Spruce Run Recreation Area

My first time camping trip in a few decades... So can't compare to others (yet).

My campsite was 34W, right next the reservoir. Nice location however the website said it was full shade. The picnic table was in shade. The spot for the RV was full sun.

Pros:

Reasonable cost from NJ state website. I paid $41 for 2 days.

Campsites well spaced apart.

Staff friendly.

Boats/Kayaks can be rented.

Cons:

Showers were cold water only and very cold at that.

Late at night you can hear the drone of a major highway.

Only 8 electric sites. You basically pull off side of parking lot and camp there. Lake was closed so did not swim. If you get there on a day they clean the showers not bad. Very run down. Had to pick up trash from previous campers. AT&T great service.

We stayed in a RV and a tent. There were eight people in total sleeping on the site. We stayed July 1 and 2nd. The actual site was nice and was close to the bathrooms. There was plenty of shade as the sun moved throughout the day. The park used to be a swim attraction but the water is not safe to swim in because of a dangerous algae bloom. While walking around, it gave off an abandoned summer camp feel. There were maybe six structures (concessions, changing rooms, etc) that were all boarded up. Thursday night was quiet. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the sounds of nature. The next night, there were many more people there. In one site, campers set up at least five tents. They were very loud past the curfew time of 10. Quiet hours were not taken seriously on that night.

Great arrival experience—the office has their act together—but registration closes at 4pm. This was our second visit to the sleepy NJ park and campground and our first time renting a shelter along with a campsite to accommodate different levels of camping comfort. The shelter has two sets of bunk beds. Combining campsite 54 with the adjacent Shelter C gave us the opportunity to spread out and have a great area for all of our gear including our badminton set. Shelter C is surrounded by many lovely trees so there is lots of shade. Campsite 54 has no trees and is nestled up against a thicket of bushes which is home to many birds, rabbits, and deer—a great site if you bring your own shade.

This is a relatively rustic campground though it does offer a dishwashing station. The bathrooms need to be renovated—busted up fixtures—and are not well-tended/cleaned, though the staff is very friendly. (It didn’t seem like they were equipped with good cleaning equipment/products to achieve good results.)

Prices above are for NJ residents—$48 for shelter, $20 for campsite.

We stayed in the "Shelter" which was a nice little cabin with a wood stove, table w/benches and two bunkbeds (one of which was nestled behind a partition). There was a front porch w/awning, fire ring and picnic table. 

Plenty of wood deadfall for the campfire to be found just behind the shelter. There are also lovely mature birch trees flanking the entrance road, stop there to grab the fallen branches for kindling. (Birch has natural flammable properties and will even burn when wet). 

The bathrooms had a shower and outdoor dishwashing sink. They were clean and stocked with soap/toilet paper, but bring a towel to dry your hands if you don't want to use the air-dryer. 

The grounds were well kept and the park rangers were non-intrusive and friendly. The campground area we were in was open and at night you could see right into our little cabin. Bring a sheet to hang over the windows. 

There were some bugs in the wood stove that startled us the first night, they were also on the window and between the window and the screen. Looking them up online they appeared to be stinkbugs, but didn't smell, thankfully. Citronella essential oil on the window and a nice fire took care of them the first night...for the most part. They didn't bite or go after our food, they just fly a bit loudly and crash into the window, an unusual sound. A few spiders around, but that can be expected when you camp. No mosquitos, no ticks. As for the ticks, there were lots of deer around but we kept our ankles covered and avoided the higher grass in the morning when the dew was still making everything wet.

The boat rental was closed for the season. We went to Di Mola's Pizzeria and Restaurant the second night and the food was excellent - it was not crowded for sit down but tons of traffic for people coming in to pick up orders. 

We went to the nearby Ken Lockwood Gorge after we checked out Sunday morning, this was beautiful. The road into the park had a lot of potholes, but we did ok with our "vintage" toyota camry. Where the road access ends are two small parking areas. Plenty of people were fly fishing or walking their dogs. The road continues to travel on foot along the river.

Such a refreshing experience to visit here. My friend and I both hadn’t camped in awhile so we aimed for this space to kick back and take it easy. Our space was very spacious with flat terrain without many twigs/rocks. We were right off the water which was soothing to see a sunset and sunrise over. We had very cold rain on our full day but utilized that time to stay at our campsite to play games and read. It was quiet with only a few other campers which provided further relaxation. The bathrooms were clean and had sinks available to wash dishes at. Only wildlife we ran into were some beautiful deer!

I have camped here on many occasions for Over ten years, beginning when I only had a tent. Then with a camper van, and now an RV. I love the water views, The sites are large, many have nice mix of sun and shade. You can launch your kayak easily from the shore.

I can not speak to the condition of the bathrooms, I stopped going into them 6 years ago as soon as I bought a cassette toilet to avoid them. This review would be 5 stars if only they would knock the present facilities down and rebuild really nice ones, that were kept clean. Also if all the sites had Water & electric hook ups. They don’t mostly, have hookups it’s a trade off because the sites on the water are just so nice. We luckily have some solar so we can go for awhile without running the generator. We fill our fresh water tank for and bring drinking water.

They do a great job of mowing the grass on the sites, and if you need to, you can go and request if they could cut your grass if it’s too long. They have been nice to come around and trim it when I had a site that got missed in the mowing.

There are some RV sites with water & electric which are not on the water, but in the parking lot. I would consider getting one on the water to enjoy the water and one in the parking lot to hook up the RV. It’s kind of worth it.

Stayed here 2 nights in May, Friday-Sunday. There were a decent amount of people on Friday, but significantly more on Saturday. Park employees and park police drive around through the day. Some big groups of campers got a little rowdy at night. The bathrooms were absolutely disgusting. I thought with COVID they were cleaning them more, but for the entire weekend, someone's #2 remained all over the toilet, floor, and corner wall. The other stalls weren't as bad, but definitely not clean. Our site was on the water and it was really nice. A duck visited us every morning. Not including the bathroom situation, the only con to this campground is it's proximity to the highway. You can hear 78, especially at night once the campground settles down.

I did my first solo tent camping by the reservoir and it was perfect. There was so much to see and hiking trails in the campground and nearby. Bathrooms were clean and other campers were quiet making for a peaceful trip. Check in was pleasant but unfortunately, some things were closed due to covid restrictions. I will be back as often as I can and hopefully be able to rent a kayak.

This is one of the best campsite I’ve been this year, clean bathrooms with very hot water and flushable toilet. The grounds are full of grass which makes my tent easy to pitch. Most campsite has a view of the Reservoir when sundown has amazing sunsets. Staff are friendly and helpful.

The campgrounds were just okay. If bringing your RV, the safest bet is to reserve a spot with no shade as the other spots often times have very low hanging tree limbs.

It was very loud and rowdy into the late night. There were campers making lots of noise, arming/disarming their car alarms, slamming doors, cars driving in/out, bright lights flashing, etc. all PASSED 2am!!

Otherwise, the overall park itself is very nice during the day.

Gets packed but lots to do. Still trying to catch a fish here. A quick treat at Rita’s around the corner

Decent overnight park. Lots of space. Great for sailing and fishing. Does get a little rowdy at night with some groups that party.

You can bring a camper, tent, or use one of the cabins. Many sites have a lovely water view of the reservoir. Several playgrounds, boat launches, and life guarded swimming area.

First camping at Sprice Run. It was pretty much what you would expect in a state park camp ground in NJ. Clean, well kept.

Lots of grassy and open area. Still a good amount of shade.