Best Tent Camping near Dawson, PA

Recent Tent Reviews near Dawson, Pennsylvania

424 Reviews of 7 Dawson Campgrounds

• 

  Britt B.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 27, 2020

  Breakneck Campground

  Perfect Spot to Explore McConnell's Mill

  Breakneck is a private campground on the edge of the McConnell’s Mill State Park. They offer RV sites, tent camping and cabins. The tent camping is either grassy, flat sites or on an elevated timber platform overlooking a gorge. They also offer walk-in tent sites down by the creek which are beautiful. 

  We were lucky enough to be able to to camp down by the stream. There are designated fireplaces. It is quite a walk up the hill to the campground amenities, but worth it to feel secluded down by the creek. From our campsite we walked along the creek into McConnells Mill State Park and joined the covered bridge trail. Approx. 30min walk along the creek down into McConnells Mill State Park. 

  The campground sells firewood and has great amenities. Note: there is no phone reception at the tent sites by the creek. They welcome fury friends!

• S

  Scott H.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 29, 2020

  Pride Valley Campground

  OK Campground

  Friendly staff.  Definitely insanely overpriced for low-impact tent-campers.  (They charge based on the assumption you'll be using their electric and water hook-ups at tent sites, for example.  For the record, I consider $25 to pitch a tent, have a campfire you fund, and get a hot shower they fund to be absurd.)

  Bathroom facilities are poor and not well-maintained, but count as (barely) serviceable.  Make sure to bring sandals so as not to step in the animal shit that covers the floors of the restrooms.  Large campground.  Could be worth it for tent campers if you plan to make use of other amenities they offer, such as their swimming pond with diving board.

  Would I go again?  Maybe, maybe not.  Probably not, but your mileage may vary.  Their primary audience is clearly the RV crowd.  Every single one of their tent sites has water and electric hookups, and no serious tent campers (car campers, glampers) want or need that, but are expected to pay for it anyway.

  If you're going to this place, you're probably in the RV crowd.  Look for reviews from those folks.  For mostly primitive tent camping (i.e, a place to pitch a tent plus a hot shower), I rate this place as a C+.  This rating is based almost entirely on value (D) and quality of the bathroom/shower amenities (C).  The well-maintained land and the additional amenities many will not care for give it a boost to the C+ range.

• 

  Sabrina D.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 20, 2018

  Chestnut Ridge Park and Campground

  Beautiful Place!

  Our family really enjoyed staying here, and our kids especially loved swimming and fishing in the lake. In the evening, we bought some firewood from the campground owners for our bonfire. They were so nice, they even brought it over to our camp site! We were camping in a tent and were really happy that the bathrooms were close to the tenting area. We will definitely come back again, hopefully before the end of the summer!

• A

  Abby J.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 25, 2020

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Nice and quiet!

  Nice quiet and affordable tent sites. Ours was pretty private and spacious. Bath houses were fine, nothing exciting but they were clean. Tent sites were spacious. We had a great time!

• S

  Steven L.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 18, 2022

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Good for a relaxing weekend

  Went tent camping with my fiancée. Had a great time other than the loud neighbors. Bathrooms were also a bit dirty.

• 

  Thomas R.

  Scout

  

  May. 5, 2024

  Valley View Campground

  A winner

  Was a relaxing 4 days at a tent site. Would absolutely recommend this campground!

• K

  Kelly B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 8, 2018

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Found this while road tripping. Great for water lovers.

  The tent sites were nicely separated from the RV sites. Free showers. Set on a lake with a nice beach. Great for boaters.

• 

  Alan F.

  Scout

  

  May. 11, 2018

  Atwood Lake Park Campground

  Clean, many weekend activities

  Wwhile the campground is designed for mostly RV. camping, we have never had a problem finding a tent site. Has so many things to do.

• 

  Alice M.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 3, 2018

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Very beautiful, secluded area!

  I enjoyed my stay at this park. We had a tent site for the weekend. It was a beautiful area and I really enjoyed exploring. Looking forward to going back soon!

• 

  Mariana N.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 3, 2018

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  First time camping on a tent

  I had the most wonderful time on my first tent camping at Racoon Creek. We made a fire, hiked by the moonlight and swam at the warm lake at night. There were other campers around but we rarely noticed them and only when walking to restrooms at the daylight. I will be back soon

• K

  Kaitlyn H.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 31, 2021

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Nice Stay with Lots of Animals!

  We stayed here overnight on a trip to Pittsburgh. Tent sites were nicely spaced apart, but were often on inclines, like ours. We saw deer and turkeys, so be on the lookout for lots of animals! Bathrooms were fairly clean! Fun hiking to mineral springs!

• 

  Chuck E.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 11, 2020

  KOA Lake Milton Berlin Lake

  Not that impressed

  We decided to spend a weekend there frankly due to convenience. I did think it was a little expensive when we booked, but we booked anyway. We then decided to book a primitive tent site with no power for my father-in-law. Over $80 for two nights! To make matters worse, he got there around 12:30 in the afternoon and they charged him $15 for early check in. It was a tent site, in a field, with no power. Bags of ice we $4. The bundles of wood were priced competitively to other campgrounds, but the wood was terrible. We bought 5 bundles, the wood was wet and rotted! I will say the kids jumping area and playground was really nice. The swimming lake was pretty gross. Lots of algae and lots of mud. The couple bright spots were really friendly and helpful staff and the restroom/shower facilities were really clean. Not sure if we will go back.

• 

  Justin T.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 30, 2020

  Hidden Hollow Campground — Fernwood State Forest

  Relaxing camping

  It is a very well maintenance campsite most have fire pits a lot of level ground for tent camping pull in parking spots for RVs and campers a bathroom on site and two different trails to hike fishing minutes away the gun rage is also near (the gunshots don’t bother me) must register when you arrive at the box attached to the bathroom building can’t beat it for FREE

• 

  Joe F.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 25, 2020

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Great family park

  We’ve tent camped here several yrs. Haven’t Back our camper in yet but we re waiting for an opening . It’s booked up for a reason . Shower houses are nice and flow hot water when needed. Grounds are clean and well maintained. Beach is small yet clean and nice . Sites are shaded and nice size . Some larger than others. We fished w little luck around boat ramp and shoreline around there . Overall great family get away .

• 

  David A.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 20, 2020

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Nice campground

  Older type bathhouses but very clean, stainless steel fixtures. The campground is in two areas but split into about 5 loops. A lot are paved with electric sites, a couple loops are I paved roads and mostly tent sites but very nice! Pretty peaceful place, well patrolled by park rangers!water access in all loops. Outside of camping area are picnic areas and a lovely swimming beach, nice electric only fishing lake!

• 

  Bradley B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 24, 2020

  Mercer-Grove City KOA

  Extended Stay

  I stayed there for two months while I was in transition between states and really enjoyed it. Everything is clean and they offer fun amenities. It’s close to the outlets and Keystone Safari. They have a fishing pond but I haven’t walked over and seen it. It’s across the street of the KOA so you could miss it if you don’t ask about it. The tent camping area is also nice. Kind of a free for all when it comes to what site you pick but it’s a nice wooded area.

• 

  Ian B.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 21, 2023

  Camp Sherwin

  Great for small family or camper

  Plenty to do with it’s ups and downs. Has a pool but it isn’t the cleanest and with small children you have to be within arms reach of them. Fine for one not so much with two. For 37 dollars a night you have check in at 3 and have to be checked out by 12. 5 dollars per hour before or after those times. The saving grace to this place is the back primitive tent site and the private beach.

• 

  AJ J.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 10, 2019

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Great Site

  My wife, 2 dogs, and I came with no reservation. They gave us a temporary tag to drive around and see what site we wanted. We ended up going to site 190 which had a decent amount of space to tent camp. The amenities were great. Clean shower and toilets in a well lit building.  There is also a dog park with a pond 2 minutes up the road which was great to wear the dogs out at. The only complaint I have is the site was a little close to our neighbor for our liking but we would go back!

• 

  Jana H.

  Guide

  

  May. 27, 2021

  West Branch State Park Campground

  No Complaints

  The campground was nice, clean and had friendly faces. There is plenty to do-disc golf, sand volleyball, basketball, playground, dog park, not to mention the lake and beaches. There were a lot of dogs the weekend I went but nothing to complain about. Fire pit was nice and functional and the bathrooms were clean. The showers are private in your own “room”separate from the toilets. My favorite feature of the campground is the wash basins outside of the bathrooms to wash your dishes. Very nice amenity when tent camping. Our site was private enough, good sized with close bathroom access.

• 

  Jeremy O.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 19, 2021

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Great Campground

  My family has camped here the last two years and I’ve already made reservations for another trip this summer. The amenities are great with nice, clean showers and large sites. We’ve tent camped on the south side of the campground which seems to have more large and secluded sites. Having walked around it seems that the north side has more open condensed sites, but from what I can tell, generally all areas are pretty good (down side to the south side is being on the open lake and hearing loud boats all day).

  For some it might be a pretty standard state park campground but for us it’s quickly becoming an annual family escape.

• 

  Dusty R.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 22, 2019

  Tomlinson Run State Park Campground

  Quiet Campground with Private Tentsites

  My girlfriend and I stayed at tent site 40 Friday August 9th and Saturday August 10th. Most of the sites were pretty private and ours was probably the most private and had a lot of space since we were on the very end of the road / cul-de-sac. I would definitely recommend this site if you like privacy but it is a longer walk to the bath house but we didn't mind that at all. The only thing I didn't like about the campground is that there is no wash tub / sink to wash your dishes which made clean up a little more of a chore. Other than that the staff were very friendly and it is overall a great campground.

• M

  Matthew D.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 3, 2020

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Let a Local Give You The Scoop!

  In the past 5 years, I've made 13 trips to Raccoon Creek State Park and spent 16 nights in a tent there. It is my local state park and I can tell you lots about it.

  The D loop is really great tent camping at Raccoon Creek State Park. It's tents only, no RVs. So it gets a really fun, party vibe on Saturday nights during the summer. There's a trail right to the beach near the D loop, so it's a great place for families to go with pets. The sites are big, wooded, and all close to the bathroom.

  The C loop, however, doesn't take pets (which stinks). When we have our dogs with us, we gravitate towards the C loop. It's fine, but it's not as fun as the D loop.

  When we don't make a reservation and we have our dog, we end up in the F loop. It's not our preference (but--let's be clear--even the worst site in the F loop is better than NO trip!).

• M

  Matthew D.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 3, 2020

  Bear Run Campground

  Not Ideal Tent Camping

  I've only camped in state parks before. We went to Bear Run during the pandemic, when the state parks weren't open yet.

  We were tent car-camping. We felt as if Bear Run really catered to RVers.

  The tent sites were small and crammed together. There was no bathroom (only a porta-potty). There was no place to wash dishes (the closest thing we could find was a hose that was FAR away). There were no grates on the fire-pits for cooking (as there are at DNCR facilities).

  Now that said, you CAN drink alcohol there (which IS a plus).

  And the staff was awesome ... we could CALL them on our phone and they would bring us stuff (more fire wood, a grate for cooking). THAT was nice.

  But without a closer bathroom and a place to wash dishes, we would just as soon go back to state parks.

• R

  Renee R.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 14, 2019

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Have to find the right camp spot

  Went to Raccoon Creek State Park to camp for Labor Day weekend. We booked campsite F1 since we had 2 dogs and the F loop allowed dogs. This site was great! We could fit two tents and it was nice and secluded from the other sites. I recommend booking a site that is on the outside of the “loops” if you want some seclusion. The inner loop sites are right on top of each other, good for Rvs, not so much for tent camping. The bathrooms were a little bit of a hike, the next loop over, but they where clean and had flush toilets and running water along with a shower and sinks to wash dishes. There was a place to get water across from this site which was very convenient . The dog walking trails weren’t bad, but they where very up and down hill, at points steep and rocky. The spring was a really cool hike (right off the park office parking lot.) Down by the beach they had a place to buy wood, only $5 a bundle and the beach place also sells bags of ice. Overall a really good family campground!

• M

  Matt R.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 20, 2019

  Raccoon Creek State Park Campground

  Not private for tent camping

  I have been to Raccoon Creek many times as it is one of the closest camping places to the Pittsburgh metro area.  The park it self is large, has over 40 miles of trails, a fantastic backpacking loop setup for beginners, and a nice lake for swimming, fishing, ect.  I would give the park as a whole a 5/5 but for tent camping the campground is mediocre.  It is a really large campground with lots of adjoining loops.  We stayed in the tent loop at the back of the campground.  The area is not wooded at all and most sites look right into the sites next to them.  If you are like me and crave privacy, avoid.  The bathroom was rather dirty also.  There is a trail that leads down from the tent loop to the beach which is cool but very very steep (not for too young or old).  Overall, if you are looking to stay in a camp in this park I'd suggest doing the backpacking loop instead.  Grab your permit at the park office, park at the heritage trail lot in the southern end of the park and hike to the Pioneer shelter.  Sites 4 and 5 are amazing.  Note though that the Pioneer site does not have water so you will need to filter water from a stream on the way, though there are many opportunities.  The Sioux site is overgrown and is not worth backpacking to, though it does have a water pump and is close to the park office.

• 

  Joanne R.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 22, 2020

  Breakneck Campground

  Nice place but horrid visitors

  I was here the Friday of Labor day weekend. The woman who took my reservation was great and the grounds were nice. They had several options including tent sites in a large open area, some areas that were a little more secluded, lean-to, RV parking and tent platforms which was where i landed.. The 2 stars is due to the fact i was surrounded by people who were beyond drunk,obnoxious and extremely loud which is fine its all a part of camping right? They were hanging out playing there music when i first arrived about 6 and i can appreciate some good fun and music! (but how much Johnny Cash can one handle?) They then moved onto some less appealing tunes which i do not have children but there were plenty riding their bikes by so I'm sure mom had to explain some words that evening. Nothing was done regardless of the vulger lyrics but i figured what do i know I'm not a parent! I had been traveling for days so i was exhausted and managed to fall asleep only to be woken around 11:00 by several people across the way having a blast laughing and yelling which went until 2am and a couple next to me screaming and arguing at each other until 3am.. Quiet time 10:00? At least tone it down! No one addressed the situation. So if you like to hang out and party it up this is a great place. If your looking for a family oriented camping experience maybe not so much..

• 

  Nancy W.

  Legend

  

  Jun. 21, 2017

  West Branch State Park Campground

  Love the Lake!

  This state park has a lot to offer with the highlight being a large 2,650-lake that appeals to fishermen, boaters, and swimmers. The park is over 5,000 acres and not only has camping but hiking, volleyball, fishing, playgrounds, picnicking, hunting, horseback riding, and more.

  The campground is divided into three loops with nearly 200 sites. Campsites include those with full hook-up (50 amp), electric only (50 amp), and some with no electric. This campground is suitable for everything from large RVs to tents. Sites and roads are paved and each site has a picnic table and fire pit. In loops where there is no water directly at the site, water spigots are scattered throughout. The restroom/bathhouses in our loop were really nice, modern, clean, and had laundry facilities which is a real plus at a state park campground. Campsites can be reserved online up to six months in advance. Since we were here in April, the campground was practically empty and getting a site was no problem. But, if you want one of the 29 full hook-up sites in the summer, you better book early.

  We really enjoyed the hiking trails and being able to leave our campsite and be right on the trails. There are approximately 12 miles of hiking trails and an additional 20 miles that are open to horses and snowmobiles. (Be aware that hunting is permitted in certain areas.)

  The park is about 15 miles from Cuyahoga Valley National Park which is a fantastic place to explore with a lot going on for the whole family! If you are interested in football, the National Football Hall of Fame is just down the road in Canton. The town of Hudson has a pretty, historic downtown with a fun old soda fountain.

  We would definitely stay at this campground again. It was a perfect place to stay while visiting family in the nearby town of Hudson. Loved having a paved site with full hook-ups especially since there was a lot of rain while we were there. The lake was perfect for kayaking and had we been able to stay longer we would have spent more time on the water.