Best RV Parks & Resorts near Altoona, PA

The camping is great! There are showers, RV hook ups, beautiful views and close to Cougar Bob's which is the best place for pizza!

My wife and I stayed for two nights at this campground and enjoyed it greatly.  We happened to be assigned what I believe was the best of the RV sites, a pull through that had full hook up.  We have a 32 foot trailer.  The site we were assigned was easily accessed and had a nice view of the campground.  However, as we drove through the rest of the RV park area we noted that many of the sites had very awkward back-in approaches that did not provide sufficient area to maneuver a large rig into them.  The lake is gorgeous and has a large, sandy beach.  Would love to spend more time there to explore the park further.  There are numerous tent sites, some with electric, that appear to be large and fairly level.

Named after the disastrous 1889 Johnstown Flood, this park is at the site of the dam that burst. I need to remember that my definition of a campground is different than what others think of as a campground; this is more of an RV Park. There are ten sites located on a large gravel lot and would definitely not be suitable for tents. There are five sites on either side of the large lot. All have full hook-ups for a very reasonable price ($25 cash or check only). The biggest plus to this campground is the host, Wayne. He immediately greeted us as we arrived and spent time orienting us to the campground and the area, as he is a lifelong resident of the area. He even offered to give us some firewood but when we returned from dinner, it was raining. He showed us that the restrooms were located across the street. Although they were unlocked, when we went to use them at night, we discovered the water had been turned off! It was too late to let Wayne know but he was very surprised to learn this the next morning; he had no idea who had turned the water off. The other downside is the VERY loud coal train which woke us up at just after 5 am. Normally for the restroom issue and loud trains, I would give this two stars but Wayne was very welcoming and apologetic about the restroom issue. This is not our typical type of campground, but we chose it for its proximity to the Johnstown Flood Memorial which is about a mile from the campground. If you are at all interested in the history of Johnstown, this is a must-visit. There is also a museum in the city of Johnstown, about 12 miles away.

General: 73-site campground; most have electric hookups, and some are FHU. Pets are only permitted at selected sites. There are also 20 (13 rustic and 6 modern) cabins. Cell service is extremely limited to non-existent (Verizon). 

Site Quality: Pads are gravel and most appeared to be level. Site 70 was at the end of the loop which is why we picked it. A picnic table, fire ring, and lantern hook complete each site. 

Bathhouse: As has been our experience in all PA state parks, the bathhouse was pristine, and the shower (for no additional cost) was clean with plentiful hot water and was very much appreciated. 

Activities/Amenities: Coin-operated laundry. A playground is in the campground and there is an additional one at the swimming beach. The swimming beach is open from mid-May to mid-September, from 8 am– sunset. Electric motorboats are permitted on Moshannon Lake. Boat rentals are available in season. Permits are required. 24 miles of hiking trails, including two trails directly from the campground to the lake. In the summer, there is a camper store/concession stand. Hunting is allowed in season. There are 4.3 miles of mountain biking trails. 

I used to think Oregon State Parks were the best, but Pennsylvania State Parks have them beat by a mile. We have yet to be disappointed by the amenities(especially the clean bathrooms) offered at the half-dozen state parks we have visited so far.

This campground helped me finally convince my fiance that not all 'campgrounds' are actually waterpark/family fun/RV parking lots, and that there are a lot of secluded, forest, nature-oriented campgrounds!  We came here in mid June so it was a bit chilly  at night and warm during the day - bring layers + raincoats as the PA mountain weather can be iffy! The campground can host tents, as well as RVs/campers, and includes clean bath houses with both toilets and showers. You can also buy firewood at the entrance. Sites have a picnic table + fire ring. There is little to no phone service here and it's not super close to town, so come prepared. It's a short distance to some amazing hikes, as well! The park itself has a playground and lake to swim in (though it was too cold for us to use it), as well as the historical furnace itself to explore.  The campground is also about 30minutes from State College in case you crave a night on the town during your stay.  As typical for campgrounds, some spots are more secluded than others. We stayed in one (forgive me, I can't remember the site #, perhaps 020?) where we were able to plop our tent into a nice tree-surrounded plot. There are also a few tent sites (18A)  right next to a hidden creek in the back corner of the campground which we explored while there - these sites are very secluded and you really feel like you're away from it all. We reserved this site for later this summer and will update with pictures & info afterwards.

This place was awesome! We were there for one of the first weekends of the season, and we enjoyed every bit of our trip. Not only were the staff super friendly and helpful, but we were lucky enough to get a full-hookup site right on the lake. Quiet, peaceful, everything you want on a spring trip. We really got to witness the owners' kindness when we left for a hiking trip and a sudden windstorm caught our awning and broke one side of it, sending most of the awning itself up on the roof. The owner and his son got right to work fixing it: One got up on the roof and the other worked from the bottom to set it right and wire the broken arm to the side of the trailer so we could drive home. They also folded up our chairs and put everything we had outside in a neat little pile. I've been camping for nearly 40 years and have never witnessed that kind of pro-activeness. It's exactly what you SHOULD(but don't often) get. We will absolutely be back.

Getting to the park had some sharp turns and windy roads.  Small campground but nicely equipped.  2 bath houses were dated but clean.  Nice playground at the campground and also one at the beach.  Small camp concessions with a few camping items as well as ice cream cones.  Great hiking and a beautiful lake for kayaking.  Site 22 is a full hookup.  Utilities worked nicely.  However, our picnic table had seen better days.  The site sat down off the road but once you were backed in the spot it was pretty level.  This site also had a separate tent pad located down a few stone steps.  Verizon and AT&T cell service were basically non existent.  Every once in a while a text would come in or send but very spotty.  Sorry I failed to get a pic of the site in the daylight.  It was spacious and we had plenty of room for our 30' trailer, truck, and easy up over the table.  6+ chairs around the fire pit, cooking ring could have been better.  Grassy area for cornhole or playing.

I found the one star review to be unfair. They didn’t even stay here. We found the host personable and helpful. The park itself is OK for an overnight stay. Not much to offer longer term stays. Sites were well spaced and wooded. Full hookups. Nice play ground for kids. Bathrooms just OK.

Very cool camp. Loops for RVs, higher on the hill, waterfront loops on steeper grounds for tents, and some walk-to sites adjacent to parking right at the point which double as boat-in. Some site right on the water, can walk right into the lake. Beautiful scenery, be prepared to be woken by bass boats and subsequent wake at sunrise 🌄. Spots 51, 52, 53 best waterfront with parking.

Friendship Village Campground in Bedford, Pa.

Overall, I give the campground 4.5 out of five stars. The campground is nestled on the outskirts of Bedford Pennsylvania and is a very easy location to travel to regardless of your rig size. Check in was extremely easy particularly if you pay for your stay upfront. In that case all you need to do is walk into the office and they will have your packet ready for you and you’re headed to your site within a minute.

The office staff was extremely friendly and you can tell that this is a family owned and religious-based campground. The campground is quite spread out through the property with sites ranging from primitive campsites to full hook up big rig sites.

There are multiple ponds on the property however only one of them can be fished in. No license is required for fishing here. There are also two pools at each end of the campground and they are very well-maintained and have lifeguard supervision. The pool hours or a little later than most campgrounds as they open at 11 through the week and 12 on Sunday. The campground does maintain a policy of having to wear a shirt or a cover-up when not in the pool vicinity but that was not really a big issue. The lower pool is right beside the main office which also includes an arcade and a very nice miniature golf course. The upper pool is larger and also well maintained.

Neither pool has provided seating so you will need to bring your own camp chairs or towels to sit on. They also do not provide umbrellas but allow you to bring your own as long as they are 5 feet wide or less.

There are many playgrounds spread out across the property as well as a jumping pillow and a very well-built gaga ball pit. We stayed at site number 41 for the weekend and have no complaints at all. It’s a little more of a tight packed area versus the rest of the campground but it was in good vicinity to everything.

For tent campers I recommend staying in the area of sites 5-25 as there is a very nice bathhouse very close by. For big rig campers, you need to stay at the upper portion of the campground at sites 200-500. In my opinion, the best sites to stay at if you have kids are sites 145–171 as those are right beside the jumping pillow, playground and gaga ball pit.

The property had a movie showing in their barn on Saturday night (Despicable Me) and they also seem to schedule a lot of live entertainment, mostly Bluegrass. The staff on the property is virtually nonexistent minus trash pickup, lifeguards, and office staff...which I think is not a bad thing. I imagine if we would have needed anything, it would have been easy to find a staff member. If you have any issues with your camping rig, there is a full-service RV dealership basically at the entrance to the campground where you can buy virtually anything that you may require.

I only give this campground 4.5 out of five stars primarily due to its location. There is really nothing to do in Bedford Pennsylvania. You are limited to the activities within the campground unless you travel to another township to find something to do. There are no hiking trails in the campground however it was quite nice to walk through the campground at 5 o’clock every morning. I would absolutely return here again, the rates were very reasonable for the value to get out of it. Even though our campsite was close to the fishing pond, it was a little tighter than the other larger sites and I think I would attempt to stay in those next time.

All in all, this is a great family (non-commercialized) campground and I would recommend staying here.

Great clean campground, easy to maneuver with a big rig, level sites, clean restrooms and shower rooms. Lots of great hiking, footpath around the park layered with recycled rubber was great to walk on. A shout out to the Army Corps of Engineers for a fantastic park and lake!

This was my 3rd trip to Cowan's Gap, and this year I reserved the large group tent site for mainly families of my son's soccer team. We had about 40 people, most of which were kids. Last year, we all stayed at a few of the single campsites for RVs but used tents. This was not ideal as the ground was all gravel, and it was right next to the road. The group site is much better, because it is set back into the woods reasonably far from the road, providing quieter and more natural surroundings. Also, many of the kids had bikes, so they were able to ride around the campsite without us worrying about cars on the road. The group site has tent pads which are flat and gravel covered, but the rest of the area is natural forest floor with some grassy and mossy areas.

Probably the best feature of the group site is that it is right next to a clean, shallow stream, so the kids could play in it non stop, catching minnows and throwing rocks with minimal parental supervision.

There is a private bathhouse for the group area, reasonably clean and with running water. No showers though. There are showers at the lake/beach area, but I'm not sure if they are open past Labor Day, and we went one week after. The place was not crowded at all while we were there this time, but during the summer season when I've been there in the past, the beach area can get pretty packed.

Firewood is somewhat challenging and pricey, as it is only sold by a guy who appears to be a permanent RV resident (living at camp site #1 for reference) in the off season. The park asks that no out of state firewood be brought in for fear of spreading pests like emerald ash borer.

Rangers are friendly and helpful, and we learned from one that the closest ER is only 11 miles away (Fulton County medical center in Mcconnellsburg) when my youngest split open his chin and needed stitches. There is generally poor to no cell service across most of the park, although by the lake you can sometimes get a few bars for texts to go thru.

Overall, everyone loved the weekend at Cowan's Gap. We had perfect weather, which certainly was nice. I'm guessing we'll go back again next year with an even bigger crew.

We stayed in camping area A during mid April this year. It was a nice state park. Hiking, fishing, a lake, long creek. Clean bathrooms, heated bathhouse. Our site was #80 and had electric on it, water was just across the road. It was level, with a picnic table and fire ring. The ground was some pretty aggressive gravel, but it kept the ground pretty dry, and it had rained a fair amount in the days before we arrived. Very spotty cell service with T-Mobile. Some spots were more level than others, and others, some looked tricky for larger trailers. Weather was all over the place (as to be expected in this area in mid April. Had all four seasons in 5 days. Would revisit for sure. Totally forgot pictures of the site, but it was pretty typical for a state campground.

We had a terrible experience here. We were at tent site #29 but for only an hour...the "water hookup" was BROWN. The bathroom has no lights or sink... Our 16x16 tent didn't fit the "17x17" tent pad. We had bug spray on and had two ThermaCELLs running and we're literally eaten alive by mosquitoes. And just to top it off there's absolutely 0 cell service. We have Verizon. We ended up packing up and going to a different campground. Holiday KOA about 10min away was incredible. Bathrooms are the nicest I've seen at a campground.