Best RV Parks & Resorts near Columbia, PA

Thousand Trails Hershey is huge! Sites were first come, first served which was a little weird for us but wasn’t a problem. Sites came with full hook ups, picnic table and fire pit. The bathhouse was clean, but the water was the kind that you had to push and hold the lever in order for the water to run. Doing this during a shower is pretty inconvenient. The park has a ton of amenities that I imagine are great for long termers, but for us being a. Quick stay, we often pick places on having the convenience of a bathroom and when that’s not convenient 🤷🏻‍♀️. Also, upon check in you are given several pieces of paper explaining all of the rules which I found a little much and just not necessary. Overall, it was a clean and picturesque campground.

recs: 🍫 Hershey- Chocolate World (just the store!) 🍺 Tröegs Brewery

Our first visit (March 2018) was just prior to peak season (lower rates) and we had a site literally 10 ft. from the water! Full hook ups and sites were a little close, but nice. There seemed to be a lot of long term/permanent residents, but most sites along the waterfront remained open. The campground seemed to stress pet restrictions both in the rules section of their registration packet and signage around the grounds. There was a pet exercise/walking area, but could use some sprucing up. However, no one really made an issue of walking your dog around the campground and as the weekend came around, more and more dogs were around.

You have to drive through a residential neighborhood to reach Bar Harbor, so big rigs take care/caution. Would like to try Bar Harbor again sometime.

This is not a campground. It is a mobile home park. The park is quiet and residents are nice. Great for either very long term or a one night stay. The site was not level and the sewage connection is 20ft away from other utilities. There is no privacy and the interim residents are crammed in between the full time residents who have multiple structures surrounding their campers. There is no true office, instead a camp host and the employees at the office have no idea what to do with campers. No maps, no instructions on where to go. All is done via email. Just not up to par for the word rv park.

This park is a huge Thousand Trails owned resort with lots of campsites and tons of amenities. In fact, the park is so large (over 95 acres) that if you are camping with friends make sure you get sites nearby them or else you will need to drive to their site. This is a typical corporate-owned campground where they don’t seem to put a lot of money back into the campground and facilities tend to be rundown. We stayed here because we wanted to visit Gettysburg National Military Park which is about ten minutes away and definitely worth visiting. 

There are lots of seasonals in the campground with “stuff” spread out everywhere around their campsites. We were in a transient section in the back of the park with long pull-thrus (about 100-feet long) that comfortably fit our RV and car. Trees lined the sides of our site which was nice for privacy and shade but the site was really narrow which didn’t leave much room for a patio to sit outside with our friends. The biggest complaint about our site was that the sewer hookup was inconveniently placed about six inches above the ground which meant that it would not drain properly (even with a slinky placed under it). There is Wi-Fi throughout the campground but you have to pay for it so we opted just to use our mobile data and Hotspot on our Verizon phone (which worked well and was 5G). Roads through the park are fairly narrow with potholes. Some roads are one-way but people don’t pay much attention to that and went whichever way they wanted, especially those in golf carts. The roads and sites are gravel and very dusty when we were there as there were lots of golf cars whipping around and trucks exceeding the 5-mph speed limit. 

If you want activities and things to do in the campground, this is your place. There is a swimming pool, ball courts, fishing pond, mini golf (which was in pretty sad shape), and more. They have themed weekend events, live music, bingo, golf cart parades, and potluck. We felt the nightly price of$80 for a full hook-up site was pretty steep. We don’t use the amenities or participate in any activities so we were paying for stuff we didn’t use but if you did it may be worth it. Next time we are in the area, we will stay somewhere else.

We received a free membership to Thousand Trails when we bought our camper. We booked this campground and drove two hours to get there. When we arrived we were told that we could pick a site down by the river in the loop. My wife and I thought that sounds nice and thought we had lucked out. When we pulled into the loop, all the travel trailers were literally on top of on another. The sites against the bank were short and uneven and because the shower house was so far away they had port a potties. It looked like a 1910 tenement site. We went back to the office and the employee told us that there were no other sites available for the two days we had booked. Rather than be miserable we canceled and drove home. 

We stayed at another TT site in Swainton, NJ which was nice but too many annual site holders. Bottom line I think thousand trails is a waste book a nice campground.

Our first trip of 2023 was to Country Acres Campground in Gordonville, PA. And what a great campground to start our season! This is a great spot for visiting Pennsylvania Amish of Lancaster County and about a one-hour drive to Hersheypark. 

Our site(# 837) was a good size for our motor home+ toad. It was level and covered in gravel, like all sites and roadways within the campground. Our site had full hookups, decent wi-fi, cable TV, a picnic table, fire ring, and nicely kept grassy area between sites. 

Becci was super nice at check-in and check-out. They offer a 2:00 pm check-out which we enjoyed. And there are free tickets available for the Amish Farmland Bus Tour. There’s a small, basic tree at the front office. The pool wasn’t yet opened for our stay. They offered a 10% Good Sam discount(which is nice). 

Bottom line: We had a great time at Country Acres Campground and can’t wait to go back! 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Clean and well-maintained property 

• Quiet campground with friendly neighbors 

• All of the RVs appeared well-maintained with no seasonal sites 

• Easy access from Route 30

The worst Thousand Trails campground. Check in not till 3pm, office closed at 4. No cell service to call anyone. No wifi, now what. Campground almost empty and they pack you all in one area.

This is a clean, nice looking campground in a location very close to Hershey park and the outlets. It’s a very nice area. If you stay with water and electric only, there is much more space than if you stay in the section where you have full hook-ups. In the full hook-ups, campers are crowded in very close to one another. The area has a lot of trees, which adds to the overall allure.

Clean and friendly. We were long term stay. Calvin was great and the yearly campers were fun and enjoyable.

We stayed in the full hook up sites this year and loved it! Bath houses were still very clean and hardly used. Very quite towards the end of the season.

I arrived with hopes of staying for three nights. Unfortunately, most RV's here are long term & seasonal residents. One one bathroom had flushing toilets and one was clogged, over flowing garbage, paid showers, extremely rough broken roads made it difficult to get in and out of campsite. I was scared in my space and asked to be moved out in the open, not usually a preference for me. Lori was polite, answers the phone quickly and has lots of answers to my questions. That was great. Other than Lori's wonderful presence, this "camp" was a massive let down. I will be leaving at sun up.

We met up with the Jersey Gems(FMCA chapter) and attended our first-ever RV rally. This is a great spot for visiting Pennsylvania Amish of Lancaster County and about a one-hour drive to Hersheypark. 

We stayed in site#106 which was level, covered in clean gravel, had a paver patio with table and chairs, and a nice fire ring with more chairs. The site was spacious and nicely shaded with tall trees. Full hook-ups with 50-amp service all worked fine. 

This is a 5-star campground EXCEPT that there was no wi-fi or cable. It’s 2023 and internet connectivity is important. Also, we had rain one evening and it would have been nice to watch tv or stream a movie. 

Bottom line: We enjoyed our time at Lancaster/ New Holland KOA and can’t wait to go back! 

THINGS I LIKED: Clean and well-maintained property Quiet campground with friendly neighbors All of the RVs appeared well-maintained with no seasonal sites 

THINGS I DISLIKED: No wi-fi service(at least in our area of the campground) No cable(at least at our site)

Sites look to be semi private in alot of pictures but that isnt the case. We had a full hook up with our 15ft travel trailer. Pretty tight even with my Tacoma. Playground was nice.

Site did not have a fire ring/ cooking grate. Just a pile of rocks. This is a bare minimum IMO but the office said you need a premium site for that lol.

Had a great time with the family in Gettysburg. Definitely going back just not sure if we will be staying at the KOA or not…

We stayed Memorial Day weekend here because it’s so close to home. Our 1st ever RV camping was here 4 yrs ago. This time we’re in loop B site 79. It was fairly level but our front was as low as it could go. The worst part of the site was side to side space was very narrow. Our steps were just a couple feet from a steep slope that went down to our picnic table and fire pit. We didn’t use that area since our relatives were in site 78 which had a nicer area. It was super quiet with the exception of the few barking dogs. One sounded like it was being mauled and barked all day. The overall campground offers a lot to do. There’s a pool, splash pad, disc golf, Lake Marburg, a small museum, and lots of activities for kids planned. It’s near Hanover PA with the UTZ factory (tours Mon - Thur) outlet store, and near Gettysburg, PA. There are 4 loops, and loop B has some full hook up sites(look at sites in the 50s). The weather was perfect! Bath house was nice enough. Great trails for hiking and riding mountain bikes. Fishing allowed. We even found a look out point. We’ll be back again someday!

Overall this was a decent campground. The staff were really nice and helpful, more so than other campgrounds I've stayed at. There were a lot of seasonal or long-term campers here, but all the sites were well kept. They had a large grass area for dogs, although unfenced. The highway bordered it on one side and while we were on the other side of the campground we could still hear the noise if our door was open. Our site was level, but many were not. The price was the highest we've paid on the east coast so far. Unfortunately, there aren't many options in this area. The wifi wasn't usable and AT&T was just okay. Verizon worked well. The laundry facilities were adequate, but there was a frequent wait to do wash.

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!!

This campground is operated as part of the Hershey Corporation. It is located minutes from Hershey Park and the campground does provide bus services to the park. Sites are generally very close together, and more crowded than a typical KOA. Even having a fire may be problematic based on the site and your neighbors RV placement. Full hook up and pull through sites are located in Carrousel Circle at the front of the park. At booking ask for your site number and never accept site 192 which has a telephone pole located near or in the site. Campground is convenient to Hershey Park and the town, but charges Disney Prices for a campground that just doesn’t measure up. Their are better places in Central Pennsylvania.