nearby city park.

We did Chinatown and walked part of the Schuylkill River trail which we accessed by parking near Fairmount Park. This is a great area to explore with gorgeous views and easy access to the River trail. (There are rentals for everything here- kayaks/bikes etc)

IF we had a car with us- we would have considered taking the ferry from Camden’s Ferry Terminal next to Wiggins Park to Philly. (This is also near the Adventure Aquarium and the battleship New Jersey) Here is a link to information about the ferry-

https://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/places/riverlink-ferry

This is a great location for exploring Philadelphia.

Happy Camping! Pamela and Keith

The campground is maintained and there are activities for the kids always brewing. We stayed fathers day weekend and they had a breakfast, games and crafts geared towards it. The pool and splash park were great but you needed to be at least 42 inches to go on the slide or bounce house. The people there were friendly. I think the lale could use a little cleanup with the amount of bobbers, string and mess left behind by people. There have ao many cabins its crazy and alot of seasonal rentals. Our site was roomy and had gravel however it poured and hailed for 1 hr and it still made a swamp. I would come back again my 3 yr old lobed the playground and pool. The roads are dirt but well maintained.

My friends brought us here, they are family of 4 they have booked tents and cabins over the last 4 years. It's a very large mostly RV park with tent sites mixed in. Mostly seasonal RV people, packed to the hilt. Very large campground, yet small sites, crowded tons of people. Horrible wifi, zero cell service, small swimming area crowded on lake. Great if you are looking for a seasonal spot in an RV community obsessed with American flags and you have a young family, there's a small crowded pool, playground, etc. Boring for my teen, too crowded for my liking. Lots of activities for familiesBring tons of deet-biting flies unbearable. Not my preferred camping getaway but aside from horrible internet and zero cell service, it's a nicely run campground if you are social, have an RV and young children.

The staff was well aware they had a bedbug infestation in their cabins and I had been unsuccessfully with treating it previously it was filthy we had to seek medical attention for the bedbug welts and bites and severity of the infestation we have tons of losses in damages and we’re asked to leave after we found more live bugs in the cabin bed they canceled our reservations for the following year as well we do a yearly trip with about 35 people who gather from all different parts of the United States for our weekly Fourth of July trip for staff are liars and they had this bedbug infestation from their guest and we rented our cabins the same night they asked us to leave with no explanation of why our trip was cut short if they were rewriting our cabins not that we wanted to stay with the bedbugs either

Quiet family campground. Nice play area for kids. VERY clean! Overall, a nice place. Not much to do nearby, and not many food options without driving 15+ mins. Small pool and jacuzzi. Sites in the back section of the campground have a little more space but we had a lot of ants and mosquitos being close to drainage and the woods. We will stay here again.

A small koa but very nice, I stayed in a cabin for my MTB race weekend. Great! Pool is a tad small. Restrooms very clean and good looking tent sites.

We are annual visitors to Yogi Jellystone in Elmer, NJ by virtue of location, as it is close to home and a convenient spot for several people in our x-large camping crew.

The pro's: This campground is well-designed with spots that can make most campers happy. There are wooded tent sites, field sites, full plug-in RV sites, and RVs and cabins for rent. There is a sizable splash park and pool with giant inflatable water. They have recreational activities for kids and families from ice-cream parties to bingo to hayrides to movies on a giant screen in the rally field. There is something for almost everyone.

The con's: It is our "per night" most expensive camping trip each year and runs us close to $165 for a weekend with a site with water and electric. This might seem reasonable for families who enjoy all the bells and whistles and activities but we are just looking for a place to gather with our camping friends and we rarely indulge in the activities. The other con is that someone akin to a "campground bouncer" (that is really a thing) will harass and threaten you and your group throughout the night for even so much as laughter and guitar playing after quiet hours. My group makes a concerted effort (and succeeds) in booking a large area away from most other campers. Regardless of the distance we create, they shut us down every year. But we are a resilient group and it sometimes takes until the wee hours until we truly shut down.

A pro: They haven't kicked us out yet.

I took my 11 year old daughter to the campground I used to stay at when I was a child.  Alot has changed at Wippoorwill campground since I was a little kid.  But even with all the changes and upgrades, it still felt like I was home again!  We stayed in one of the cabins.  Which was a perfect compromise when dealing with a child that doesn't want to sleep outside "in the dirt" as she likes to say.  The cabin was very comfortable and spacious for the 2 of us.  We had a great time taking advantage of all the amenities available.  My daughter loved it and we will certainly return next season!

Atsion Family Campground

Off US 206 and about 1/2 a mile up Atsion Road in New Jersey’s Wharton State Forest, you’ll find the Atsion Family Campground. The facility is run by the Dept of Environmental Protection and offers Tent, Trailer and Group Sites. There are also Cabins for rent as well, but only available during the summer months, After Memorial Day until October. AFC is one of several campgrounds in WSF and is the largest with 50 camping sites. Amenities include a handicapped accessible restroom/shower building, several drinking water spigots, and a waste dump for trailers. There are no electric hook ups and cell service is low, but manageable. Plenty of sun (shady too) so bring your solar powered generators and cell signal boosters if you need to stay connected. AFC is also pet friendly, so bring your 4 legged furry family members, after registering them with the camp site.

The individual sites are spacious with a pic-nick table and fire ring grill. Some sites have lake-side water access, so bring your canoes and kayaks and reserve these sites (4, 8, 10, 12, 20 and 22) early as they are popular. The ground is sandy and relatively level for easy camp set up. Some sites are close to a roadway, so you do get some car noise, and like all unmonitored camp sites, loud, unruly campers can be lurking among the pines. Be sure to get your fire wood from the guy that lives across the street from the campground entrance. 5 bucks, on the honor system, a good amount of wood, open 24/7.

Nearby is the Atsion Recreation Area, which offers fishing, walking, biking and horseback trails, a life guard monitored beach by the lake with restrooms and snacks (Summer Months). Only 15 minutes away, a quick drive, is Batso Village, an old iron and glass community from the late 1700s to early 1900s. NJ State Park Rangers are working hard keeping the area clean, rehabilitated, and educational center allowing you to walk through the old buildings and time as you image what life was like back then. Wharton SF is huge, over 122,000 acres of sandy terrain, towering pine trees, lakes/rivers and off roading trails!! Y’all should come and play in the Pine Barrens

The woods are full of nature and diverse. species. We counted over 17 different species of fungi in a 25 foot stretch! I loved staying in the beautiful cabins and enjoying the nature strolls. Would most definitely return.

I have stayed here many times over the years, usually for a long weekend.  Longer trips were spent there with my parents when I was a kid.   I prefer the south shore campsites to the north shore.  The sites on the south shore offer a little more privacy and aren't as crammed.  I'm particularly fond of the dog friendly loop, its a newer loop and the bathrooms are more modern than the others scattered around. 

We have also stayed in the camping shelters a few times and a cabin once.    The shelters offer no frills sleeping quarters with two bunks beds, so four beds and closet/pantry on both sides in the rear for food and gear, a wooden table in and pot belly stove for warmth or a one pot meal in the front room.  Bathrooms are in a separate building across the road and are shared with the other shelters occupants.  The exterior includes a fire pit, picnic table and a fire ring for larger meal prep.

The cabins are a two steps above the shelter with a full kitchen and bathroom with shower, but otherwise rustic, with three sets of bunk beds, a wooden table and two Adirondack chairs in front of a fire place.  The screened in porch at the rear of the cabin overlooks the lake and has plenty of room for camp chairs.   There is also a picnic table and a charcoal grill outside.

The beach is home to the cleanest, most wonderful lake I have ever set foot  in.  There are picnic tables and grills scattered all around the beach near the parking lot and it does get crowded in the summer months.  There is also a concession stand open in the summer months, serving light fare -- burgers, dogs, ice cream, soda & chips.

We stayed in one of the cabins for thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. They are cozy but very comfortable! Being a walk-in there was very little foot traffic when we were outside and the pond is quite close! The walks round the lake is a great way to get out and wander for a bit too

Fun for the whole family. Lots to do and the beautiful beaches of Cape May, New Jersey are a short 10 minute drive. The different types of camping/glamping experiences exceeded my expectations. We enjoyed the Deer Crossing Teepee which had far more luxuries than any other glamping I have done. Highly recommend this campground resort.

we went to Jellystone in Elmer last year. this is an excellent campground for kids. large splash park keeps kids busy all day. they also have activities thorough out the day. great campground.