Best Glamping near Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, PA

Campground Review

Stokes State Forest has four campgrounds. The Steam Mill Camping Area is tucked out the of the way and is the most primitive. It is the smallest of the campgrounds with 27 sites only suitable for tents or small trailers/campervans. No pets or alcohol allowed.

The campground has a pit toilet and a well. Each large campsite has a picnic table, fire pit, and lantern hook. Some sites also have a tent platform. Many sites are a bit rocky.

We selected site T219. It was a solid choice: private but close to the toilet and water. Some sites located around the opposite side of the ring back up to a babbling brook. The rushing water will soothe you to sleep.

Remember, this is bear country so proper food storage is a must. Bear lockers are not provided. The area also has ticks and rattlesnakes.

Outdoor activities in the area abound. Go fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, and more. There are 21 marked trails that cover over 63 miles within the boundaries of Stokes State Forest. Twelve miles are part of the Appalachian Trail. Pick up a hiking map at the park office or download the Avenza Maps app.

This visit we hiked the Tillman Ravine trail (tip: make the trail a loop and visit both the ravine and the nearby old cemetery).

You can also drive or hike to Sunset Mountain Scenic Overlook for a view of High Point Monument. High Point Monument is the highest elevation in New Jersey and is located in High Point State Park which borders Stokes State Forest on the north. High Point State Park also offers camping, hiking, sightseeing opportunities. And, on the western border of Stokes State Forest is the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. So, there is lots of outdoors to get out and explore!

Product Review

We camped at the Steam Mill Camping Area in Stokes State Forest in our campervan over a chilly autumn weekend. We had the opportunity to cook some soup on our stovetop and chill out by the campfire. And, as Rangers for The Dyrt, we get products to test from time to time so we were psyched to try out some new dinnerware and cutlery. This included the FlexiBowl and GoBites from humangear.

What made these humangear products pretty awesome? Well, the fun colors to start. I mean, seriously, my orange bowl rules. The FlexiBowl also has some neat features: it’s flexible - just like the name suggests - and foldable. The bowl can be squished and stuffed anywhere. And, the top section can be folded down to create a smaller bowl. The FlexiBowl is versatile yet durable. It held my hearty, warm soup just perfectly.

I paired the FlexiBowl with one of the GoBites utensils (the Uno model). The Uno model is my favorite - it has a fork on one side and a spoon on the other side. Very simple and convenient. The other GoBites models include the Duo (separate fork and spoon that can snap together) and the Trio (a fork, spoon, and knife - with bottle opener - in a case).

PRO TIP: I keep the Trio GoBites model in my travel pack at all times. It recently came in handy on a (non-camping) trip to Sardinia. The knife on the Trio allowed me to slice some delicious local cheese to pair with bread, jam, and wine that was purchased from the grocery store. YUM.

Easy access from Rt 80 and located close to the Lakota Wolf Preserve. With tours leaving them campground twice a day on both Saturday and Sundays for the wolf preserve, I was glad there was camping so close. The camping selection of sites is excellent with Cabins, Glamping tents, primitive tent sites and of course RV sites. I choose to stay in one of the glamping tents and was pleasantly surprised at the space inside the tent even with a double bed and two other fold out couches to beds. Water is available at the site. A small lake for swimming and boating. And lots of trails linking you to the Delaware river water gap area.

My experience here was most enjoyable. I stayed in a yurt for the first time and it was also my first time camping since my teenage years. The yurt was most comfortable and the park is beautiful in the spring. Went hiking and was sure to bring my camera along. Got some beautiful shots too. Would highly recommend visiting and/or camping here!

NO FULL HOOKS ... BUT EVERYTHING IS WELCOME ... THEY HAVE YURTS ALSO ... THERE IS A LAKE AND FOOD STAND AND PADDLE BOATS ... I LOVE THE GROUP SITES ...

Campground has cabins and yurts, pull in sites for RV’s and strictly walk in tent sites. There is a beautiful lake and a very large pool. We went in early spring midweek, it was very quiet and exactly the get away we wanted.

This park has 65 campsites and a few yurts for rent. most of the sites are wooded and can fit a travel trailer or tent easily. The campground map is accurate and the some of the sites offer a bit of seclusion but most are pretty close together. I camped during the week and it was beautifully quite. It has a nice swimming area and lake access. The showers are older and a little dirty but they stay warm and have good pressure. They have a big sink inside to wash dishes out of the bugs at night and the staff was friendly. I camped in site 22 and loved it! We easily hiked around the Delaware Water Gap during the day and felt safe leaving our site here.

This is an amazing state park that has something for everyone. There is an environmental education center with programs, there is fishing and boating, and an amazing network if hiking and horse riding trails. There are several campgrounds, with tremendous variety for every camping style. There are standard car camping tent sites, RV sites, and yurts and camper cabins. For those who like more rustic options, there are hike-in sites that are beautiful and not far from the parking area. The campsites are nestled in a deep shady mature forest, and peaceful and quiet due to the wooded aspect and spacing of sites (at least for me, in September in a hike-in site not far from the regular campground). It is nice to have such a fine camping and outdoor recreation opportunity within an easy drive of the city of Clarks Summit, so probably a great weekend getaway for local folks, but a wonderful stopover for anyone on a road trip through northern PA as it is not far off Interstate 81. I was there only one day, but would like to be back to explore the trails!

Campground Review:   

This was our first visit to [Hickory Run State Park](http://Hickory Run State Park ) & we loved it.  Hickory Run is in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. We had a full hook-up site in the back loop, pet friendly part of the campground.   The sites in this loop were spacious and more in an open area, but we were along a wooded area which gave us some shade.   It was a very quiet weekend for us as our loop was not crowded.   The bath houses in this loop are non-flush/pit toilets.   However, the other camping loops had shower houses and flush toilet restrooms.  The other camping loops were located within the wooded areas and the sites appears closer together.  There are pet friendly sites in the other loops as well.  Even though it was a very hot weekend and our site was in an open area, we had a nice breeze and shade from the wooded area behind our site.  The late afternoon sun did hit the front of our trailer, but we used this time for a nap or a went for a drive to explore the area.  

There is a lot to do in the state park.   Many hiking trails (44 miles of trails).  They are rated from easy to difficult.  We found the 2 trails we hiked - Hawk Falls and Shades of Death trails - where were rated "more difficult" were not bad to hike at all.  We hiked both with your 2 large dogs.   Both of these trails had a creek and waterfalls.

There was a large open field in the loop we camped in with a swing set on it.  This was nice for families with children.   There is a camp store which was loaded with anything you may need from grocery items, equipment, pans, and toys.   One thing of note - if you require firewood, look for local sellers in the area rather than the camp store.   It was $4.50 for a very small bundle of what we would use for kindling.  Park Staff were very friendly. 

We took a drive on 2 afternoons on a stone road through the woods to see the Boulder Field.  It was a beautiful drive.  We were on the lookout for bear, but only saw 3 deer.  There is also a lake for swimming.   Be aware that this area has a high bear population and all campers are required to keep food items in their vehicles or trailers when not at the site.  

We would definitely recommend Hickory Run for all types of campers - RV, tent, pop-up campers.   Lots to do for families. Or if you are like us and want to just kick back and relax, you can't go wrong. 

Product Review:  As a Ranger for the Dyrt, we get products to test from time to time - today we tested [Red Ledge Free Rein Jacket](http://Red Ledge Free Rein Jacket)   We chose to review this jacket because our first two camping trips this season, it poured!!  My husband got soaked while closing down outside and getting the trailer hooked up to head home.   But... as Murphy's Law goes, we haven't had rain while camping since receiving the jacket.   My husband was a good sport and "modeled" this jacket for me during a heat wave of over 90°.   My husband normally wears a 2XL,  which is what we ordered.  It appears to be true to size as the jacket fits him well, even in the length of the sleeves.

The day after we got home... we got our rain! While my husband was not available, I decided to put the jacket on and go outside and test the jacket during a heavy down pour and stormy afternoon. 

PROs:  The jacket is well made, but not heavy or bulky.  It has adjustable velcro cuffs on the sleeves so you can tighten the cuffs if you need.   It has 2 front zippered pockets with a mess lining.  It also has 2 zippered vents at the sides of the jacket.  The hood has a cord on either side for adjustments. 

Even though this jacket was 2 or 3 sizes too big for me, I was able to adjust the cuffs on the sleeves as well as the hood to give me a better fit.    I stayed dry!   The rain literally beaded up on the jacket, therefore the jacket did not get soaked through.    Once I came inside, I could shake out the jacket and the water drops would just fall off the jacket.   It dried quickly afterwards, but honestly because the rain never really saturated the jacket, "dried" may not be the correct word.     Overall I was impressed with the quality of the jacket and how the water just rolled off it.     I would recommend Red Ledge to anyone looking for rain gear that is lightweight, durable and, most of all, Works!!

CONs:   At this point, I really can't say I could find anything wrong with this jacket.

nice quiet place next to the del water gap. very clean bathrooms and attentive staff.

This is a campsite that is maintained by the NPS. It is just past Dingmans Ferry Campground and is only accessible by water (Kayak, canoe, boat, or in my case a packraft).   The site is free but is available on a first come first served.  I stayed here for my second night on the river (my first night was spent at Namanock Island about 8 miles north.  

The site has a designated fire pit with a grate.  It's quite spacious and can fit several tents easily.  It backs up to the McDade Recreation Trail which is pretty cool as we were able to hike out of there the next day.  

We cooked S'mores, ate hot dogs, and used a Jet boil for our meals. 

Note: this is a primitive site meaning there are no bathrooms.  Please exercise leave no trace principles and pack out all trash if you plan on visiting!

Overall I would recommend the site as it was clean, well maintained, and relatively easy to unload on small sand beach on the Delaware. Happy Camping!

Primitive site for multi day river trips. There’s usually always a port-a-potty at the campsite. Each area has its own fire ring and multiple river pull offs for easy finding and access. There is an emergency pick up/access road available as well with contact from the park. Reservations are required for this site.

A great place to explore, I really like it and want to learn about more beautiful camping spots. fnf mods

This was the first campground we stayed in with our Thousand Trails membership and, because sites are first come first serve, we weren't sure what to expect. Thankfully, there were many sites available and they were all good sizes. The campground is well laid out- very roomy. It was May and an extremely cool, rainy weekend, so we didn't get to do much in the area, but I would definitely recommend it. As I understand it, we could have accessed the water park at Timothy Lake North, as well.

First time using our complementary 1 year Thousand trails pass. It’s a find your own site park. Some are a bit narrow, but I found a nice pull thru. Only real activities here for kids are pool and shuffleboard. Very quite here which I hear is opposite from the North park right up the road. Staff is nice. Would come back

Check-in was quick and easy in spite of Covid precautions. This is a first-come, first-serve park in the Thousand Trails system so we had to drive around looking for a spot. The check-in process alerted us to the sites that had issues such as no water or cable(there were 5 or 6 of them). No issues navigating my 32' coach through the roads. There were a number of spots that could have easily fit our rig(although a few would have been too tight). The site was level with good power and water. Camp was pretty well maintained and very full. Campers were polite and friendly and probably about 50% or more of them fulltime or seasonal. The amenities were all closed so can't comment on those. A big HOWEVER, though: the cell service for most providers is practically non-existent. I understand this is not the park's fault and some would say that this is"real" camping-- try telling that to the two millennials that were staying with us. I would definitely return except for that.

Sites are kinda close together but it was fairly quiet even though it was full. I was not able to get WiFi even though I paid for it. We had to park near the office to get it to work. Kind of a pain to not be able to use the booster for all our devices in the rig.

Well kept, wooded sites on a mountain. No lake in site. Standard amenities, like pool, hot tub, laundry, outdoor games a community fire pit etc.. Small store as well. 5 minutes to town. Sites are large in most cases. All have fire pit and picnic table, some have bbq grill too. We are only here for a couple days but get a feeling it's a great place to take a family for that weekend camping experience.

Simple Campground - nice lay out albeit as with many campgrounds, the spaces are quite close together.

With a sparse population in the winter, it made for a great spot for a work stay.

Campground was clean, staff was friendly, sites were decent. My kids explored the playground and found it sufficient.

The camp is nice, sites are long but narrow. Best water pressure I have seen on the east coast, unregulated it's over 80 psi. Cell service is ok. Verizon is 25 down 10 up. Tmobile is unusable.

First, as a Thousand Trails member, I didn't have to pay. So far, after visiting 6 rv parks, I do have to say, this one is on the bottom of my list of nice campgrounds.

First the good: there are lots of sites here and the grounds range from being near neighbors to more spread out in the valley. There are lots of trees and the roads are paved which makes it perfect to ride your bicycle. The playground is great for the kids. They have a nice pool.

Now the bad: it's a run down campground. It doesn't look like they have not done any maintenance to the place. The bathrooms look like standard park bathrooms, the general store barely has any items. The kids arcade and activity center has 4 arcade games and barely anything to do but the ball center. The main activity center is closed down. The building that used to hold the water park is abandoned and clutter everywhere. The lake and gazebo have been vandalized.

Also note, if you want peace and quiet, stay away from the tent area. Those who stay there are more of the NY crowd and are very festive.

All in all, we had a nice time. No problems at all.

This place was kinda rundown and in rough shape. Lots of cabins that are seasonal but have seen better days. We were able to find a site that was out of the way and felt like we were the only ones there. Nice trails leading out our door. Many of the sites had unusable hookup post. No wifi but okay AT&T cell service.