Best Campgrounds near Gilbertsville, PA

The wife & I stayed in site 22 for three nights and bicycled 14 miles, some along the Susquehanna, on nearby Enola Low Grade Trail .  We enjoyed the birds singing in the mornings and welcomed grandkids' visit for splashing and floating in Pequea Creek.  (Nearby site 24 had steps down the 'levee'; affording easier access to the creek.)   Lori was cheerful & timely with all communications; even sending new arrival directions the day before because of a road closure.   I realize that the private entrance road is long to maintain but patching some of the holes, clearing debris from the dump site deck, and wiping down the bathrooms would have netted a 5th star.

First off, I would love to give this place 5 stars but the lots are just too small and too tight. Pet friendly. No children. No frills. Great place to explore Amish country from. Also close enough to Hershey to take in the attractions Hershey transportation museum, Hershey candy store, and definitely take the Hershey trolly tour. And if so inclined, Hershey park, with over a dozen roller coasters. Many Amish store outlets in area. Close to Lancaster. If you’re a foodie, this area has many buffet style venues. Shady Maple Smorgasbord was excellent. Amish farms and fields everywhere. Careful driving Amish buggies are numerous. On one occasion, in the field right behind our sight, two horses hooked to a trailer took of across the field headed for the village with a dog and 6 or 8 young Amish men and boys chasing them. A few moments of angst and excitement.

This is a trailer park for RVs. Virtually all of the sites are occupied with permanently parked RVs. Most sites have years of accumulated junk around the sites. It is not inherently bad, but it’s not a great choice for traveling RVers.

I was here for 3 days while hiking on the Appalachian Trail. I was assigned a site that is in the ‘front yard’ of a permanent trailer, under their deck. My site was just un-level enough that I didn’t quite have enough blocks to get my trailer level. It was conveniently located beside the dumpsters that were overflowing when I arrived and weren’t emptied while I was here.

The bath house is outdated, wasn’t filthy but wasn’t cleaned while I was here, and smells like a Porta-potty after a county fair. Because there are really only permanent residents staying here, I suspect there isn’t much need to keep up with the bath house.

It’s a noisy park, but not in an obnoxious way. It’s noisy in the way that a neighborhood with kids is noisy. A significant number of the residents are working class Spanish families with a fair number of kids. That part was cool….gave the place a nice vibe. Waking up to residents mowing their own lawns in an RV park was a new one for me. Not bad, just unexpected.

The staff was courteous during my visit, and I believe they may be trying to improve this location. As a permanent rental option for people trying to have an affordable place to live, I’m sure it fills a need. The park was at well above 80% occupancy with permanent units. But if you are look(no for a more traditional RV park, I recommend looking elsewhere.

We spent the Memorial Day weekend at Philadelphia/ West Chester KOA Holiday in Coatesville, PA and had a good time. 

We paid$135/night for Back-in Patio Site#25. A bit pricey considering the lack of elbow room, but it’s a great site and everything is well-kept. There was just barely enough room for the motorhome and Jeep Wrangler. 

I did have major trouble backing in because the road is too narrow for a 45’ motorhome to back in on a nearly 90-degree angle. So difficult, that I cracked the bottom of my front cap catching the grass and gravel beside the grave road. I think this would’ve otherwise been a 5-star review.Don’t stay in this site in a big motorhome. The trailers/5th wheels seem better because they ‘bend’ at the hitch. 

THINGS I LIKED: 

• Great site(once you’re in it!) including patio furniture on a paver patio and seating around an upgraded fire pit. The landscaping made up for the tight squeeze. 

• Clean and level gravel site with well-maintained utility hook-ups. 

• Close to Longwood Gardens; Wilmington, Delaware; and a handful of local museums and gardens. Not too far from Philadelphia. 

• Super friendly staff. Every interaction with employees was extremely nice. Other campgrounds and even hotels can learn a lot from these folks. 

• The whole park is quiet and well-maintained. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH: 

• Heads up, big rig owners! Tight squeeze into Site 25. 

• Get cozy, the sites are quite small and tightly packed together. 

WOULD WE COME BACK? 

• Absolutely, this is a nice campground staffed by super nice people with plenty to see and do in the area.

Granted, you’re in Princeton, yeah, that place known for that one certain university, so of course the expectations are going to be high, right? So, no doubt that this Lowes is pretty awesome, well, insofar as parking lots go that is. While there’s a variety of different sized Lowes that you’ll come across, this particular big blue box retailer serves up a fairly decent sized parking patio here for your overnight paved parking pleasure. Despite being conveniently located right off US1  and just 15 to 20 minutes west of I95 – as this retailer is located in a fairly normal-paced suburban location, you are going to like that yes, while there’s no doubt traffic, it’s all manageable. Despite being located right off US1, this Lowes sits back by about 80 yards so the locale doesn’t pick up all of the highway passerby traffic noise.

Before arriving here, we called Customer Service and spoke with a very friendly lady called Jai-isha, who connected us with the store manager, Amanda, who confirmed it was OK for us to spend the night at this particular Lowes location. So while I don’t think anyone would have any problems just rocking up here for a quick overnighter, you might want to call ahead or stop in first.

While there was definitely an abundance of parked cars as you enter from the west side, this is the least populated area of this parking corral, as well as the southern perimeter, which is a dash bit slower, less populated and therefor quieter. If that somewhat frequently trafficked retail arena doesn’t dissuade you from parking here at this home fixer upper, then you’ll be treated to a small smattering of additional retail options such as Mattress Firm (just in case you needed a new one for your RV), Trader Joes if you need to stock up on groceries, Starbucks to get jacked up on caffeine for that road trip you’re about to take as well The Container Store in the event that you need any kind of packing materials. While these stores add to the traffic pool, you’ll discover its altogether not terribly congested.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Should you be RVing with your four-legged friends with you, then you’ll be in luck as just due north of here you’ll discover a nice patch of nature called Institute Woods (seems ironic, right?) that offers 589 acres of nicely manicured woods, farmland, wetlands and paths for you and your pet to stretch your legs – but be sure to check out the wooden bridge that spans the stream; (2) When you grow tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the remains of what is in your onboard mini-fridge or you just want to try out some local fare, then just across the street you’ll find The Princetonian Diner otherwise there’s some fast food joints like Wendy’s and Jersey Mike’s Subs or further down US1 in either direction you have comfort casual chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and P.F. Changs; (3) If you have a canoe or kayak and want to dip the beak of your vessel into some fresh water, then head due northeast to Carnegie Lake where you can not only get some decent oaring in, but drop a line or two as well to grab a nice dinner of blue gill; and (4) Looking for a fun diversion for the kiddos? Then head on over to Stumpy’s Hatchet House for some really great axe-wielding competitions!

While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:

Convenience: 5 

Safety & Security: 5 

Quality: 5 

Peace & Quiet: 4 

Amenities: 4 

Overall, I scored this location a 5. 

Happy Overnighting!