Easy drive from Philly area, courteous staff, very wooded and quiet at night. Has many sites right along the lake edge, some very large. Many sites have exposed tree roots and rocks, recommend extra padding for tenters. Plenty of space away from neighbors. Only downside, no dogs allowed.
Absolutely the best place! We have gone the past 3-4 years! Kids love it! Floating down the river is the best part! So much to do!
Stayed over for one night in early December. Showers and bathrooms were great! If you’re traveling through, there are many places to eat nearby. I’m a women in my thirties traveling alone and I felt very safe here. The honor system of payment at the office makes it really easy to come in late and leave early, make sure you have cash on you as it was unclear If checks were accepted.
Secure, safe, clean bathroom. Had fire pit where we cooked. 90% of the grounds were full of RVs. We were in tents and 10 other families. But all spots were full. Picturesque, family friendly and maxing. They have a pool which will be a fun for kids in summer. Trails to hike and waterbody to kayak. Just an awesome!!
Site 365 at this time of year was very quiet and secluded. Cold it was, 15 degrees was a teeth chattering experience. However our A Liner Ranger kept me warm and cozy. My main reason for venturing out into the area was the beautiful limestone trout streams. Technically difficult to fish I only experienced the most modest success. Streams are close by, hiking trails are numerous and Hawk Falls was a high point of the park. Peaceful, crisp air and beautiful Surroundings. The park is building a new Park Office at the campground so it looks like the facilities are being improved. Electric sites are scattered around an open field, I am never happy being up against a large RV. I usually like to boon-dock which keeps me a bit more secluded. I’m returning again soon and I’m looking forward to another wonderful stay.
Stayed here 3 days and 2 autumn nights. Our site was nice, though not very defined as far perimeters. We were in the horseshoe row housing a few 5th wheels and small travel trailers in one corner. We were one of the smaller travel trailer in the corner. Nice and no real complaints aside from not being super scenic.
Bathhouse was newly remodeled and very nice. A lot of amenities scattered throughout the campground to check out. The highlight of the campground is the River of Rocks. It truly is a surreal sight. Kids had fun exploring. The campground is a few minutes from a AT trailhead.
If we stayed here again, we tried to get a more scenic site along the creek or nestled in the woods a bit more. Overall a great experience.
A great place to camp and spend time with family and friends, you can enjoy lots of trails and explore the woods, and also a great place to enjoy the night sky, see the stars and the Milky Way in the summer months.
We really don’t care for RV parks but occasionally, we decide to check one out. We found this place because we were looking for a covered bridge that, it turns out, used to be on the property but had been sold and moved! There was nothing wrong, per se, about this family-owned facility, except that we travel in a small camper van (we tend to live OUT of our van, not IN it) so RV facilities generally don’t appeal to us. The sites are very close together, like parking spaces, and afford no privacy between them. This is typical for an RV park. Sites range from 50 amp W/E/S, to 30 amp W/E. Some sites also have cable. WiFi is available and free for the first seven days of your stay. There is also a non-working mill, a pool, a game room, a camp store, and fishing access on the property. The staff person in the office was very friendly and helpful; if you like RV parks and want to explore Amish country in southern Pennsylvania, this would be an ideal location for you to stay but we decided to move on.
Splash magic is a great family campground with tons of amenities. There is a great water park as well as adults only pool for those wanting a break from the little ones. Give it a try!
Riverside Acres is a modest sized campground in a great.spot. The river in front of first row sites is 200 m broad. Eagles fish here. You can too. Good beginning or end for a canoe trip.
Resident owner is easy to get along with as long as you respect the grounds. She has a wealth of knowledge of the area.
Good tentable spaces on river. Second row has water/electric, shade trees and lawn frontage. Pavilion has tables, a braizer, and one electric outlet. Lawn big enough to play your sport. Inland row has sewer hook ups and the bath house. Facility is an effective combination of old and new, and hot water is plentiful.
If you paddle in, come prepared for comfortable isolation. If you have wheels, anything can be bought with a run into Wyalusing, or Towanda.
When I have been there, if your night life requires things, you should bring your own. Like a chair to watch the moon on the river.
We love French Creek, it is a short drive from Philly(about an hour in light traffic), but it feels like you left the city far behind you.Campsites are clean and we'll maintained. Some sites are a bit more private than others, but we've had both and they're perfectly fine. The bathrooms& showers are convenient and clean.Access to boat rentals & a swimming pool(both are a bit more expensive than you might expect-- so we just decide on one to do). Town of Birdsboro is nearby for necessary things(drinks, ice cream, etc). All in all, our family's favorite summer spot.The neighboring Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is also very interesting. During the summer months, the pool(very large) is open to the public for a fee, and there's a lake for boating(but no swimming). I highly recommend this place for a great day trip any time of year.
The biggest draw to this state park (which no one in Pennsylvania I spoke with seemed to know about) is the 22 waterfalls! We saw 18 of them on a four-mile moderate hike, but if you want to see the additional four, you could make it a seven-mile hike. The trails are very well marked.
We stayed in the large loop, which is a peninsula on Lake Jean. Many of the sites have lake views. The bathhouse was clean but not adequate for 73 sites. The campground was about ¾ full and there was often a wait in the bathroom. Showers looked reasonable but I did not use them.
There were many tent campers in this loop, which does not allow pets (the other, smaller loop does allow pets). There are no hookups at all in the park. The water had been tested earlier in the season and unsafe levels of manganese were detected. All water spigots were shut off and covered but we were told it was safe to wash our dishes and brush our teeth. However, the water for the dishwashing sink was turned off as well as the water in the restroom at the trailhead. Since we had a reservation, we received a phone call in advance of our stay letting us know about this.
There are trails to the beach, but we woke to rain the next morning, so we did not explore this.
One trash/recycle area a distance away from the campsites which seems typical for PA state parks. Alcohol is strictly forbidden– we were warned that if a ranger saw any alcohol outside of our vehicle, we would be cited. Quiet hours are 9 pm– 8 am, which is more restrictive than other state parks, however, some did not observe these quiet hours (a guitar-playing singing camper thought he was talented, but I disagree!)
This campground felt huge and was totally packed for Memorial Day weekend. The bathrooms were fine but definitely got crowded and dirty (it rained off and on so lots of mud tracking). The sites are nice but pretty close together. Overall it was a good experience considering that it was a busy holiday weekend with some rainy weather.
There are lots of things to do when staying here. We took an awesome hike down to the waterfall, fished at the lake, played on the playground, swam at the beach, and visited the boulder field.
The camp store is just incredible! You could get lost for hours in there!
Had a great getaway here in early September. During the week it was quiet the weekend came and every site filled up. Even picked fresh apples just down the road.
Stayed in B-08 on mid October and had a great trip. The site was non-electric and it seems most of the outer side of this loop is basic camping with the inside of the loop having power. The other loops offer full hookups but opting for this area kept us from being surrounded by massive RV's. Easy back in spot for our car, partially shaded, decent brush cover between sites and able to keep tent about 20 yards from the road on a crushed rock pad. I will say this site has a little bit of slope but nothing that affected our sleep. The fire ring is very high sided and if you're not sitting on a higher camp chairs you kind of miss the fire. Picnic table was sturdy but easy enough to move lnto place to fit our needs. Tons of hike mg within the park including some historic sites at Hopewell Furnace like the blacksmith shop and old residences. Checked in a. It before the stated 3pm time without issues. Very few rangers seen during stay but it is after labor day and most of the seasonal attractions like the pool etc were closed for the season. Very clean bathrooms with easy to use dish sinks on the outside. Overall for a trip that within 75 minutes of Philly you can't go wrong for a quick jaunt out of town.
We love this campground!! The area is absolutely beautiful. The lake is large and gorgeous. There are a lot of lake side campsites which are amazing. The hosts are all very friendly. We had a problem with our site and our weekend was saved thanks to the wonderful rangers. We are so thankful. My one and only reason for 4 out of 5 stars are the bathhouses. I wish they would update like Cowan's Gap. I have health issues and am always afraid I'll fall because the floors are so wet. Otherwise, they are kept cleaned up. Honestly, one of my favorite places to visit and we camp at as lot of parks. I hope they'll add more cottages too! There are lots of nice basic (non-electric) sites that are wooded, well shaded and private. There are nice, shaded electric sites. However, if you request electric and water you automatically get sewer too. This raises the price per site, per night by$13 and gives you a site with very little shade. We will return but we will choose an electric only site and fill our A-frame's water tank in order to get a wooded site. This campground is 100% reservable which means that you must select a site when you make your reservation. If you do not live in the area, that is difficult
Campground Review: French Creek State Park Campground is located in Elverson, Pennsylvania and sits adjacent to Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. There are 200 individual sites in four loops, some with full hookups for RVs, some with electric only but mostly primitive sites. There are also several cottages, cabins and yurts available as well.
For this trip, my husband and I camped alongside our friends, which included three other couples and their children, so we took up two electric sites for the tent campers and two full hook up sites for our friends with RVs. We stayed in Loop C, which is the only dog friendly loop in the campground, on sites 35, 37, 39,& 40. Thankfully, a short walk to the bathroom facilities for us tent campers.
Normally site 35 would have been way too small for our usual gear– a behemoth 9X15 tent- but it was a perfect fit for the tent I was reviewing on this trip. Our friends, who have the same large tent as us, stayed on site 37 and had plenty of space to pitch it, but many of the sites surrounding ours were very rocky and left little option for a larger than normal sized tent so keep this in mind if you have a large family sized tent. I’ve included a few photos of the surrounding sites for future reference. The bath/shower house in this loop was adequate and includes two dish washing stations outside. The showers had good pressure and hot water. It was cleaned often throughout the weekend, however it is definitely in need of an update.
We also checked out the other loops for future use and found Loop A to have very spacious, less rocky sites, however, there was little shrubbery between each site, making them less private than the sites in Loop C.
There are two lakes in French Creek, Hopewell and Scott's Run and each contain many species of fish. We spent Saturday afternoon fishing but not catching anything at Scott's Run. It’s a beautiful location and it was still a fun way to spend the day with the kids away from the site.
We found several places nearby to purchase wood, besides the supermarket and a nursery in town, there are a few residents that sell it right on their front lawn so be on the look-out en route to the park entrance.
Generally, we camp in the off season, and usually have the whole place to ourselves, so I had some concern prior to arrival that every site in every loop was booked for the whole weekend and expected it to be noisy, however, I was pleasantly surprised. It was quiet and our neighbors were respectful of the quiet hours and our space. It was a wonderfully peaceful weekend for us all and we will definitely visit again soon.
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Product Review: Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 Tent
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I am occasionally offered the opportunity to test new outdoor products. For this trip I tested the Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 Tent https://wenzelco.com/ivanhoe-6/.
Generally, my husband and I use a larger ez up tent, but I liked this tent specifically for the design which is reminiscent of the tent my parents used when I was a child and figured it would be a good option for shorter weekend trips, rather than our 9X15 ez-up.
The set up was relatively easy, although one person might have some difficulty. It held up well during an evening thunderstorm, but for a small seam leak near the door. We believe this is a result of the fact that our site was slightly uneven and that particular corner was not as evenly pitched with the other corners of the tent which resulted in a bit of a gap in the roof.
The airflow is great, with the small vent in the rear, two side windows and the full screen door. There are also two smaller vents at the top- though neither seem seem to add that much airflow,- perhaps a design flaw or more likely the uneven ground it was pitched on.
I love the fact that there are awnings over the side windows, but in order for them to be effective one must stake out three guy lines on each side, plus the one on the front and the back. Knowing this I had purchased some small lights to hang on the lines to prevent tripping on them at night and it worked out perfectly.
The front doors are secured closed from wind and rain by velcro strips, rather than the standard ties. There are four side pockets and a handy troubleshooting guide sewn into the interior wall for any issues you experience while in use, such as leaking, condensation, or a faulty zipper.
I am very happy with this tent. For the two of us it was the perfect size for our ten inch high queen size air mattress and some minimal gear. The peak height was just over 6 foot, so we were both able to stand upright without issue.
If you're looking for a nice place to disconnect from everyday, you found your spot. The Muddy Creek borders the campground on one side, which is a really nice backdrop. Sites are generally open and not very private, but the general vibe of the campground is slow pace and relaxing so you don't really mind the lack of privacy. We stayed during October and they had a scavenger hunt and hayrides for the kids in the evenings. Kids loved it. My daughter came up big with her first trout out of the Muddy Creek. Bathhouses aren't the best, but get the job done. Overall a great place to unwind and have some lifelong memories with the kiddos.
On the surface the campground is average. The secret it packs is the great town in which it shares it's name. You are 5 minutes from the wonderful town of Jim Thrope. Can't say the campground offers too much other than the basic campground experience. Though if coupled that with the opportunity to experience Jim Thrope, it sets the Jim Thrope Camping Resort apart.
My son, brother, and nephew tent camped. The tent sites are not very defined, level or rock free. Makes it fun searching for a good position within the site, kinda like roughing it in the actual wild… so not really a complaint. Sites are not very private or secluded. I could personally use a bit more privacy, not enough to be a deal breaker. Bathhouses are rougher, but usable and not dirty per se. Just rustic.
A major pro is access to the Switchback Trail from the campground. A wonderfully scenic trail.
Overall I would and plan on returning.
This is a great family run campground. The store is nice, bathhouses are clean and private. Owners are super nice. There is also a great view of the surrounding countryside because it’s up on a big hill. If you’re hauling a big camper you’ll need power for the hills.
Great smaller campground. Staff was friendly, general vibe was low key. A lot of year round sites. Only complaint being not a lot for the kids to do aside from ride bike. We did notice they have really nice tent sites that are all to themselves. Might be back to give those a try at some point
Car tent camping. Big campground. Crowded even in late September. Sites are a decent size, but you’re really on top of one another here. We were lucky to find a spot that had empty sites on both sides (but people just on top of our site). Beautiful tall trees and shaded. Check in is sort of crazy. You have to drive a couple miles from the campground to the camp office to pick a site— which is difficult if you haven’t seen them. We picked one at the campground and I drove back to the office to claim it— hoping it wasn’t taken. It wasn’t. Also, sites are pretty expensive for camping— $38! Beautiful area tho.
Only was able to spend one night here but I’m excited to return ASAP! The night skies were beautiful (starry starry night w/little light pollution) and trails galore leading directly from the campground. Bathrooms were clean as well- an added bonus!
We stayed here with friends and had a lovely time. The campground was maybe only 1/2 full and the camp sites near us were empty so we had a very quiet and peaceful weekend. The creek and river are perfect for curious little ones to explore. Great fishing spot. The walk to the tunnel is quick and easy for all ages. Beautiful spot. We will go again.
This place is great! Always end our season here. The Halloween weekends are the best.
Our first shakedown of our new Ranger 12 Aliner camper. Reservations were easy through DCNR and check in was smooth. Level site, quiet evenings along with comfortable sleeping. Site was wooded, bathrooms/showers were good but required more attention in maintenance and follow up inspections throughout the day. Park offered hiking for visiting family members, something like 35 miles of trails, lakes, streams and offered fishing and boating opportunities. Enjoyed other local streams like Hay Creek, French Creek, and we are looking forward to fall trout fishing as well. Enjoy this gem.
Campground Review: Knoebels campground is very expansive and has sites named after various states and countries. For this trip we stayed at Bermuda site#6. The sites are very clean and come with a power hookup, picnic table, and fire ring. In addition to the campsites you have access to the campsite bathrooms which also have showers. They’re nothing special but they get the job done and are cleaned daily by staff. The campsites themselves are also honestly nothing special, they’re a little packed but surprisingly all of the campers are respectful and adhere to written quiet hours. What makes this place shine is its location. It’s nestled in the mountainside and just steps away from the main attraction, Knoebels Amusement Resort. This place is a throwback and hits all of the right notes. On the weekends you pay per ride, they have wooden roller coasters which consistently rank as the top in the country. There’s also a carousel that dates back 100 years, on the carousel if you ride on the outside they have brass rings that you can retrieve with the goal of collecting as many as you can. The food at the park is awesome and ranges from pizza to pierogis and everything in between. In addition to the rides they have a stream fed pool with water slides which was a great way to cool off on the hot days that we were there. The park itself is a 10/10 and a great place to make memories with your family. After a full day at the park it was great to get back to the campsite, make a fire, and crack a beer. I’ll be coming here with family for years to come.
Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this particular trip I tested the Home Free Hat by Banner& Oak. Banner & Oak is very much a brand committed to being environmentally conscious, celebrates the outdoors, and puts out stellar products. Full disclosure: I have a monster collection of hats and this hat rates near the top in terms of construction and aesthetic. The Home Free gets a 5/5 in my books and will be a mainstay in my rotation.
For more information and to purchase one for yourself check out the hat at their website: https://bannerandoak.com/collections/hats/products/home-free-navy
We have been here tenting twice, once last year and once this summer. They have upgraded the tent sites since last year, no more primitive sites, all the tent sites are now mulch pad with water and electric. Bathrooms are very clean and modern, but a decent walk from tent sites. The facilities are all lovely, staff in the camp store are kind and helpful. The snack bar is very convenient, breakfasts on the weekends in the summer. Close to lots of great activities and there is lots to do at the campground as well. Highly recommend.