Join the fun near Bethel. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Bethel is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Bethel and user-submitted reviews.
In Pennsylvania, the once industrious geography of North Coventry and Warwick now serves as home to 7,730 acres of protected wilderness known as French Creek State Park. Right in the heart of the Schuylkill Highlands, the park’s boundaries make up the largest mass of forested space between anywhere in Washington D.C. and New York City. The diverse land consisting of forests, wetlands, marshes, and sleepy bluffs throughout have become a top destination for the people of southeast Pennsylvania to hike, fish, camp, and bike.
At a point long ago, before the industrial revolution, the land was once dominated by ancient forests of American chestnut. Sadly, in 1771 foresters started to clear these trees, in order to create charcoal for the furnace at nearby Hopewell Furnace. However, the forests were still allowed to regrow, with routine clearing scheduled every 25 years thereafter. The furnace was in operation for 112 years until 1883, and its impact on the regional environment was undeniable. The once wooded hillsides, towering trees, and babbling brooks that once existed now appeared as a barren wasteland in many areas. The ecological outlook was looking dim, that is until President Roosevelt started the CCC in 1993 as a response to economic turmoil created by the Great Depression.
During the same time, Governor Gifford Pinchot invited the CCC to assist in reclaiming this special land, and they subsequently worked to clear the forests and streams of brush. To commemorate the work, they began the restoration of the historic Hopewell Furnace as well as the creation of many of the facilities still in use today at the park. Among these facilities are several tent camping areas, two group camps, picnic shelters, two small dams and lakes, and even the extensive network of roads and trails that snake throughout the park.
Today, the second growth has brought with it a rebirth of life and wonder to the region. This massive expansion of protected land is now home to a multitude of rare animals and plants, not commonly found in the region. For example, French Creek State Park is an Important Bird Area as designated by the National Audubon Society, and an Important Mammal Area as designated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pine Swamp is a State Park Natural Area. The park is now known for its diverse fishing, large abundance of wild game for hunt, and it’s plethora of outdoor recreation activities available within.
Visitors to the park have a few options for overnight accommodations. The campground itself is well suited for both large and small groups, as well as individuals. In total, 201 modern sites accommodate thousands of visitors annually. The campground also boast a range of amenities, including a centrally located shower and toilet facility. Additionally, there are ten cozy cabins with heat and electricity. Finally, there are two historic group camping CCC Cabins available. The facilities include dining halls, central washhouses, and cabins for campers and staff.
$23 / night
The newly-renovated campground offers sites with three-point hookups (water, electric and sewer), as well as four horse campsites without hookups. If you prefer a bed to a bedroll, stay in one of our yurts! These round stationary structures with canvas walls feature a single and double bed bunked together, a double bed-sized futon, an outdoor seating area, and outdoor deck.
Campgrounds at Cape Henlopen, Killens Pond, Lums Pond and Trap Pond State Park are open year-round. The Cottages at Indian River Marina are also open year-round, and the campground at Delaware Seashore State Park is open year-round, although during the winter months, it is open for self-contained units only.
The Division of Parks and Recreation has a Central Reservation Service. Although reservations are not required, we strongly recommend that you make one to ensure that accommodations are available. There is no additional expense to make a reservation.
Reservations can be placed for campgrounds, cabins, yurts, the Cottages at Indian River Marina, and Fort Delaware tours, and Killen's Pond Waterpark..
$6 - $42 / night
Located on 63 lush, wooded acres that adjoin a scenic, 100-acre county park in Southern Lancaster, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort in Quarryville, Pennsylvania offers a breathtaking camping experience the whole family will enjoy! When our campers aren’t busy swimming and splashing at Yogi Bear’s Water Zone or bouncing high on our jumping pillows, they can enjoy endless outdoor attractions that will keep everyone busy from dawn ’till dusk. Just a short drive to any of the Amish Country and Hershey area attractions, Jellystone Park™ is the perfect spot to start making camping memories that will last a lifetime!
With a long list of nearby attractions and on-site amenities, the western-themed Circle M RV campground in the heart of Amish Country is one of our largest camping resorts. There are many organized activities for children at Circle M RV Campground. Whether you want to sit back and relax or take an excursion to a local attraction, you will find Circle M RV Campground conveniently located. We have easy access sites, some with three point hook-ups. Be sure to plan a trip that includes a stop at Circle M RV campground and you'll fall in love with the beautiful streamside settings and friendly staff.
Nestled along a quiet stream on 15 acres, Old Mill Stream Campground at Dutch Wonderland offers modern camping amenities and is conveniently located just steps away from the castle door of Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park and other area attractions including outlet shopping, restaurants, and theaters.
Campground Features Include:
Family Cabins Tent Sites, Partial Hook-Up Sites, and Full Hook-Up Sites Old Mill Stream Campground does not guarantee water from November 1st to April 1st due to varying temperatures. Park Model Clean and Modern Restrooms Two Laundromats Playground Country Store Discounted Dutch Wonderland tickets available to Campground Guests
$15 - $130 / night
Lake In Wood Camping Resort is “home to the gnomes” because it is a friendly place, built to suit the lifestyles of today’s campers (even the knee-high ones). From a weekend in your tent to a beautiful cabin rental, this resort becomes a treasured “Home Away from Home!”
The resort features a magnificent entertainment hall with a beautifully restored pipe organ for hosting grand parties and resort gatherings. Other pavilions are available for smaller groups (the Gnome Bridge Club are regulars). Adults can enjoy the picturesque views and intimate setting of the lake-view terrace.
$40 - $60 / night
$21 - $50 / night
The campground had a good feel to it. We had a nice view of the lake. We booked a non electric site for our tent camping. The bath houses need updated though. The only negative I can say is that our site did not have a great spot for the tent except by the parking spot and not down by the fire ring.
Good near by camping less then 90 minutes from me. Relatively quiet campsite, family friendly. We stayed in site 38 on the Acorn loop, which had a fair amount of roots and took some work to get leveled , but was manageable once the camper was leveled. Electric worked great. Hiking trails were infested with yellow jackets and stung myself and my wife while hiking. Also Steppingstone farm was closed , but was not indicated on the website prior to camping. If you like beer I recommend checking out Hopkins Brewery, which is about 8 minutes away from the campsite.
Granted it’s a Yogi Bear campground, so the kids were expected. However, adults carrying on well beyond the 11pm quiet time, outrageously loud hay rides well past 9pm on Friday, combined with a ton of golf carts and under age drivers it’s unanimous, we won’t be back.
Beautiful and very clean campground. Nice bath houses. Well maintained with friendly staff. Reasonably priced and great location.
I've stayed at Cordorus a number of times as it's not too far away for a weekend getaway. Last time was in Sept. 2023 when some tropical storm poured rain for three days. I'm booked for next weekend now in Sept. 2024, so I hope it's a dry one. I pulled up The Dyrt to see if anything has changed, but I see it's still the great place it always is.
I usually end up in a dry site as I book late and the electric sites are all filled.
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. Maybe that's why it was so peaceful, but every night after my cacophonous conference in Philadelphia, I couldn't wait to turn down Timberlane Road and see that little KOA sign glowing in the darkness. In addition to the peaceful vibe, the people are friendly, the little office store has everything you forgot to pack, and if you look around the campground edges or follow the walking trail into the woods, you will find wonderful native plants like blueberry, viburnum, clethra, and meadow beauty.
Codorus state campground provided a comfortable and quiet stay. The trailer sites in loop C are spacious enough with plenty of shades and trees. The open field pet friendly sites are also large but provide no shade and it gets hot! You can feel the difference between these sites and the interior loop sites. No cross winds, no breeze, just hot! The trails from
Campground are ok for a short walk, not much of a lake view but mostly shaded trail. The pool is conveniently located maybe even walking distance for some. But be advised, this is a public pool open to everyone and folks start showing up at 7am, separate entrance road and entry fee was around $10 pp. The lake is great! Lovely areas to relax and explore. No swimming allowed anywhere but you can find places to sneak a dip 😉 just look past marina near state park public recreation area. The park staff won’t give you a hard time they just ask that you don’t go further than waist deep. It is a very large lake. We highly recommend that you rent a pontoon boat to head out and explore! Very worth it! All grounds and areas are clean and kept in great condition.
We stay here once a year. Always a good experience. Our site was very spacious. Close to area attractions. Shuttle bus yo the park and arena.
We stayed in loop C that allows pets. Very spacious sites. The paved parking spot was tight but a short walk down to the spacious fire pit picnic table area.
The park is lovely, but the camping facilities are subpar, primitive and lack any kind of privacy. I bike toured there. The only potable water was from a near-broken water fountain at the public rest rooms and no electrical connection to recharge electronics. There was also a fair amount of road noise at night. Bathhouse OK, but just basic. Tent spots are just lined up against one another facing a service road.
When we first checked in at the resort, we enjoyed the easy check-in and the location was an easy to get to location. After checking in, we drove all around the campground just to get to our site which is a little out-of-the-way, but it was manageable. Our site was very unlevel, but we made it work. We did like being at the end of the road therefore there was less traffic coming through. we didn’t have a neighbor who had a lot more tents than they were supposed to have on their site and they were slowly encroaching on our site. We loved how our kids were able to walk to the playground and play every day before our outings. The campground had two pools and a child’s pool the pools seemed to be slightly under maintained the last day. It had a weird smell, which I believe the chlorine levels were not correct. However, we still enjoyed our time here and went to the pool almost every day at the end of the day off. It was one of the hottest days of the year. I feel like we still had a great time and enjoyed the camp. The trolley was a great addition to getting to and from the Hershey attractions
This RV camping spot has been my least liked place we have ever stayed.we stayed in a RV site so I can only speak to that and not cabins. The ONLY good thing this RV park has going is the Hersey park bus that runs all day back and forth. Even though the bus is very loud and drives very close to the sites, so it is a constant disturbance too if your looking for some calm and quietness. This is not the right RV park if you want quite!
These RV sites are the tightest I have ever seen. So tight that the people next to you using a picnic table or fire ring are 3-4 feet from your camper. We didn’t even use our fire pit and table because it felt so incredibly close to our neighbor. Inside our camper I could hear every word of the people next to us who were using their fire ring, it was directly outside my bedroom slide. I saw several people including us being asked to move trucks just so you can get into position to hook up and pull out of your spot!
And the sites are dirty! Littered with cigarette butts, trash, old rusty batteries! This place looks and feels like a dirty trailer park! There were several sites that looked like the campers had been living there a long time, clothes lines strung up from trees, cluttered mess of personal belongings. We will never stay here again after experiencing it. The website does not show the true picture!!
We camped here to hike and visit Havre de Grace. For a State Park it's pretty nice. We have a tiny camper so we stayed on the Acorn loop which has a few sites with power. Our site was really good and I love that it had it's own access to the bathrooms. Quite a few of the inner loop sites do. If you're a tent camper Acorn has some very private and secluded sites. Beechnut sites are more open and close to the road. It also seemed more crowded and noisy over there. There is a hiking trail right off Acorn loop which was nice, with options for easy or difficult. The staff were super friendly and the bathrooms were kept clean. There was quite a bit of poison ivy though and we had to keep the dogs on tight leashes. Phone service is very spotty but if you wander around Beechnut you can pick some up. Lots of great hiking and there are a couple of great tubing and fishing areas. I would camp there again.
Staying in C loop and here are some tips. If you want starlink, stay toward the entrance of the loop for a good view of the sky. If you want to be away from everyone and don't need a site that has good accessibility, stay in C27. You park at the top of the site and walk your tent and gear down a small slope where you can set up your tent. A little further down is a large-ish area with a fire pit and table. You can't see the roady from there and it looks like a great place to get away from it all!
Other sites around C27 have similar set-ups but not so far off the road.
My husband stayed here as a kid and wanted to revisit it. It was a great stay! Very easy going place and so well kept up. Some of the cleanest camp bathrooms and showers I have seen. A small amusement park to the side (very local and quiet sound never bothered us) and a small creek to the back of it. Off a busy road but never heard any traffic at all - guess they are far enough away. Was a tranquil little spot right in the thick of it so kind of perfect! Peaceful grounds and friendly people. Pretty perfect and highly recommend. Weather was sublime. Easy to drive to bird in hand too!
Spacious, beautiful, clean, quiet, easy, and lots to do and see.
We camped in a tent. It was nice and quiet. Lots of birds singing, and owls at night. The bathroom is older, but ok.
Had a nice time camping for two nights. If you like small breweries, about 20 minutes away is Stewarts Brewpub. They have been around since the 1990s!
Great secluded campground, peaceful. Great bath houses, always super clean.
Some engineering genious put the bath houses furthest from the people that need them most. Tent campers….keep your shoes handy, its a hike. Meanwhile Mr and Mrs 12 slideout supernova with 5 bathrooms and a washer/dryer get the closest spot to a quick potty/shower break.
The campground is very clean, nice spots with gravel and nice views. The store was stocked well with essentials, and the women running the store was very helpful and friendly. The campground is very well lit and can be navigated easily at night. The bathhouse was clean and only 1 bout of cold water why showering but a quick on and off of the water did the trick. The only downfall for us was the limited things to do with a child. They have a swinger but nothing else. It's hard to entertain on rainy days.
Nice smaller campground with large spacious sites. Very level and spaced apart from neighbor is you pick the right spots. We were in 17 which looked out to open space and woods. If it rains, some sites are flooded. Not much going on for activities in March. Near an Ape Adventure park, hike around lake, and any shopping or restaurants you might want are close by. It rained heavy so we didn’t get out much but walk around camp loop is nice and flat.
Been here many times over the years. Most recently stayed New Years Eve weekend. Had a homeless couple living in a pop up camper next to use but kept to themselves. Park Rangers drove through constantly at least 10 times a day slowly looking into our site. Sites are extremely close together in some areas. The layout sometimes had it where the sites next to your had their fire ring behind your camper while other sites you could be 50 yards from the next site. In winter only a couple loops open and water is turned off. Most sites around the back of the loops are very rocky terrain and get very muddy when it rains.
Campground was a little difficult to find but once we arrived, its was very nice.
This campground isn't too far from our home in Maryland, so if they have room and we want to go spur of the moment, this one is a good choice. The sites are fairly large and they do have some full hook up sites which is nice. The bathhouses are ok....because this one is not as off the beaten path, I think a lot of people that really don't know campground etiquette come here. We find that people don't understand quiet after 10PM and so forth. Like I said, it's just a nice place to get away to.
This is a very nice campground that has been improved....little rough with getting our camper level in the site we selected. New bathrooms which were clean, but we went in November , so showering in there would have been rough, so we used our camper shower. Lots of neat things nearby such as an apple orchard. Hiking and biking this park is fun. It's a great place to camp and enjoy downtime!
We love this park….it's one of our favorites! We have a small camper and there are some great sites on the lake side to park it where you can get AMAZING sunset views. The restrooms at this park, while they are older, they are clean and pretty much in good order. The lake is very nice and it's a very family park! There are some neat places around and markets are close by. Forry's drive in is great for an evening ice cream!
We had a great experience at Hersheypark Campground! If you’re planning on going to the amusement park, there is a shuttle on site that takes you straight to the park.
The spots are a little small, at least in the section where we stayed, but we have a small travel trailer so we didn’t have any issues. The bathrooms were clean and large. The store has just about anything you would need while visiting.
The security guard patrols the park at night, and he was very nice!
We were only visiting for a quick trip, but we would definitely stay here again!
The only downside was that since it was winter, we didn’t have water hookup.
Camping near Bethel, Pennsylvania, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an action-packed adventure, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Bethel, Pennsylvania, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. With a little planning and the right campground, you're sure to have a great time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Bethel, PA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Bethel, PA is French Creek State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 74 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Bethel, PA?
TheDyrt.com has all 37 glamping camping locations near Bethel, PA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
