Best Glamping near Delaware Water Gap, 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.

The minute we arrived at Camp Taylor we knew we were in for something special. Our campsite was very spacious and backed up to a creek, and we appreciated the effort the owners made in keeping all of the sites private and spread out from each other. We booked this trip based on the wolf preserve that is on the grounds (separate fee and reservation), and not only was the tour fantastic and informative, hearing wolves howling from our campsite is something we will never forget.

We expected the tour to be the highlight of our trip, but we were so wrong. We spent four days at Camp Taylor, never left the grounds, and filled our days with the perfect amount of activity and relaxation. The kids immediately took to exploring the creek and woods behind our campsite and of course they loved the small arcade and playground. There is a cute 9-hole mini golf course on the premises, and after renting clubs and balls, had one of the best times of our whole trip laughing and competing for top spot. There was also a lake with a swimming beach, but we did not partake this trip.

We did some fantastic hiking here. One day we headed up past the wolf preserve to the Wildlife Lake. Another day we took the Mountain Trail up the side of Mt. Tammany (the trail goes 500 ft straight up the side, but our four kiddos under 10 were able to manage ok) and took the Fire Road Trail out to the Mt. Tammany overlook. Here you are afforded a great view of the Delaware Water Gap and Mt. Minsi across the river in PA. The whole hike was about 7.5 miles round trip and took our slow moving crew around 5 hours, but the views and wildlife were well worth it. We didn’t see any bear, but saw lots of bear scat, and passed a super chill doe and her two fawns casually grazing next to the trail.

The staff were super friendly and helpful. The camp store had a few necessities and importantly for us, frozen treats (which we used as a bribe for some of our less enthusiastic mini-hikers) and chocolate for s’mores (which we somehow forgot). The facilities were clean and well-maintained. We very much appreciated the separate family/handicapped shower with its own toilet and sink for helping our little ones. Quiet hours were strictly enforced, which we appreciated, but we also found that being so far away from other campsites made everything seem quieter and more secluded in general.

We felt like this was family camping at its finest. We’ve done a lot of great camping this summer, from state parks to privately owned campgrounds, and this was by far our favorite trip.

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.

Me and two friends do a yearly kayak trip down the Delaware river and have progressively moved north each year. This year, MDW of 2023, we were traveling between Narrowsburg, NY and Port Jervis, NY. Traveling 10-15 miles a day, we ended our second day of paddling at Slumberland on the Rivers Edge. The host put out a orange cone that made finding our campsite easy and a nice beach made unloading and loading kayaks pretty easy. The accommodations were top notch, with lights already on, and a table set, along with a grill, fire pit, and covered porch and canvas tent that housed two queen sized beds along with an electric stove and a woodstove. We were able to relax on the adirondack chairs on the deck as the sun went down and our fire (wood provided by host) and the porch lights remained glowing. It was nice change from camping in our tents and sleeping pads as we are used to along the river, as the beds were very comfortable, and the heater and canvas tent kept us warm during 40 degree temperatures at night. It was quiet and peaceful and you had your own space far from the other sites at slumberland (unlike many other campgrounds along the river). We all enjoyed our stay and had a great time and I would highly recommend to any kayak campers along the river looking for more than just a patch of grass to set up a tent on.